Ben Fisher✨

Founder @ Rodeo and Fractional CTO to 8-figure DTC brands, sharing learnings as a Full-stack Coder, Designer and Shopify Expert

My friend Paul says I'm a "Human Zapier." That checks out. 

I'm a solid programmer and a decent designer, but they're really a means to an end: I love to build things and solve business problems. 

I'm a product person, a technologist, and an entrepreneur at heart. 

My superpower is at the intersection of tech + design + automation/optimization. And I love dtc ecomm.

I get a DISGUSTING amount of satisfaction by eliminating inefficiency. And I do it through building software tools.

I am obsessed with Systems Thinking and love to experiment with new ways to connect disparate systems.

I won't stop until we've got a deceptively simple solution that's damn fun to use.

**

For the past 10 years, I've built "commerce enablement" tools in the Shopify ecosystem that help DTC brands make more $$$.

With CartHook, we brought post-purchase upsells to the Shopify ecosystem and worked directly w/ Shopify to add it natively. 

CartHook processed > $1B GMV and added $250MM/year in revenue through its post-purchase upsell tech. It was acquired by Pantastic in 2022.

At Rodeo, we released one of the first native Shopify subscription apps (acquired by Recharge) and pivoted to a LTV Growth platform that originated as a small feature. Ultimately, wound it down as Shopify actively started building a solution themselves.

I'm on a mission to build damn good tools that help you make more money and have fun doing it.

Co-founder, Technical CEO

Ben Fisher 🏴‍☠️

Playing w/ AI + Automation | Prev @Rodeo, @CartHook (trusted by AG1, Four Sigmatic)

Deeply researched product, growth, and career advice

My biggest takeaways from Stewart Butterfield:

1. Product design is about creating understanding, not removing friction. Teams obsess over reducing friction and removing steps, but 70% to 80% of product design challenges are actually about helping people *understand* what your product does and what to do next. Users arrive barely interested and confused about what you offer. If they can’t quickly grasp what they’re looking at, they’ll leave. Making it easier to do confusing things just gets users to the exit quicker. The mantra should be “Don’t make me think,” not “reduce friction.”

2. You’re not selling features—you’re selling outcomes. Nobody wants a saddle; they want to go horseback riding. Nobody wants a hammer; they want something built. People understand cars and beer without explanation, but new software needs an explanation of both what it is and why they should want it. Slack wasn’t selling messaging features—it was selling better team coordination and reduced email chaos. If you can’t articulate the transformation your product creates in people’s lives, you’re just listing features.

3. Organizations naturally fill with fake work that looks exactly like real work, what Stewart calls “hyper-realistic work-like activities.” Meetings to preview deck slides, analysis of tiny feature differences, elaborate processes around insignificant decisions. People aren’t lazy; they’re responding to having more time than valuable work to do. Leaders must continuously ensure there’s enough valuable work and explicitly say no to projects that can’t possibly generate meaningful impact.

4. Small conveniences create emotional connections that drive word-of-mouth growth. No one switches products because of a good time-zone picker or smooth password recovery, but these details make users love or hate your product. Slack grew largely because people who used it at one company would join a new company and advocate strongly for adopting it. That advocacy came from accumulated small delights, not major features.

5. The “owner’s delusion” explains why bad experiences persist everywhere. Restaurant owners create terrible websites even though they’ve experienced the frustration of visiting other terrible restaurant websites. Business owners assume visitors care deeply about their product, when in reality people arrive distracted, in a hurry, just above the threshold of caring at all. The solution is to regularly step back, be a normal person with limited time and patience, and honestly evaluate if your product makes sense.

6. Only pivot after exhausting all reasonable ideas. The right time to pivot isn’t when things get hard—it’s when you’ve genuinely tried every non-ridiculous approach and can coldly, rationally assess that the expected value has dropped below alternatives. Pivoting is humiliating because you’ve convinced investors, employees, and users of a vision you’re now abandoning. That emotional cost means most people pivot too quickly or too late.

Valchanova.me

Started as a personal blog, focused on marketing, growth and digital strategy, Valchanova.me was born out of the passion for sharing my knowledge and experience with digital professionals.

Now it's the hub for my consulting practice. I work with brands on markets all over the globe and I help them build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and scale them through digital channels.

Marketing, Growth, and Digital Strategy Consulting:
- Working with brands in industries from e-commerce to SaaS, from fitness to luxury design.
- Building digital strategies through hands-on customer research, data-driven persona building, and competitive auditing.
- Content marketing planning - building roadmaps and day-to-day team consulting about content production, distribution, and measurement.
- Performance marketing - creating strategies and managing budgets in paid channels from Google Ads and Facebook Ads to Quora and Reddit.
- Copywriting, landing page optimization, and CRO.
- Growth marketing - going beyond customer acquisition to activation, retention, and more.

Public Speaking & Training:
- An accredited lecturer at New Bulgarian University and Software University, guest speaker at Sofia University, having taught more than 2,000 students on Content Marketing, Marketing Analytics, and Gamification.
- Participated in more than 10 international events as a speaker on topics including measurement, content marketing, growth, and more.

Publishing:
- 300,000 readers accumulated through 10 years of content publishing.
- One of the top 20 blogs in Bulgaria, second most authoritative marketing blog (2010).
- Featured as a 'Must Read' on GrowthHackers.com.

Digital Marketing Strategist, Trainer, and Public Speaker

Ratio.bg

Responsible for all communication-related issues, including social media management, blogger relations, media relations, promotion of events, sponsorship proposals, etc.

Bragging rights:
- Led the full development of the event brand from 180 to 750 guests per conference
- Organized more than 50 events in different formats
- Overdelivered on guest expectations with an event NPS of 85 for the latest Ratio Science Forum
- Secured partnerships and sponsorships with national and international companies

Founder and Communications Manager

GrowthMentor

I'm dedicating some of my time to mentor founders, growth, and marketing leads through GrowthMentor, a curated platform of invite-only startup and growth marketing mentors.

I've so far had more than a 350 insightful discussions with companies in varied industries and sizes. Looking forward to talking with many more.

Check out my profile at the link below 👇

Mentor

Hypergrowth

I work to bring expert-led content to growth marketers and startup founders who can benefit from it. If you're curious about my work, check out the Hypergrowth Blog and our interview series Hypergrowth Talks.

Head Of Content

Enhancv

Enhancv helps you highlight your achievements, attitude, and personality to stand out and feel proud. The company has been featured at Forbes, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, Lifehacker, The Hill.

Bragging rights:
- Optimized performance advertising efficiency and brought down CAC 3-fold in 6 months.
- Led the implementation of a full measurement strategy and implementing the data-driven approach for the whole team.
- Set up and led the first growth experimentation process in the company.
- Planned and executed an extensive customer research project through the Jobs-to-be-done methodology and implemented the findings in a product repositioning at the end of 2017 (team effort together with Enhancv's CMO and Art Director).

Digital Strategist

New Bulgarian University

Lecturer of Gamification in the Master's Department of New Bulgarian University.
Gaming elements, gamification strategy, and tactics, gamification mechanics, successful gamification implementation.

Already taught 3 years of students, undergoing a Master's Degree in New Media and Communications.

Lecturer - Gamification

Wishio

Creating and optimising the overall marketing strategy of the Wishio brand, including choice of channels, setting KPIs and conducting ongoing performance measurement. Managing an internal marketing and design team, as well as third parties for SEO, PPC and social media marketing. Keeping an active role in creating marketing campaigns, content marketing, promotion set-up and co-marketing campaign discussions with suppliers.

- Led the first marketing campaigns establishing the brand and reached some 150 000 targeted users through paid and organic channels.
- For 4 months served as project manager for the whole Wishio team of 8 people, analyzing company performance and keeping track of all major projects within the organization.

Marketing and Project Manager

Innologica Ltd.

Worked on the communication and marketing strategy of the content reader Inoreader. Developed an overall strategy with different consumer engagement and community building activities, including email marketing automation flows, media outreach to leading tech bloggers, content marketing and advertising management.

Product Marketing Manager

Ozone.bg

Developed the overall marketing strategy, marketing actions and programs for the company brand and specific product lines. Created the social media presence strategy and social media communications policy, determining the use of social media tactics so as strategic goals are met. Advertising planning and management, PR and blogger relations.

Managed all marketing budgets and did general oversight of a team of 5 content managers and 1 designer.

Bragging rights:
- developed the largest expansion of the site's target audience in overall history
- oversaw the transformation from a niche gaming brand to an entertainment and leisure brand with broader appeal
- created marketing campaigns leading the expansion of the company portfolio from 3 to 14 product categories with much larger and diverse target audience
- organized more than 20 events, such as gaming launches, product promotions and festival participations, including the largest gaming launch party in Bulgaria to date with 600+ guests

Head of Marketing

ASBIS

Worked for leading world tech brands like Dell, Razer and ASUS, developed locally the presence of ASBIS' private brands Canyon and Prestigio.

Bragging rights:
- led the establishment of Canyon as a lifestyle tech brand for teens and tweens, including the launch of 5 limited edition series
- introduced a local collaboration between Prestigio e-readers and famous Bulgarian authors
- created partnerships with off-road and drift stars to promote Prestigio GPS
- worked on community building activities with gamers for Razer, including many gaming competitions, product launch events and blogger outreach activities
- managed full year marketing budgets for Dell and ASUS and led all retailer co-campaigns

Marketing Coordinator

Content Strategist & Brand Messaging Craftswoman 💡 I help brands build meaningful relationships with the people who matter. ✨ Sharing strategic ways to create value-packed content and stellar brand messaging.

As a digital marketing strategist, I help brands build meaningful relationships with stakeholders and scale them through digital channels. I run Valchanova.me, a hub for my consulting practice and a blog on marketing, digital strategy, and growth.

My core competencies include strategic research and planning, content marketing, brand messaging, and copywriting. I have worked with brands in various industries, from e-commerce to SaaS, from business services to luxury design. I have also trained more than 2,000 students and spoken at conferences across Europe. In my spare time, I organize popular science events with Ratio, fueling the passion for science in those who don't know they have it yet.

I aim to share my knowledge and experience with digital professionals and inspire them to create impactful and engaging marketing campaigns. I am passionate about words which is the building block of both content marketing, brand messaging, and copywriting. You can easily get in touch by contacting me at v@valchanova.me. Read more at https://valchanova.me.

Vassilena Valchanova

This one isn't mine. And that makes me even happier. 😅

I talk about structure. And systems. And planning. And strategic discipline. And saying No. And then I talk about them again. And again.

Sometimes it feels like I'm alone in that corner.

Thankfully, Adriana Tica is in the same club.

She posted this in her latest newsletter—right as I was writing about the exact same thing on Friday.

If you want to learn how to build a content system by saying No more often—so you can say Yes only to what actually moves your business—join us for a practical live session: https://luma.com/zgti70mf

Let's get that content plan ready for 2026!

2026 is coming. Are you building a content system—or just feeding the hamster wheel?

​The content that actually drives results doesn't come from doing more. It comes from strategic discipline—knowing exactly which pieces are worth creating, how they connect to business outcomes, and how to make them work harder.

​This is exactly what we’ll focus on in this strategy-first session with Adriana Tica.

➡️ Watch us live on LinkedIn or sign up through the event page to get the recording and additional materials: https://luma.com/zgti70mf

​With 18+ years in marketing, Adriana has built her brand on one principle: strategy beats gimmicks. Through her Strategic AF newsletter and consulting work, she helps founders and solopreneurs create content that gets results—not just likes. And she’ll share with us insights on building content systems that scale into 2026 and beyond.

​You'll learn:
→ ​How to translate business goals into content goals that actually map to revenue
→ ​How to decide what content is worth creating
→ Smart distribution and repurposing principles to make content work harder
→ How to free yourself from algorithm dependency
→ How to measure and optimize your content performance

​Plus: Deep dives on newsletters and original research

​Adriana will share why newsletters are your strategic advantage, how to grow one, and how to make it drive revenue. She'll also break down her recent State of Solopreneurship Report—not just the key insights, but the business case, process, and results from creating original research as a content strategy.

​Sign up to join live and ask questions—or get the recording if you can't attend.

Building a Content System for 2026 with Adriana Tica

Counting down the days to Friday for a great event! Just like last year, I'll be meeting fellow peers at Hyperscience's office in Sofia for the mini-conference of Women in Marketing - Bulgaria 🇧🇬.

If you're into events that provide practical value, you can check out the program below. If you're into events for the networking, you can check out the photos below.

If you can't come and join us live, there are virtual tickets available.

If you're based in Bulgaria and looking for a community you can feel at home in, apply – it's totally free and totally worth it.

Damn. It's December 1, and I still don't have a solid marketing plan for 2026.
And honestly? Most of us don't. So if you're in the same boat, I've got a bit of news.

The good news: there's still time. The bad news: not a lot of it.

You could spend the next few weeks trying to figure everything out on your own. Or you could use a structured guide that connects the dots for you.

Which is why you may find one of my courses to be a good solution to your dwindling-days-of-2025 issue.

Both courses are up to 50% off—but only until midnight tonight.

👉 Strategic Content & Messaging helps you build a marketing system that actually works—strategic, designed to outlast algorithm changes, and, most importantly right now, modular. You can start with the sections that solve your biggest challenge straight away.

👉 Personal Branding Blueprint gets you from "I should probably work on my brand" to having a clear positioning, voice, and content plan. Most people complete it in 4 weeks and already start implementing in week 1.

Now, these two won't hand you all the answers. They still require work. But they give you a roadmap so you can figure things out yourself—because you know your brand better than anyone. You just need a bit of support to get there.

If you start now, you'll hit January 2nd with a plan already in place while everyone else is still recovering from New Year's and finally circling back 🙄

Links are in the comments. Not sure if this is the right thing for you? Drop your questions below or DM me.

Leave it to me to turn a touristy brewery tour into a positioning lesson. 😅 But a recent trip to Dublin gave me the perfect thing to share.

The third floor of the Guinness Storehouse is all about the brand's marketing approach. And it reveals something I knew but never really thought about:

Guinness built their entire brand around the one thing most beer companies would try to fix. A proper pour takes a 💩-ton of time!

While everyone orders lagers and gets served immediately, Guinness drinkers wait. And wait. 

💡 And that became their story.

They didn't hide it. They made it ceremonial and built it into culture. They turned patience into a premium signal.

Most marketers I know are tiptoeing around something about their product. A feature that doesn't fit category expectations. Something that feels like a disadvantage.

What Guinness figured out was dead simple: find the cultural context that makes your product truth valuable—"disadvantages" included.

In their case, they tapped into our collective exhaustion with rushed everything (yes, that was a thing before AI, too).

Every market has invisible lanes everyone competes in. Fast delivery. Lower prices. More features. But which one could you actually break—not for the sake of being contrarian, but because your product truth requires it?

Your biggest differentiator might be the thing you're currently hiding.
What product truth have you been avoiding in your marketing?

Three episodes into the most hyped series of the year, I found myself scrolling my phone for the full length of the show. I simply didn't care what happened.

That disconnect is exactly what's killing our marketing content right now.

The real problem isn't that we're creating content people hate. It's that we're creating content people feel nothing about. 

And neutrality is way more dangerous than we give it credit for.

It's a downward spiral: when that neutral content underperforms, budgets tighten, teams optimize toward safety, and the cycle continues.

But there's a way out (actually, at least three) ↓

I'd love to hear from the Pluribus lovers in the comments. What am I missing about Carol?!

The "meh" epidemic

Some problems are hard. Some just require brandy – and an eye for the overlooked.

The team at Eleven Madison Park refused to accept "how things are done" in restaurants. They questioned an awkward moment in every diner's experience.

Which is what we need more of in marketing.

We're too busy benchmarking competitors to notice overlooked opportunities. We analyze what everyone else is doing, then compete to do it slightly better. 

That's not strategy. That's settling for crowded spaces and incremental improvements.

The real opportunities are the overlooked moments your audience experiences but your competitors ignore.

Stop watching your competitors. Start watching your customers.

taplio

The Battle

Ben Fisher✨

Vassilena Valchanova

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taplio

The Battle

Ben Fisher✨

Vassilena Valchanova

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ben Fisher✨'s LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreVassilena Valchanova's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreBen Fisher✨'s LinkedIn Performance