Ben Fisher 🏴‍☠️'s Linkedin Analytics

I love paid memberships. Most ecom brands offer points, discounts, or rewards to keep customers coming back. But here’s the problem: points often go unused, and discounts eat into margins. Paid memberships, on the other hand, are pure profit. Customers who pay for a membership feel invested. They spend more, buy more often, and stick around longer. Our partner Inveterate is the leader in the membership space. They've helped: • True Classic: +$2.3M in incremental revenue in 8 months • Carnivore Snax: +319% increase in customer spend • Fly By Jing: +82% increase in member order frequency But here's where it gets interesting... When Inveterate Inc's membership platform meets Rodeo's identity resolution, the friction disappears. Members can access exclusive pricing, products, and early drops without annoying logins or passwords. From a business perspective, it’s a no-brainer. Membership revenue is 100% profit and drives higher purchase frequency and AOV. If you want to see how this would work for your brand, send me a DM.

I thought I had to change who I was to succeed. I was wrong. I always knew I wanted to build useful things. I just didn't know where I fit. Growing up, I never had the classic entrepreneur origin story. No tragic backstory. No dropping out of college to pursue a burning vision. I had loving parents. A stable home. Good education. According to the entrepreneurial mythology, I lacked the "founder DNA". For years, this left me questioning if I belonged in this world at all. My early career swung like a pendulum: freelancing to pay bills → launching a startup → burning through savings → back to freelancing. I didn't fit the typical entrepreneurial archetypes. I was just someone who loved solving problems and building things that worked. The breakthrough came not from changing who I was but from finding the right vehicle for my skills. That vehicle was SaaS and automation. The perfect bridge between what I loved (building systems) and what was sustainable and scalable. Looking back, I realize that my struggle wasn't about becoming a different kind of entrepreneur. It was about accepting my own path and leveraging my unique perspective. Not all founders need to fit the Silicon Valley archetype. Some of us build differently. Some of us take longer to find our lane. And that's completely okay. Have you ever struggled with "fitting in" as a founder? What helped you find your lane?

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆: Do you 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿—or just make it feel better? Imagine you’re on an 18-hour flight to New Zealand. Long, right? Now, picture a 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 that gets you there in an hour. (Exciting, but... 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙣𝙤.) But what if, instead, your 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 with unlimited drinks? Suddenly, that 18 hours doesn’t feel so bad. 🚀 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿—𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀. 🔹 𝗔𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗹𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. They just move baggage claim to the far end, so you spend time walking instead of waiting. 🔹 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. Mirrors & music just make the ride feel less awkward. 🔹 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. They just make the wait feel shorter. Same applies to business. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. 👉 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆—𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

Every DTC brand runs on a tech stack that fights against itself. I've seen brands waste millions because their vendors compete instead of cooperate: • Email tools want credit for email conversions • SMS tools want credit for SMS conversions • Loyalty platforms want to show high engagement It's like having 20 chefs in one kitchen. Each one making their own dish. Nobody sharing ingredients. But everyone claiming they made dinner. Each vendor protects their own metrics at your expense. The problem isn't bad tools — it’s disconnected tools. When your tech stack doesn't share data, three things happen: • Customer experiences become fragmented • Marketing spend gets wasted on the wrong channels • Decision-making suffers from conflicting reports Amazon solved this years ago. Bezos doesn't care which touch point drove the sale. They care about removing friction across the entire journey. About tracking identity across every interaction. And sharing data between every tool in their ecosystem. When you view a product on Amazon, that information follows you to email, app notifications, and recommendations. But mid-market brands can't do this. They're stuck with 20+ vendors that don't talk to each other. That’s where Rodeo comes in. Just like oxygen moves through your bloodstream to fuel the entire body, Rodeo moves identity throughout your ecosystem so every tool has the information it needs to work better. When a customer clicks an email: • Your site knows who they are • Your checkout remembers their preferences and past purchases and shows relevant upsells • Your loyalty program applies rewards automatically Top-performing brands don’t simply optimize individual tools. They make sure their entire ecosystem works as one. Don’t bleed profits just because your tools won’t play nice. What’s the biggest disconnect in your tech stack today?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 Last week, I got the classic "𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱" notification. Got home. 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲. But then—the 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼. A quick glance, and there it is—𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲. Crisis averted. No awkward 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵. 𝗡𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲-𝗲𝘆𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗿𝘀. This is the kind of 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸 more companies should adopt. 𝟱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: ✅ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀 (📦) 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻. 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 “𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻?” 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗮. ✅ 𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹𝘀 (💳) 𝗔 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹𝘀. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. ✅ 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 (📅) 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 “𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? 𝗡𝗼? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆?” 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀—𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲? ✅ 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝘀 𝗜 𝗔𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗨𝘀𝗲 (📝) 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻? ✅ 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝗧𝗔 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 (⏳) 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 “𝗪𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻”, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲: “𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆: 𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀.” 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝟯 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀: 🔹 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼—𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁. 🔹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 “𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱” → 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 🔹 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼-𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 𝗧𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 = 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁. *** 🧠 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?

How I hacked my way into every industry I wanted to be in: I didn't have Ivy League credentials. I didn't have VC connections. But I had one advantage: I knew how to build. In a world obsessed with the right school and the right network, I discovered early that technical skills could bypass the gatekeepers entirely. I landed internships at Wunderman, The Wonderfactory, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky just because I knew how to leverage tech. When you can build, you don't need to ask for permission to enter an industry. You create your way in. What skill has opened the most doors for you in your career?

This will sound crazy, but Claude saved my life yesterday. As you know, I don't cook. At all. My kitchen skills stop at "add water." That said, I just bought a new microwave and wanted to heat my dinner with it for the first time. You'd think that would be simple enough. It wasn’t. The manual said "Remove protective wrapper" but inside was this weird plastic-paper thing that didn't look right. My usual safety nets weren't available. Mom didn't pick up. Friend wasn't around to FaceTime. The sheet looked important. But also dangerous. Like the kind of thing that could melt and release toxic fumes. Then I had an idea. I took a photo of the mystery sheet and showed it to Claude — which was the smartest move I could have done in that scenario. Turns out that paper-like sheet was a waveguide cover. Critical for blocking radiation and preventing fires. Removing it would have been dangerous. Maybe deadly. So yeah, that’s how close I came to setting my house (and maybe my face) on fire.

𝗠𝘆 𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗰𝗸: 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲. After college, I struggled to keep in touch with old friends. Gone were the 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗻-𝗶𝗻𝘀 at the library or late-night food spots. And since we took 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀, even casual “work talk” disappeared. So, I turned reconnecting into a game: 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲. 🔹 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝟰 𝗣𝗠, 𝗜’𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. 🔹 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻? 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱. Each call was a 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲—forcing me to recall our last interaction, sometimes from 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼. It was like a 𝗱𝗼𝗽𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀. Once, I called a girl I met at a freshman-year house party. We hadn’t spoken in 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀. That random call turned into a 𝟰𝟱-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 about life, career struggles, and how wildly different post-college had been. We’ve loosely stayed in touch ever since. It’s easy to get 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝘀—only engaging with people we see daily. 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗽𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 🤘 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘁. 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹, 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹. 𝗜 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 👉 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸—𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘆 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗽 We’re raised to idolize “𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.” It’s an American virtue, right up there with 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘀. You’re supposed to 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿. But what happens when that’s 𝙣𝙤𝙩 enough? For me, the answer was a 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹: 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹. On Adderall, every task felt 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙘. An email to Rackspace tech support? 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. Hours of deep focus? 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘆. I was the 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲. But here’s the kicker—Adderall didn’t make me a better entrepreneur. It made me 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝘂𝗻. I became so obsessed with efficiency that I lost sight of the 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. What I thought was a 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼’𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 turned out to be 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. Today, I trade 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁—exercise, meditation, and systems that don’t burn me out. It’s not as thrilling. But it’s 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. And (I hope) it makes me a 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻. 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨—𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠?

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗳𝗳. What if you could capture those golden nuggets, build off them, and turn it into a guide... Meet James Booth’s DTC Brain

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟵𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 So ~10 years ago, I built a 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸—a cheat sheet of my go-to clothes, products, and preferences. Not exactly 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹, but it saves a ton of brainpower. 🚫 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲. ⚡ 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀. 💼 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲. 𝟭𝟬/𝟭𝟬 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱. However... 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 😆

Your checkout should be one of the most profitable parts of your Shopify store. Most brands use the checkout to collect payments. The most successful ones? They turn it into a profit center. Platter analyzed 150+ Shopify stores to uncover what the most profitable brands are doing differently, and how you can apply the same strategies. Here are 5 proven tactics to help you: → Increase AOV with upsells and cross-sells → Use post-purchase offers to drive incremental revenue → Gamify checkout to encourage bigger orders → Add social proof to build trust with your customers → Enable one-click checkout to remove friction Inside the full guide, you’ll find 27 strategies that help Shopify brands maximize profit with every checkout. Get the free guide here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eeKyy8cb

This ecom brand made an extra $30,000 in 30 days with a 3 minute fix. Here's how: Kenny Flowers is a clothing and lifestyle brand. And like many Shopify stores, they had a major problem: • Customers were adding items to their cart but weren’t logged in • No way to follow up, remind them, or convert them • Sales slipping through the cracks with no fix in sight The solution? They added Rodeo to their site. Here’s what happened in just 30 days: • 118x ROI • 11% jump in conversion rates • $29,624 in incremental revenue • 96.2% increase in abandoned cart flow sales • 115.84% more high-intent customers reached And the best part? It took less than 3 minutes to install. Kenny Flowers called it “free found money.” If you want to see exactly how we did it, check out the carousel below ⬇️

𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱. Just downloaded an app that changes how I listen to podcasts. With Snipd, I can bookmark and clip sections 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡-𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 🔹 Hear something interesting? Tap. 🔹 It 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 & 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. 🔹 An hour in, I had 15 perfect snippets to revisit later. Holy hell. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Great design hides in plain sight. Snipd isn’t just one 𝙗𝙞𝙜 feature—it’s a dozen small, unremarkable ones stitched together into something incredible. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁: Someone (likely) noticed these elements across other apps and had the vision to combine them. Keep an eye out. What’s invisible in one product 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀. 𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿?

I can't fcking believe this... This is me arguing with an AI about punching up an old post of mine with a (TRUE!) fact that I wanted to add. The AI refused to add it to the post because it didn’t “believe me.” Bizarre HAL moment. ‘I'm sorry, Ben. I'm afraid I can't do that.’

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? We teamed up with Platter to break down what’s actually working at checkout. After analyzing 150+ Shopify stores, we put together 27 proven strategies to help you: → Increase AOV using upsells and cross-sells → Convert more customers with a mobile-first checkout → Generate more revenue and maximize LTV with post-purchase offers These are the exact tactics top Shopify brands are using right now—and now, you can use them too. Get the free guide here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eeKyy8cb

The average DTC brand sends 3-5 emails a week. That adds up to 100s of emails per customer each year. These emails have personalized subject lines. Segmented content based on past purchases. And use optimized send times for better engagement. But when a customer clicks through to the site? They're treated like a total stranger. No pre-filled cart. No saved preferences. No acknowledgment of loyalty status. This disconnect creates a jarring experience that hurts conversion rates. Amazon doesn't make this mistake. Neither does Walmart, Target, or Nike. These companies invested millions to ensure their sites recognize customers instantly. When you click through their emails, their sites already know who you are. They know what you've bought before. They know what you're likely to buy next. For these giants, customer recognition isn't a feature—it's the foundation of their business. But why don’t mid-market brands do the same? Most DTC brands rely on 20+ different vendors for their tech stack. Email, SMS, loyalty programs, checkout systems—none talk to each other. Your customer data sits in separate silos across these tools. Making it impossible to deliver a seamless shopping experience. The problem isn't lack of data—it's lack of connectivity. Soft login automatically signs in customers when they click email or SMS links. No password screens. No friction. Just immediate recognition. With soft login, your site can personalize the shopping experience without manual sign-in. It seems like a minor tweak until you see the ROI it delivers: • 2x more abandoned cart tracking • 40-65% higher spending from identified customers • Higher retention and lifetime value Amazon figured this out years ago. Thankfully, mid-market brands are just now catching up. The good news is you don't need Amazon's R&D budget to keep up. You just need one tool (i.e Rodeo) to plug these leaks in your customer experience. The question isn't whether you can afford to fix this problem. It's whether you can afford not to. What's stopping your brand from closing this gap?

Most SaaS CEOs are sales or marketing guys — I’m an engineer. Here’s why that’s not the end of the world: For 20+ years, I’ve been a hardcore builder. I write code. I architect systems. I think in loops, efficiency, and leverage. But when I became CEO of Rodeo, I had to confront a brutal truth: You can’t scale a SaaS company off the back of product alone. It doesn’t matter how awesome it is. If you build it, they 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 come. I needed to sell. And as a technical founder, that did 𝘯𝘰𝘵 come naturally. So I started reprogramming myself: • I treated sales like an engineering problem: Instead of relying on “charisma” or cold outreach, I adopted Jesse Pujji ’s Mutual Intro playbook—turning my network into a systematic, scalable sales engine. • I put myself through structured training: I joined Jesse’s Bootstrapped Giants Sales Accelerator, a 6-week deep dive into outbound sales. Because just like engineering, sales isn’t magic—it’s a skill you can learn. • I started running sales like I run product: Just like you wouldn’t ship a feature without testing, I now iterate on sales messaging, track conversion data, and optimize based on feedback. No more “winging it.” For a long time, I thought my engineering background was a 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 in sales. Now I realize it’s an 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲—because the best sales processes aren’t about talking, they’re about 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. I’m still learning. Still refining. But here’s what I know: 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗮𝗮𝗦. If you’re a technical founder navigating this same shift, 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁.

I've been coding since 5th grade. But here's the truth about being a technical founder: You get rusty. Fast. Some weeks I code non-stop, building new features and diving deep into the codebase. Then months go by with you focused on sales, hiring, and admin tasks. Seven years ago, I discovered a new approach: Instead of struggling alone through tutorials and forgotten syntax, I hire developers to pair program with me. Not to build things for me. To watch me build things. Here's what it looks like: We meet twice a week, three hours each time. We build the same feature in parallel, then compare approaches. The developer reviews my code live. Points out better patterns. Questions my assumptions. Between sessions, we share documentation and async feedback. Right now I'm using this approach to master AI dev tools: Working alongside someone who's deep in Cursor, Claude, and Repo Prompt. He shows me his workflow. I build the same features my way. We compare results. The cherry on top? The developer I hired is also a founder. Teaching forces him to clarify his thinking. I get targeted guidance. We both learn faster than we would alone. Some founders won't admit when they need help staying technical. They see it as weakness. I see it as leverage. Because I need to understand our codebase and tech decisions. But I can't spend 8 hours a day coding. This is my 80/20 solution. What's yours?

My first retail location wasn't a store or website. It was a wooden table on Route 1 in Rockland, Maine. My marketing strategy? A hand-painted sign that read: "The Strawberry Man." I was 10 years old and had no business plan or capital. What I did have was access to a strawberry field and too much free time. My business model was simple: pick berries in the morning, sell them in the afternoon. But sales were slow at my roadside stand. Cars would zoom past at 45 mph, barely noticing my small table full of red berries. I needed to find customers instead of waiting for them to find me. So I grabbed my dad's printer and made 25 business cards—just my name and "The Strawberry Man" in bold letters. Then I loaded my red Radio Flyer wheelbarrow with fresh berries and went door-to-door in my neighborhood. The first day, I sold out within 2 hours. By day 2, I started taking pre-orders. I now had guaranteed sales before I even picked a single berry. What looks like a cute childhood story was actually my first crash course in business. I learned that distribution matters more than product. The same strawberries that sat unsold at my roadside stand sold out when delivered directly to customers. I discovered the power of pre-selling and predictable revenue. I knew exactly how many berries to pick each morning based on yesterday's orders. I built customer relationships that turned into repeat business. People who bought once would flag me down when they saw my red wheelbarrow coming down the street. These lessons stuck with me through every business I've built since: • Go to your customers instead of waiting for them to come to you • Create systems for predictable, recurring revenue • Build real relationships that lead to repeat sales Last month, I found a stack of those old "Strawberry Man" business cards in my childhood bedroom. The ink had faded, but the lessons hadn't. That small summer business taught me more about sales and customer experience than all my college classes combined. What was your first business? And what lesson did it teach you that still guides your work today?