In partnership with

The TL;DR:

• Let’s Chat D2C: TikTok Shop for the Holidays

• What I’m Thinking about this Week: Starting a Business with Your Brother

• The D2Z Podcast: There are two episodes this week! First, I sat down with David Heacock, Founder and CEO of FilterBuy, a vertically integrated air filter business. Then, I interviewed Noam Szpiro, co-founder and CEO of Monocle, an AI-powered incentive platform for e-commerce brands.

• App Updates & Highlights: Rebuy - the app you need to install to increase AOV during BFCM.

• Upcoming Events: No events for the rest of the year! But I’ll be in LA 11/20-11/25 if you’re in the area and want to connect.

Whiskey: A Hedge Against Market Volatility

Looking to protect your portfolio from the next recession?

Consider investing in rare spirits like whiskey.

Whiskey investing provides a proven hedge against stock market dips driven by inflation and other factors.

With Vinovest, you can invest in high-growth segments such as American Single Malt, emerging Scotch, Bourbon, and Irish whiskey. Thanks to established industry relationships, Vinovest overcomes industry barriers that have made historically whiskey investing expensive and opaque. As a result, you can enjoy high-quality inventory that boosts your portfolio value and enhances liquidity.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Let’s Chat D2C - TikTok Shop for the Holidays

A recent study showed that 70% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on TikTok, 3 out of 4 TikTok users are likely to buy something while using TikTok, and 5x users say that TikTok plays a role in purchase decisions.

Creators are flooding TikTok with shoppable content, and if your Shopify store isn’t connected to TikTok Shop, you’re missing out on multiple sales channels to engage shoppers. So, what are you waiting for?

Shoppable Videos

Buyers can shop directly from in-feed videos in just a few taps.

ShopTab

TikTok users can discover and browse your products with ShopTab campaigns and promotions to help maximize your product exposure.

LIVE Shopping

Demo your product and drive meaningful 1 to 1 interactions with pinned products directly in the stream to purchase.

Shop Page

A dedicated showcase for your brand where buyers can shop directly from your storefront.

What I’m Thinking About This Week - Starting a Business with Your Brother

Having a co-founder for your startup is like getting married; in fact, you will probably spend even more time with this person than your spouse! So, while launching a business is like solving a massive, never-ending puzzle and every piece has to fit perfectly, the most important piece of all is your co-founder.

Three years ago, when my brother Parker came to me with a new business idea, SCALIS, we decided to team up with someone we’ve known our entire lives—each other.

Working with a family member isn’t for everyone, but for us, it’s been the key to SCALIS’s growth. One major reason? We’re each bought into the business success in a way that I don’t see possible without being related, and we each own our respective business functions.

Dividing and Conquering: Why It Works

From the start, Parker and I carved out clear responsibilities based on our strengths. Here’s how we’ve divided the work:

Parker owns product development. He’s the brain behind the product lifecycle, managing everything from the initial Figma file designs to engineering team sprints. Parker ensures our product isn’t just functional—it’s innovative, user-friendly, and scalable. His ability to bridge design, technical development, and execution has been the backbone of SCALIS.

I own the business side of the house. My focus is on everything external and operational:

• Fundraising: I manage relationships with investors, pitch decks, and securing the capital we need to scale.

• Sales and Go-to-Market Strategy: I’m responsible for driving demos, building partnerships, and executing the strategies that get our product into the hands of users.

• Marketing Materials and Website: From crafting the messaging to overseeing branding, I ensure SCALIS’s story resonates with our audience.

• Business Operations and Finance: I handle the day-to-day operations and cash flow and ensure we stay on track to hit our goals.

This division of labor works because it plays to our strengths. Parker thrives on deep, focused behind-the-scenes work—iterating on the product, solving technical challenges, and pushing the boundaries of what SCALIS can do. Meanwhile, I excel in high-energy, outward-facing roles—building relationships, creating strategies, and driving growth.

Why Clear Ownership is Key

Having clear lines of responsibility is critical for any co-founder dynamic, but it’s especially important when you’re working with family. Here’s why:

• It reduces overlap and conflict. We each trust the other to own their area, which means we’re not stepping on each other’s toes.

• It accelerates decision-making. When there’s a question about the product, Parker has the final say. When it’s about fundraising or sales, it’s my call. This keeps us moving quickly.

• It builds trust and accountability. We know exactly who’s responsible for what, which makes it easier to track progress and hold each other accountable.

Lessons from Three Years of Teamwork

1. Respect the lanes. Even when we have input on each other’s areas, we respect the ownership we’ve established.

2. Over-communicate. Weekly check-ins and frequent updates keep us aligned, even though we’re focused on different aspects of the business.

3. Celebrate wins together. While we have separate responsibilities, SCALIS is a shared success. We always take time to celebrate milestones as a team.

Final Thoughts

Working with Parker as my co-founder has been a game-changer. By dividing responsibilities and owning our strengths, we’ve been able to build momentum quickly and scale SCALIS in ways that wouldn’t have been possible alone.

If you’re considering a co-founder—family member or not—my biggest advice is this: make sure your strengths complement each other and define clear responsibilities early. A strong co-founder relationship, built on trust and clear ownership, is the foundation of any successful startup.

This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#129 – Building a Vertically Integrated Billion-Dollar Company

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with David Heacock, Founder & CEO of FilterBuy, a vertically integrated air filter business. We delved into the strategies, challenges, and advantages of vertical integration. Specifically, we explored the following:

💰 The benefits of controlling every stage of the supply chain and how vertical integration drives efficiency and profitability

🧠 Overcoming challenges in scaling a vertically integrated business

🔑 Real-world examples of success through vertical integration

🚀 Insights on the future of vertically integrated business models

#130 – AI Pricing Optimization to Increase Conversion & Profits

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Noam Szpiro, co-founder and CEO of Monocle, an AI-powered incentive platform for e-commerce brands. Specifically, we explored the following:

📈 Strategies for using dynamic pricing to improve margins and sales

💰 Promotions can significantly drive customer engagement and retention.

💸 E-commerce brands often lack awareness of their promotional spending.

💼 Finding the right co-founder can impact business dynamics.

🤖 Integrating with existing tools can ease customer onboarding.

App Updates & Highlights - Rebuy

Maximizing AOV during the peak shopping window of the year is critical, and there isn’t a better app to do it with than Rebuy.

What is it: Personalized Recommendations, Upsells, Cross-Sells, AI, Frictionless Re-ordering, and more.

Differentiator: Rebuy is an omnichannel personalization platform empowering ecommerce brands on Shopify to increase AOV, accelerate sales, and grow quickly. Unlike other options, Rebuy provides a full suite of personalization, marketing, and retention services, white-glove support, and a customizable shopping cart. Trusted by 10,000+ retailers worldwide, Rebuy’s powerful technology redefines data-powered shopping experiences.

Starting Price: Rebuy has preferred partner pricing, which is free each month until you earn $1,000 in Rebuy-generated revenue, plus unlimited usage of their Shopify Plus Checkout Extensions product at no charge. Just mention that you came from me!

How we use it: Since there are so many different use cases, I summarize it in a YouTube video, which includes live examples from our current clients.

Upcoming Events

No events for the rest of the year! But I’ll be in LA 11/20-11/25 if you’re in the area and want to connect.

Double Your Referral Revenue in One Chat

• Unlock hidden revenue with a quick chat

• Drive 10%+ top line revenue through referrals

• I’ve helped brands generate $5M this year

• I’ve worked with over 300+ Shopify brands.

👉 Book a no-pressure chat with me!