Issue 101: From $0 to $10m+ in... 3 months. 🥵

Oh man, can you smell it? Spring is officially in the air.

For many, this is prime time. Literally selling everything that’s not nailed down. Summer is coming, the dreariness of Q1 is coming to a close, our tails are up and the wind is at our backs.

⛵️💨💨💨💨 

In short, it’s “LFG” season. 🤙 Buckle up!

| DTC EVENTS

Join us in NYC for a founders-only Happy Hour on April 4th, in collaboration with Chew on This and OpenStore to celebrate entrepreneurship and connect with the top founders building on Shopify. RSVP and secure your spot:

| TWEET O’ THE WEEK

Lately, Amazon has been pushing updates out at breakneck speed. AI is no exception. Typically, I can keep you updated once a week on the biggest Amazon seller updates but AI is moving so fast, that I decided it would be good to get you up to speed on the state of AI and Amazon.

Let's dive in...

Rufus Goes "WOOF"

Amazon catches up to Walmart and launches Rufus, their new AI shopping assistant tool.

Here’s a summary of how it will help customers:

• Shop by occasion or purpose (e.g., “What’s a good birthday gift idea for a pirate?”)

• Get help comparing product categories (e.g., “What’s the difference between a bidet and washlet?”

• Find the best recommendations (e.g., “I forgot about my wedding anniversary. What’s a good gift I can get her to avoid being banished to the couch forever?”)

• Ask questions about a specific product while on a product detail page (e.g., “Are these headphones good for blocking out the noise of crying babies on an airplane?”. Rufus will generate answers based on listing details, customer reviews, and community Q&As.

What this means for YOU:

What you “feed” the algorithm means more than ever. Remember when Amazon increased the search term character limits from 250 to 500 a few weeks ago? Now you know why. Use that space wisely! Audit your listing and make sure you have the most optimized text possible in your title, bullet points, and A+ content. And don’t forget that your alt-text for images MATTERS. This is annoying work but now it just has to get done. Because the AI assistant will be pulling data from your reviews, those stubborn 1-star reviews now are heavy burdens.

Is it rolled out yet?

Nope! It’s still in Beta so only a few select shoppers have access to it. Expect this to be rolled out within weeks.

Wait, who the heck is Rufus?

| YOUTUBE UNIVERSITY

Advice from the Top 1% of Facebook Ad Media Buyers

| TOGETHER WITH SARAL

What if you could buy every billboard in your city?

In the 1950’s, if you could buy every billboard in your city, it would mean your sales go through the roof 🚀

Why? Because you’ll be everywhere. It’ll create a halo effect that makes your brand seem larger than life.

As a brand in 2024, you almost have to “be everywhere” to be relevant. Otherwise, you get lost in the noise.

This is what brands on SARAL are doing with their high-volume ambassador programs. When you’re a niche brand, all you need is a couple dozen influencers to post about you to make customers say “They’re everywhere, I don’t want to miss their products!”

With automated discovery and bulk-personalized outreach, SARAL helps you eliminate the boring work and allows you to scale an ambassador program with little time invested.

The best part? They don’t charge until you see success.

Want us to dazzle you with a demo before kicking off? Let's chat!

| QUICK SHOTS

• @SeanEcom: 83- Try to protect price/aov as much as possible on first purchase. But be SUPER generous to returning customers.

• @DaveRekuc: Next month our membership cash receipts will exceed our product subscription revenue (Amazon and site combined).

• @heyitsalexP: What do most winning ads, CRO hacks & "best practices" you see on here have in common? The product is an impulse buy.

• @codyplof: My TikTok predictions: 1. The Bill passes and Biden signs… 2. 50/50 if Bytedance divests or not. I’ll say they do… 3. Microsoft, Walmart, or Amazon will buy it… If they don’t divest and it gets banned, I think YouTube and X are in the best position to cleanup.

• @chburdett: I’ll let you into a lil brand strategy secret: it’s right under your nose right from the start.

| HERE FOR THE MEMES

| AND IN OTHER NEWS…

| GET LINKED

Thrasio chap 11 bankruptcy.

TL;DR - leverage, when managed well, is your best friend. But often an enemy.

Thrasio is the largest Amazon aggregator. They acquire Amazon FBA businesses and roll them up. Thrasio was started in 2018 and raised $3B+ in the last 5 years. It filed for Bankruptcy this week.

Bankruptcy filings serve as excellent case studies for operators and management. Below are some of my thoughts.

For starters, chap 11 is an opportunity to course-correct.

Most companies file under chap 11 to reorganize and restructure... and eventually, work towards a path to profitability while seeking creditor protection.

This is different from chap 7 filing which makes companies close all operations and liquidate.

Highlights - Thrasio:

1. Looking to shed $495M of debt and defer interest payments for a year

2. Received commitments on $90M in DIP financing (debtor-in-posession). Unique form of financing exclusively for companies that are going through a restructure.

3. Claiming to have assets up to $10B and liab around $1B

Thrasio claims:

• It's Amazon's top 5 sellers

• 1 in 6 US households have purchased a Thrasio product

• Brands are sold across 150 retailers and marketplaces

• 86% of brands sell internationally

• On avg, top brands 2x their rev after joining Thrasio

In 2021, peak private valuation timing, Thrasio intended to go public via SPAC through Churchill Capital V (NYSE: CCV). Implied valuation of $10B!

A lot has changed since. Cost of capital rising, share shift in consumer spending, etc.

Growing and scaling an aggregator is hard.

READ THE REST

| YOU’RE HIRED

Brand

• 🆕 E-Commerce CEO (Kilo Health)

• Brand Manager (ResBiotic)

• Senior Media Buyer (Bryan Anthonys)

• Wholesale Account Exec (Bryan Anthonys)

SaaS

• Product Marketing Manager (Platter)

Agency

• 🆕 Creative Strategist (Remotely Talents)

• Paid Social Ads Editor (Creative Launch)

• Strategic Director (Surefoot)

• Media Buying & Creative Specialist (Remotely Talents)

Got a job you want us to list? Let us know.

| THE OUTRO

Thanks for hanging out with us for another issue folks! Can’t do it without you. Buy yourself a double-whipped-cream something-or-other at your favorite coffee shop today and pretend like it’s on us.

Cause you deserve it. 🫶 

Pow-pow. Love you too. ✌️ 

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