Jack went all in on bid capsâand in this episode, we break down whatâs actually happening inside the ad account. Are they finally working? David and Jack dig into the data, whatâs changed, and what this could mean for other scrappy brands testing Meta ads. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real. đŹ Join the Conversation: ⢠Jack on X: @jackinprogress ⢠David on X: @au...
Jul 31, 2025â˘38 minâ˘Ep. 19
In this episode, we break down the apps we canât live withoutâthe ones that quietly power our stores and would leave us scrambling if they vanished. From managing finances to boosting conversions and staying sane operationally, weâre sharing our real MVPs. If you're feeling app fatigue and wondering whatâs actually worth the cost, this oneâs for you. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support...
Jul 25, 2025â˘26 minâ˘Ep. 18
How do you run a sale that actually boosts your bottom lineâand not just your stress levels? This week, we break down the thinking, execution, and outcomes of their latest sales strategies, including tiered discounts, gift card incentives, and how to track what actually worked. Real talk on margins, inventory, and learning by doing. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it ...
Jul 16, 2025â˘36 minâ˘Ep. 17
This week, we dive deep into the power of collabsâbrand, creator, and retailâand how they can drive growth without relying solely on paid ads. From custom merch drops to brand partnerships, they unpack their own wins, misses, and lessons learned trying to make collabs actually work. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real. đŹ Join the Conversation: ⢠Jack on X: @passp...
Jul 01, 2025â˘40 minâ˘Ep. 16
Jack and David pull back the curtain on how they actually use email marketing inside their brandsâwhat's working, what's not, and all the stuff theyâve stopped wasting time on. From flows and pop-ups to why copy matters more than design, itâs a real convo about figuring email out without overcomplicating it. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real. đŹ Join the Convers...
Jun 23, 2025â˘29 minâ˘Ep. 15
In this episode, Jack and David dive into the financial ups and downs of running an ecom brand â from battling cash flow crunches and navigating debt traps to rethinking channel dependencies like wholesale. David shares his candid story of turning things around with a strategic line of credit, while both hosts explore emerging traffic sources and the real potential (and pitfalls) of TikTok Shop and YouTube for ecommerce. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favori...
Jun 11, 2025â˘32 minâ˘Ep. 14
In this episode, we dive into our recent experiments with Facebook bid capsâwhatâs working, whatâs not, and all the frustrating in-betweens. From campaign structures to profitability tradeoffs and whether small brands like ours can really thrive with cost-controlled ad strategies, we break down what itâs really like trying to make Meta ads work when every dollar counts. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom fo...
Jun 04, 2025â˘27 minâ˘Ep. 13
In Episode 12, Jack and David dive deep into the gritty reality of shippingâcomparing in-house fulfillment vs. 3PLs. They unpack their personal setups, the hidden costs, control trade-offs, horror stories, and why neither path is as simple as it seems. Whether you're taping boxes in your garage or ready to outsource, this convo hits home. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us ke...
May 28, 2025â˘44 minâ˘Ep. 12
In this episode, we dive into the "Profit First" mindset; what it is, why itâs hard to implement in the unpredictable cash-hungry world of ecom, and how itâs helped us along the way. From frozen Amex cards to tax surprises, we explore how to manage cash flow when inventory eats your capital, and what it takes to build a business that funds itself - without chasing vanity revenue. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fell...
May 20, 2025â˘34 minâ˘Ep. 11
In this episode, we unpack why productânot just adsâis at the heart of everything. From launch cadence and customer feedback to staying on-brand (or not), we share whatâs been working, what hasnât, and how weâre both thinking about product development heading into the next stage of our brands. A practical, honest chat from two founders still figuring it out. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your...
May 06, 2025â˘28 minâ˘Ep. 10
Iâân Episode 9 (wow, how did we get here already!), weâre getting real about Meta ads: the good, the bad, and the painfully expensive. We talk through whatâs working (finally), whatâs not, and all the messy lessons weâve learned running our own ad accounts without big budgets or fancy agencies. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real. đŹ Join the Conversation: ⢠Jack ...
Apr 28, 2025â˘50 minâ˘Ep. 9
In this episode, Jack and David go deep on the real behind-the-scenes of product design, sourcing, and packagingâwhen you donât have a big team or massive budgets. From hiring designers to leveraging suppliers, and from poly mailers to box regrets, this oneâs packed with practical tips for scrappy founders figuring it out as they go. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it...
Apr 22, 2025â˘35 minâ˘Ep. 8
From pro tennis tours to Pacific Northwest pop-upsâJack and David share how they stumbled into the world of e-commerce and built their brands from scratch. In this episode, they dive into the unexpected twists, early mistakes, and the wins that shaped their journeys, all while keeping it real about what it actually takes to build something from nothing. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your supp...
Apr 14, 2025â˘34 minâ˘Ep. 7
In this episode, Jack picks Davidâs brain on all things B2B and wholesaleâfrom getting stocked in REI and airport gift shops to building a Shopify-powered wholesale channel from scratch. They dive into tools like Faire, SparkLayer, and Trunk, discuss margins, outreach tactics, and what makes wholesale a viable (and sometimes brutal) growth lever for DTC brands. Plus, a quick detour into how new AI tools are shaking up creative workflows and initial ecom community reactions. đ˘ Enjoyed the episod...
Apr 03, 2025â˘39 minâ˘Ep. 6
In this one, David breaks down how he pulled off a mystery box sale to move excess inventoryâVA hacks, ops chaos, and way better ROAS than expected. Jackâs deep in stockouts throughout a sale, wrestling with whether to open up pre-orders⌠We get into the real trade-offs of crowdfunding, cash flow pressure, and why sometimes itâs better to just waitâeven when customers are begging to buy. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it w...
Mar 27, 2025â˘35 minâ˘Ep. 5
In this episode, we open up about the very real challenges of juggling fixed costs â from surprise fulfillment bills and tariff headaches to stacking revenue-based loans. We discuss how weâre purging unnecessary apps, negotiating SaaS pricing, and finding creative ways to turn fixed costs into opportunities. If youâre navigating tight margins and trying to stretch every dollar, this oneâs for you. đ˘ Enjoyed the episode? Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and ...
Mar 20, 2025â˘35 minâ˘Ep. 4
This isnât another e-commerce podcast filled with gurus telling you how rich they are. Weâre in the trenches, running our own brands, and sharing the real ups and downs of building an ecom business in 2025. This week, we (David & Jack) are getting real about the challenges weâre facing right now in our businessesâalong with some cool experiments weâve tried (fundraiser, anyone?). Plus, weâre sharing practical insights on AI from the perspective of two underdog operators. If you're a team of ...
Mar 14, 2025â˘42 minâ˘Ep. 3
This isnât another e-commerce podcast filled with gurus telling you how rich they are. Weâre in the trenches, running our own brands, and sharing the real ups and downs of building an ecom business in 2025. In true Underdog Ecom style, weâre diving deep into the Shopify apps weâre paying forâwhatâs worth it, whatâs not, and how much weâre actually spending. No app shilling hereâjust two operators figuring out how to cut the bloat and grow more profitably. If youâre looking to trim unnecessary co...
Mar 05, 2025â˘1 hr 4 minâ˘Ep. 2
This isnât another e-commerce podcast filled with gurus telling you how rich they are. Weâre in the trenches, running our own brands, and sharing the real ups and downs of building an ecom business in 2025. In this first episode, we (Jack & David) introduce ourselves, why we started this podcast, and what you can expect. Spoiler: Weâre keeping it raw, unfiltered, and packed with actual insightsânot just success stories. If youâre tired of the âget rich quickâ ecom content and want to hear re...
Mar 05, 2025â˘11 minâ˘Ep. 1
