
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


"There were three or four years straight where we were like, if it doesn't go the way we need it to go, we'll close it down at the end of the year -- and then year end comes and we're just like, close enough to keep going."
Ethan Haber was a college sophomore with a studio art degree, a hamster named Mooksy, and a problem: the hamster ball hadn't been improved since the 1970s. So he invented a better one. Then came COVID, molds stuck at the Port of Long Beach, a packaging supplier who switched materials without telling him, four years of unprofitability, and social media backlash from people who don't even own hamsters.
2026 is his first profitable year. We talked about how he got to 750 retail locations, why he quit Meta ads and tripled Amazon sales, and the cold LinkedIn DM that landed him the founder of PetSmart as a mentor.
Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more
Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify
Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels
Apply for Shopify Help
See Our Results
Free Newsletter
The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.
By Kurt Elster, Paul Reda4.7
258258 ratings
"There were three or four years straight where we were like, if it doesn't go the way we need it to go, we'll close it down at the end of the year -- and then year end comes and we're just like, close enough to keep going."
Ethan Haber was a college sophomore with a studio art degree, a hamster named Mooksy, and a problem: the hamster ball hadn't been improved since the 1970s. So he invented a better one. Then came COVID, molds stuck at the Port of Long Beach, a packaging supplier who switched materials without telling him, four years of unprofitability, and social media backlash from people who don't even own hamsters.
2026 is his first profitable year. We talked about how he got to 750 retail locations, why he quit Meta ads and tripled Amazon sales, and the cold LinkedIn DM that landed him the founder of PetSmart as a mentor.
Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more
Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify
Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels
Apply for Shopify Help
See Our Results
Free Newsletter
The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

16,842 Listeners

1,451 Listeners

576 Listeners

378 Listeners

192 Listeners

1,268 Listeners

2,221 Listeners

4,471 Listeners

93 Listeners

886 Listeners

2,660 Listeners

211 Listeners

359 Listeners

49 Listeners

257 Listeners