On this episode I’m talking about brand loyalty in a hyper personalised AI world with Emily Gray, Founding Partner of Untangld: an international Strategy Studio defining how businesses win.

We get into what loyalty really means today, from communities and connection to the risk of over optimised personalisation, and why Emily believes true loyalty is earned through relevance, not reliance.

We talk about the impact of AI on brand relationships, how to design for meaning instead of mechanics, and what marketers can learn from the likes of Starbucks, Elf and Rapha. Emily also shares how brand strategy needs to evolve in a world where customer expectations are fluid and attention is scarce.

If you're thinking about retention, CRM or how your brand shows up in a world shaped by automation, this one is for you.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m joined by Lucy Davis, my co-founder at Factory, as we unpack the messy reality of AI in commerce – beyond the hype and into the hard questions.

We get into whether traditional discovery processes still matter when AI can simulate, generate, and iterate at speed. Are briefs still useful? Is AI discovery even a thing? Or is it just a shiny wrapper on what strategy teams already do?

We talk about sustainability in AI, how brands like L’Oréal are experimenting with Nvidia to create more personalised beauty experiences, and why so much of what’s sold as intelligent automation is still smoke and mirrors. You’ll hear why smaller brands might actually be better placed to move fast, where AI is helping with internal efficiencies, and when it's just adding noise.

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering whether an AI tool is a real unlock or just a pitch deck promise, this one’s for you.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m talking about brand loyalty in a hyper personalised AI world with Emily Gray, Founding Partner of Untangld: an international Strategy Studio defining how businesses win.

We get into what loyalty really means today, from communities and connection to the risk of over optimised personalisation, and why Emily believes true loyalty is earned through relevance, not reliance.

We talk about the impact of AI on brand relationships, how to design for meaning instead of mechanics, and what marketers can learn from the likes of Starbucks, Elf and Rapha. Emily also shares how brand strategy needs to evolve in a world where customer expectations are fluid and attention is scarce.

If you're thinking about retention, CRM or how your brand shows up in a world shaped by automation, this one is for you.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m breaking down Shopify’s Summer Editions 2025 with Ben Homer, Senior Solutions Engineer at Shopify.

We cover Shopify’s new AI-powered Horizon theme and what it means for design freedom, explore the interplay between consumer- and merchant-facing AI, and dig into standout updates—from Sidekick’s new voice and screen-sharing capabilities, to split fulfilment via Ship and Carry Out, and big unlocks like Multi-Entity and Multi-Currency Payouts.

We also talk about the role of partners and agencies in a post-AI world, the future of immersive checkouts like Roblox, and whether this Editions release is quietly reshaping the platform for the next era of commerce.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m talking about investing in creator brands with CJ Daniel-Nield, co-founder of Planes Studio.

We unpack why creator-led businesses are booming, the shift from personal brand to product ecosystem, and why CJ believes creators have already solved the hardest part of building a business: distribution.

We dive into projects like Skin Rocks and Mila, explore the challenges around LTV and long-term engagement, and discuss what it takes to spin a creator brand out into a standalone company. CJ also shares more on Kites—Planes’ new initiative to support creators with capital, product, and operational backing—and what the modern playbook for audience building looks like in a post-D2C world.

If you’re building, backing, or advising a creator-led brand, this one’s full of lessons and signals.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

In this episode, I’m joined by Matty to talk about his journey from studying marketing to shaping some of the most well-known brands in the DTC space. We go back to his days at MyProtein and Represent, where he cut his teeth in SEO and digital PR, learning first-hand how community building can and should be the core of a modern brand proposition.

Now at Cadence, Matty shares how the brand has evolved from a small startup to a company lazer focussed on fuelling athletes. We discuss what it takes to innovate in a crowded space, the importance of real connections with athletes, and why organic marketing is underrated.

We also get into the realities of scaling a business quickly, adapting to constant change, and the lessons learned along the way. If you’re interested in what it takes to build brand loyalty in competitive markets, this one’s for you.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with Hamish McKay, co founder of Order Editing, and we’re discussing what it’s like to build a $20m app in public.

We discuss how the origins of Order Editing, the moat they’ve built by building in public, the realities and exhaustion that comes from building in public, his personal branding framework, the importance of vulnerability, why they encourage their team to build their own personal brands, the stark reality of bootstrapping, where they sit within commerce technology landscape and what life would be like after they sell for $20m.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m chatting with the Jeremy Horowitz, managing partner at Because Ventures and writer of the very excellent newsletter - Let’s Buy A Biz!, and we’re debating whether buying a business is the the best business in 2025?

We start by exploring why buying a business has become popularised by social media and retiring baby boomers, why understanding financial statements is crucial for any business buyer or owner, how AI is transforming the business acquisition landscape, the power of a due diligence checklist, green and red flags to look out for when buying a business, how the current market conditions might actually be a positive and why trust is the ultimate deal breaker.

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Omnisend. Your email marketing platform shouldn’t send you on side quests just to get help. Omnisend’s 24/7 support is always here — real people, real answers, no hold music. So good, it’s boring! Try for free today.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m back with Luke Hodgson, co founder of Commerce thinking and high cohesion and we’re re-exploring a subject we discussed a few weeks back - the technology state of play.

We start with the impact of tariffs on backend operations and tech choices, the demand for low code solutions, the likelihood and shape of consolidation for the rest of the year, who the commerce platform winners and losers will be, the opportunities for new tech ventures in a volatile market, what is going on with the MACH Alliance, Shopify's recent partnership with ChatGPT and whether AI maximalists have got it right or wrong?

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Inventory Planner by Sage. What do brands like like Astrid & Miyu, ROKA London and Passenger have in common? They all use Inventory Planner by Sage to cut excess stock by a third and scale multi-locations with confidence. Get two month’s free by following this link.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.

On this episode I’m back with Luke Hodgson, co founder of Commerce thinking and high cohesion and we’re debating whether system design is a luxury or a necessity for modern brands?

Before jumping into it, we touch on how TikTok is becoming the battleground for Trump’s trade tariffs and whether Strava buying Runna is a playbook for running brands acquiring niche running clubs.

Then we get into system design. We explore the importance of establishing systems from day one, common mistakes brands make, the interplay between data and system design, the impact of AI on system design and why good system design is often a function of an ‘oh shit’ moment.

This podcast is brought to you by our mates at Inventory Planner by Sage. What do brands like like Astrid & Miyu, ROKA London and Passenger have in common? They all use Inventory Planner by Sage to cut excess stock by a third and scale multi-locations with confidence. Get two month’s free by following this link.

Checkout Factory here.

Sign up to our newsletter here.