What if your Shopify brand could sell 16 million cans and hit $28M in its first full year? Aaron Nosbisch did just that with BRĒZ, a microdose drink brand that taps into the decline of alcohol, the rise of wellness, and a smarter ecommerce playbook. In this episode, he breaks down the entire journey—from ignored category to household name.

Show Links

• Aaron Nosbisch: https://twitter.com/AaronJNosbisch
• BRĒZ: https://drinkbrez.com
• Lucyd: https://www.wearelucyd.com

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Viralsweep – Create sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways.

Work with Kurt:

• Grow your Shopify store: https://ethercycle.com/apply
• Join the newsletter: https://kurtelster.com/

Subscribe for more Shopify founder stories.

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fXKVcwl8FS8

How a BOGO Deal Bootstrapped Neven Eyewear to Millions

Jonathan Strauss lost a $500 pair of sunglasses jet skiing—and turned that wipeout into Neven Eyewear. What began as a desperate liquidation promo turned into a DTC breakthrough. In this episode, Strauss reveals how a buy-one-get-two offer saved his brand, what’s changed with Meta ads, and why scaling a bootstrapped Shopify store takes more grit than cash.

Learn:

• Why BOGO x3 worked when nothing else did
• How Neven ships worldwide with no VC money
• The backend tech powering their crazy offer
• What most brands get wrong about Meta ads

Sponsored by:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Address Validator – Reduce delivery address errors & costs

Links:

• Neven Eyewear → neveneyewear.com
• Sight for Sound → neveneyewear.com/pages/sight-for-sound
• Judge.me Reviews → apps.shopify.com/judgeme
• Glasson 360 Viewer → apps.shopify.com/glasson
• Shopify → shopify.com

Still trying to crack the SEO code in 2025? Jeff Oxford has worked on 300+ eCommerce sites, and he’s here to share what actually works for Shopify merchants now. From why your $300 product may be killing your rankings to how AI tools can scale your SEO ops, Jeff cuts through the noise. This episode delivers a tactical, no-fluff breakdown of SEO strategy in a search landscape increasingly shaped by AI, user behavior, and smarter content.

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels: zipify.com/KURT
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify: cleverific.com/unofficial
• Address Validator – Reduce delivery address errors: addressvalidator.com

Links & Resources:

Jeff Oxford – 180marketing.com
Kurt Elster – kurtelster.com

Tools & Services Mentioned:

• Ahrefs
• Claude (Anthropic)
• Google Search Console
• Replit
• ScreenshotOne API
• Shopify
• Ubersuggest

Work With Kurt:

• Apply to work with Kurt: ethercycle.com/apply
• See our client success stories: ethercycle.com/work
• Get my newsletter: kurtelster.com

Also available on YouTube: youtu.be/m9YTxRsosJA

Meta just rewrote the Facebook ads playbook—and Shopify merchants need to catch up.

In this episode of The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, ad strategist Kurt Bullock (Produce Dept) breaks down how Meta’s new AI-driven ad system, Andromeda, is reshaping targeting, delivery, and scale. From embeddings and vectors to Advantage+ campaigns and creative testing, this is the update your ad strategy needs.

Whether you’re running Facebook ads yourself or just trying to understand what your agency’s talking about, this episode gives you the clarity—and tactics—to keep up.

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Address Validator – Reduce delivery address errors & costs

Links & Resources:

• Free Resource: Creative Angle Questions + Testing Framework
• Kurt Bullock: @KurtBullock on Twitter
• Produce Dept: https://www.producedept.co
• Kurt Elster: https://kurtelster.com
• Meta Ads Manager: https://www.facebook.com/business/tools/ads-manager
• Shopify Meta Channel: https://www.shopify.com/facebook-instagram

Work with Kurt:

• Apply to work with Kurt: https://ethercycle.com/apply
• Join the newsletter: https://kurtelster.com

Also available on YouTube: youtu.be/l8ANgFlZK0Y

It started with a sock. A turtle sock. That led to a Shopify store, a wholesale boom, and—accidentally—an agency. In this episode, Lucy Jeffrey shares how she turned Bare Kind from a seasonal side hustle into one of Faire’s fastest-growing brands. She walks us through surviving seasonality, scaling through B2B, ditching paid ads, and launching a service business that helps other brands win on Faire. A story about survival, strategy, and what happens when your Q4 makes or breaks you.

Topics Discussed:

• Growing a DTC sock brand from scratch
• Why Faire became a game changer
• Turning content into a client acquisition machine
• Balancing two businesses and one marriage
• Why sustainability isn’t selling anymore—and what is
• Turning off Meta ads (and doing better without them)

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Address Validator – Reduce delivery address errors & costs

Links:

• Bare Kind
• Candid Founders
• Candid Founders YouTube
• Faire on Shopify Help
• Faire Shopify App
• Lucy on LinkedIn

Also available on YouTube: youtu.be/Pi20dFaHoVg

Ben Attwood left agency life to create a men’s skincare brand he actually wanted to use. With no investors, no marketing budget, and no prior product experience, he built Clubhouse Skin using TikTok, Shopify, and a lot of trial and error.

In this episode, Ben shares how he:

• Sold out his first product run—twice
• Built a loyal customer base by building in public
• Used Shopify Sidekick to find superfans and boost conversions
• Leveraged AI to do what agencies charge thousands for
• Landed in retail by rallying his TikTok followers

Whether you're launching a product, bootstrapping a brand, or curious about real-world uses of AI in ecommerce, this one’s packed with practical takeaways.

Show Links:

Clubhouse Skin

• Clubhouse Skin
• TikTok
• Instagram

Shopify

• Shopify Magic
• Getting started with Sidekick
• Shopify Newsroom: AI helped these founders fast-track their way to first sale

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Boost AI Search & Filter – Collection filtering + smart search

Subscribe for weekly interviews with Shopify founders and experts.

Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XXSr4Po30oY

Paid ads are busted. SEO is back but weirder. Gen Z isn’t using Google. What now?
VC Smriti Jayaraman pulls back the curtain on the Shopify brands building futuristic funnels today. We’re talking AI quizzes, voice search, digital oracles, and tech that reads your face to guess your shirt size. It’s strange. It’s smart. And it works.

• Why AI search is reshaping ecommerce—and how to rank in it
• How Shopify brands are using gamified funnels to capture attention
• What to know about AI influencers, personalized merchandising, and site search
• Why your brand needs to think like a membership club, not a subscription box
• Real tech examples from Corazon Capital’s portfolio

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Viralsweep – Create sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways

• Smriti Jayaraman
• BoldVoice
• iAsk.ai
• Laws of Motion
• Perplexity
• Corazon Capital

• Want me to grow your Shopify store? Apply here
• See what we’ve done for other merchants: View portfolio
• Get my free newsletter for Shopify insights: Join here

🎧 The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster. Subscribe for weekly interviews with Shopify entrepreneurs and experts.

Her fans call her "The Queen of Air Fryers." She gave away recipes. Her fans demanded a cookbook. One $15 PDF later, Cathy Yoder had a 5-figure launch weekend—and she hasn't looked back. With over 700K subscribers, Cathy built a content-powered Shopify business that turns viewers into superfans (and customers).

In this episode, Cathy breaks down:

• How to use YouTube as your #1 lead-gen channel
• Building products based on comment section gold
• What flopped, what worked, and why done > perfect
• Integrating YouTube with Shopify for seamless sales

If you're a creator, a merchant, or both—this is the funnel playbook you've been waiting for.

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• Boost AI Search & Filter – AI-powered search that converts

Work with Kurt:

• Grow your Shopify store with me → ethercycle.com/apply
• See how we help stores grow → ethercycle.com/work
• Get my Shopify newsletter → kurtelster.com

Pit Viper isn’t for everyone. And that might be the secret to its success.

It starts with a guy on a ski trip. His sunglasses break. So, naturally, he walks into a military surplus store, finds an old pair of ballistic glasses from the early 90s, and thinks, these are perfect.

Fast forward a few years, and those surplus shades—once traded for beers and ski lifts—have turned into Pit Viper, a brand worth millions.

But here’s the question: how do you build a business that doesn’t just sell sunglasses, but sells attitude? A brand that’s loud, weird, and completely unignorable?

Today on the show: Chris Garcin, CEO of Pit Viper, explains how they took what should have been a joke and turned it into a cult phenomenon.

Links & Resources
🔗 Shop Pit Viper: www.pitviper.com
🎧 More stories like this: The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

Work With Kurt
🚀 Want to grow your Shopify store? We help brands like yours increase conversions, improve UX, and drive more sales.
📩 Let’s talk: ethercycle.com/apply
🛠️ See how I’ve helped other brands: ethercycle.com/work
💡 Join my newsletter for no-BS ecommerce insights: kurtelster.com

Connect with Kurt:

• 💬 Twitter: @kurtinc
• 📩 Newsletter: kurtelster.com

Sponsors:

• 📈 Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels
• 🔥 Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify
• 📬 Viralsweep – Create sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways.

🎧 Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review on iTunes—it helps more Shopify merchants find the show!

Two Shopify Partners get real in an AMA packed with listener questions. Store spying tricks, AI fails, bold 2025 predictions, a garage full of jacked-up cars, and a sneak peek at their next app.

What you’ll learn:

• How to spy on Shopify stores using public endpoints and browser tools
• What’s broken (and what’s promising) in Shopify’s new AI tools
• How devs actually use ChatGPT to write Shopify code
• Email marketing best practices, including double opt-in insights
• A look behind the scenes at a new Shopify app in development

Sponsors:

• Zipify – Build high-converting sales funnels: http://zipify.com/KURT
• Cleverific – Smart order editing for Shopify: https://cleverific.com/unofficial
• Viralsweep – Run sweepstakes, contests, and giveaways: https://www.viralsweep.com/

Show Links:

• Liquid Weekly: https://liquidweekly.com/
• Editions.dev: https://editions.dev/pages/editions-dev
• Tactical Baby Gear: https://tacticalbabygear.com/
• Shopify AI Store Setup Tool: https://changelog.shopify.com/posts/ai-store-generator-tool
• Copy All URLs Chrome Extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/copy-all-urls/djdmadneanknadilpjiknlnanaolmbfk?hl=en
• Store Leads: https://storeleads.app/reports/shopify

Work with Kurt:

• Grow your Shopify store with me → https://ethercycle.com/apply
• See our client results → https://ethercycle.com/work
• Join my newsletter → https://kurtelster.com/