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The TL;DR:

• Let’s Chat D2C: Tech stack consolidation and leaner teams in 2025.

• Building in Public with SCALIS: That’s a wrap on Transform!

• What I’m Thinking about this Week: The importance of design partners while building SCALIS and for any early-stage SaaS startup.

• The D2Z Podcast: In this episode of The D2Z Podcast, I sat down with Jamie Schwartzman, Chief Creative Strategist of Flux Branding, about the importance of branding in entrepreneurship, the evolution of marketing, and the role of AI in creative processes.

• Upcoming Events: I’m in Miami for the next 2 weeks. Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect!

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Let’s Chat D2C: Tech Stack Consolidation & Leaner Teams

There’s a clear shift happening in D2C right now: do more with less—both in your tech stack and your team.

Brands are increasingly consolidating tools in favor of platforms that can handle multiple functions. Instead of stitching together 10+ point solutions, they’re opting for tech that’s natively integrated, more cost-effective, and easier to manage. Think Klaviyo for email and SMS, Triple Whale for attribution + analytics + benchmarking, or Tapcart merging mobile commerce with loyalty and subscriptions.

Why? Because managing a bloated stack drains time, money, and focus. Every extra tool adds overhead in onboarding, support, and integration. In 2025, simplicity is scalability.

At the same time, internal team sizes are shrinking—not out of necessity, but strategy. Top brands are focusing on hiring fewer, more specialized operators and leaning into automation to fill the gaps. It’s no longer about how many people you have—it’s about how effectively they can execute using the right tools.

Actionable Takeaway:
Audit your current tech stack. If a tool isn’t actively saving time, improving CX, or driving revenue, cut it. Then, look at your org chart the same way. What roles can be empowered with AI or better tooling rather than headcount?

The brands that win in 2025 won’t be the ones with the most software or the biggest teams—they’ll be the ones with the smartest systems and clearest focus.

Building in Public with SCALIS: That’s a Wrap on Transform!

That’s a wrap on Transform! While we connected with amazing prospects and potential partners, the real story is in the momentum we’re building behind the scenes.

Here are my top three takeaways from the event:

1️⃣ We’re on the map. Even though SCALIS has been in the works for almost two years, this past week at HRWest and now Transform marked our real entrance. People were coming to our booth saying, “I heard about you from a colleague and had to check it out.” That’s a direct result of the pipeline-building grind we started in mid-2023 and the positive buzz from our product demos.

2️⃣ Nothing beats in-person collaboration. The spontaneous brainstorms with Lizzy, Evan, and Parker during the event—impossible to replicate on Zoom—have already shifted how we’re thinking about product positioning, messaging, and GTM. Oh, and it’s just more fun.

3️⃣ We’re not playing by the old rules. SCALIS isn’t just another ATS or job board. We’re rethinking talent acquisition entirely—and we need to own that narrative.

It’s a momentum year, and we’re not slowing down. Catch us at:

• ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit (4/29–4/30, Vegas)

• UNLEASH America (5/6–5/8, Vegas)

• HR Tech (9/16–9/18, Vegas)

• RecFest USA (10/15–10/16, Nashville)

• UNLEASH World (10/20–10/22, Paris)

Also, I’m hosting private dinners for Talent Acquisition & Recruiting Ops leaders in 12+ cities across the US. Want an invite? Drop me a note. Bella 🐶 and I are hitting the road. ✈️

What I’m Thinking About This Week: The Importance of Design Partners for SCALIS

One of the most overlooked growth levers for early-stage SaaS startups? Design partners.

A design partner is an early adopter who collaborates closely with your team to shape the direction of your product. They’re not just beta testers—they’re co-creators. They give feedback, stress-test assumptions, and validate use cases before you write a single line of code.

At SCALIS, our first few design partners helped us pressure-test the very foundation of what we were building. We didn’t wait until every feature was finished—we got contracts signed upfront with a clear understanding: We’ll build this in lockstep with you. This not only gave us product-market validation—it gave us real revenue and momentum early on.

Here’s what makes design partners so powerful:

• You get immediate signal on whether what you’re building actually solves a painful problem.

• You create alignment with your ICP, so when you go to market, you’re not guessing—you’re shipping with confidence.

• You de-risk product development and sales by having contractual commitments in place as you build.

If you're starting a SaaS business: don’t build in a vacuum. Lock in 3–5 ideal customers as design partners before you scale your dev team.

This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#145 – Unlocking the Secrets of Branding

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this episode of The D2Z Podcast, I sat down with Jamie Schwartzman, Chief Creative Strategist of Flux Branding, about the importance of branding in entrepreneurship, the evolution of marketing, and the role of AI in creative processes. Jamie shares insights from his extensive experience in branding, emphasizing the need for authenticity and passion in work. We discussed the challenges of balancing business ownership with personal interests, the shift to remote work, and the future of AI in branding and creativity.

Upcoming Events

I’m in Miami for the next 2 weeks. Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect!

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