Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

In this episode of The Random Show, Taylor Holiday and Andrew Faris are back—new set, same chaos.

They dive into the uncomfortable truths of e-commerce: zero barriers to entry, infinite competition, and the creative treadmill that never stops. If you’ve ever felt like you’re sprinting just to stay in place, you’re not alone.

•  Why ecom profits get competed down to zero

•  How “just take a thousand shots” became the default creative s...

Meta just dropped a game changing attribution feature, and it could completely upend how you measure ad performance.

In this episode of the Podcast, CTC’s VP of Paid Media Tony Chopp and Paid Social Manager McCay Rasmussen join Richard to break down Meta’s new incremental attribution setting—a behind-the-scenes update that uses continuous holdout testing to determine true incremental conversions in real time.

We cover:

• What increm...

In this solo episode of the Podcast, Taylor shares a powerful lesson from Cozy Earth’s CMO, who broke free from the measurement rabbit hole to create a viral TikTok challenge that earned 10M+ impressions over Memorial Day weekend.

If you’re a CMO, marketing leader, or operator stuck in the endless loop of attribution models and incrementality debates, this episode is your permission slip to zoom out. Taylor introduces the concept of...

Is your brand truly set up for growth? Or just treading water?

In this episode of the Podcast, Taylor and Richard introduce CTC’s brand new Strategic Growth Scorecard—a 7-metric framework designed to help you quickly assess the strength of your growth engine.

You’ll learn:

• Why we replaced ROAS with IMR (Incremental Marginal Return)

• The key metrics behind sustainable, efficient growth

• How to identify red flags in your customer acquis...

95% of ecommerce brands are worth ZERO. Why? In this episode, we unpack the harsh reality behind most DTC businesses, why logical decisions don’t drive entrepreneurship—and what actually does.

Taylor and Richard dive deep into:

• The real odds of building a valuable brand

• Why success in ecommerce is often delusional by design

• How to align your business model with your personal financial goals

• The traits that separate the 5% from every...

Are you obsessively tweaking your ad campaigns only to see flat results?

In this episode of the Podcast, Richard sits down with Luke Austin, to expose why daily bid and budget changes are wasting your time and money. They dive into the root issue behind inconsistent performance: a lack of belief in the data.

Luke shares the system CTC uses to align teams, set targets with confidence, and stop the reactive cycle. You’ll learn why geo ...

Ever wonder how $10M+ ecommerce brands make their next move?

In this episode of the Podcast, Taylor and Richard walk through a real world growth scenario pulled directly from CTC’s work with a 9-figure brand. Using live data from our proprietary platform, Statlas, we break down exactly how our team evaluates performance, spots hidden opportunities, and decides what to do next.

What You’ll Learn:

• What to do when you’re overperformi...

We just did something radical: we killed the Growth Map—CTC’s signature media buying tool used for years across hundreds of ecommerce brands.

Why?

Because AI changed the game.

In this episode of the Podcast, we break down why our old system no longer works, how AI is reshaping the future of media buying, and what we’re building to replace human limitations with 24/7 omnipresence.

Learn about:

• Why the Growth Map is dead

• What “circadia...

Most brands think they have a growth problem—but what they really have is a DOING problem. In this episode, we break down why volume of action is the single greatest predictor of business growth—and how to build a system that trains this muscle every day.

From 400+ ads to 52 product launches a year, we’ll show you what it takes to build momentum, create consistently, and generate real results.

You’ll learn:

• Why most brands dramati...

What happens when you collaborate with a competitor instead of competing with them?

In this episode of the Podcast, we sit down with Skullcandy CEO Brian Garofalow to unpack the bold business strategy behind their surprising partnership with Bose. From leveraging “product as marketing” to rebranding perception, launching at $99, and turning retail into a megaphone, this episode is a masterclass in how to create buzz, distribution, a...

After years of relying on expensive, limited solutions, we decided to build our own. In this episode of the  Podcast, CTC’s VP of Ecommerce Strategy Luke Austin is joined by VP of Technology Kwa and Director of Data Steve Rekuc to unveil our brand new incrementality testing platform — now available to all CTC partners.

We’ll break down:

• Why incrementality testing is the gold standard of marketing measurement

• How our tool makes geo...

How did our clients actually perform in March 2025?

On this episode of the podcast, Taylor and Richard break down the latest performance scorecard across our client portfolio—revealing exactly how we stacked up against forecasted revenue, spend, and contribution margin goals.

Spoiler: We beat margin expectations by +11.68%, but that’s just the beginning.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• The exact numbers behind our March forecast (and how...

Meta’s ad platform has changed—again. In this episode, we break down the exact strategies we’re using at Common Thread Collective to drive profitable growth for ecommerce brands in 2025.

You’ll learn:

• Why cost caps alone won’t cut it anymore

• How we’re adapting bidding strategies to Meta’s new algorithm

• The role of creative diversification in targeting & scale

• How to use attribution windows (like 1-day view) without losing your s...

What if you could get full funnel growth support, media buying, strategy, forecasting, creative direction, for just $5K/month on a month-to-month agreement?

In this episode of the Podcast, Richard and Taylor break down the $5K Global Accelerator Program that’s helped over 50 seven-figure brands grow through one of the most volatile economic environments in recent memory.

You’ll learn:

• Why this program was built specifically for $1...

Tariffs are here—and they’re not hitting every brand the same. In this solo episode, Taylor walks through a critical 4 part framework designed to help ecommerce founders and operators craft the right response based on their unique balance sheet realities.

Whether you’re cash rich with deep inventory or strapped for both, this episode will help you determine your strategic posture: go on offense, get lean, or something in between.

Wha...

If you’re waiting for things to “go back to normal” in ecommerce… stop.

In this episode, Taylor and Richard break down why chaos is no longer the exception  “it’s the rule” and what that means for how you run your brand. From unpredictable macro shifts to supply chain disruptions, stability is out. Adaptability is everything.

We dive into the 7 core traits of anti-fragile brands, why your inventory strategy might be your biggest risk...

In this episode of the Podcast, Richard is joined by Steve Rekuc, our Director of Data, for a deep dive into what Q1 taught us — and what’s coming next.

We’re breaking down the latest from our Direct to Consumer Confidence Index (DTCCI) and revealing what macroeconomic signals, consumer sentiment, and real brand performance tell us about the road ahead.

Spoiler: It’s not just vibes anymore — the data shows real shifts in behavior tha...

Emergency Update for Ecommerce Brands: Tariffs have arrived and they’re already impacting your bottom line. Costs are rising, margins shrinking, and uncertainty is high. But you’re not alone.

In this special episode, Taylor Holiday (CEO, Common Thread Collective) breaks down the immediate impact of these tariffs and announces the CTC Tariff Relief Program—an emergency initiative designed specifically to protect your profitabilit...

Are you overlooking YouTube ads in your marketing strategy? On today’s podcast, we’re breaking down why most brands are significantly underestimating YouTube and how it’s quietly becoming the hidden gem driving real, profitable growth for smart advertisers.

Joined by Rachel Kwon (Head of Paid Search) and Tony Chopp (VP of Paid Media) from Common Thread Collective, we dive into:

• Why YouTube ads are misunderstood and undervalued by...