The Unofficial Shopify Podcast

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.

💡 What We Cover:

• Why AI search is ...

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 sec...

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 questi...

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, inclu...

Lady Gaga has a new Shopify site. But this isn’t just a merch store. It’s a stage, a story, a digital home—built to evolve as fast as she does.

Her team needed something different. A site that could change overnight and feel as immersive as her albums. So they went headless, partnering with Commerce-UI, a Shopify agency known for pushing boundaries.

In this episode, Shopify Partner Michal Klim takes us inside the build:

• How Hydrog...

Megan Smalley didn’t plan to build a powerhouse ecommerce brand. Scarlet & Gold started as a creative side project—until she got laid off.

Fast forward 12 years, and Scarlet & Gold is one of the only women-owned businesses licensed for NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) merch on Shopify. This March, their Shopify sales are up 74.2% year-over-year—with over 53.6% of those sales tied to March Madness merchandise.

And here’s the kicker: 69...

Are you making one of these Shopify mistakes? If so, you’re losing sales. In this episode, The Unofficial Shopify Podcast host Kurt Elster teams up with Bold Commerce co-founder Jay Myers to reveal the top 10 mistakes that Shopify merchants make—some of which even big brands get wrong. From neglected checkouts to bloated main menus, they share simple, actionable fixes that can boost conversions and keep customers coming back. 

What ...

Imagine a world where your worst gas-related fears simply… disappear. No awkward moments, no subtle side-eye glances. Just peace, dignity, and activated carbon filters.

That’s the world Collin White and his father set out to create when they launched Tootles, a Shopify store selling flatulence-filtering underwear. At first, people laughed. But then, they listened. Because for people with digestive issues, this isn’t a joke—it’s a so...

"You start with ‘there’s no way this is me.’ Then you question everything. Then, eventually, you realize—this really could be me."

Ron Shah built Obvi into a $100M+ powerhouse, with $40M in top-line revenue in 2024. But not every business he touched turned to gold. Today, Ron gets brutally honest about two brands he started—Coffee Over Cardio and Paw Rangers—that didn’t go as planned.

This isn’t your typical success story. Ron shares...

“Rainier Watch started as me shouting into the void about whether the mountain was out. Now, it’s a brand in REI. Didn’t see that coming.”

David Lindahl started Rainier Watch as a simple Twitter account—just a guy posting updates on whether Mount Rainier was visible that day. No business plan, no grand vision. Just a love for the mountain.

But then people started following. They started asking for stickers. A...

In this episode of The Unofficial Shopify Podcast, Brynn Snyder, co-founder of Slate Flosser, shares how she and her dentist husband tackled one of the most overlooked aspects of health—flossing. Together, they reimagined oral care with a product that could prevent gum disease, heart issues, and more.

But flossing is just the beginning. This episode dives into their journey through a $194K Kickstarter campaign, battling knockoffs on...

Building Frizz + Co: Haircare, Shopify, and Community

Daphné Eastmond ditched the CPA grind to create Frizz + Co, a brand that says screw the stigma and celebrates textured hair. From her raw startup struggles to her bold in-person events, Daphne shares how she’s making haircare personal—and real.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why Daphne left accounting to launch Frizz + Co.
• How her personal hair struggles inspired a hero prod...

“Why not try it? Planet is low-risk, easy to configure, and can have a meaningful impact on your brand and the planet.”

Discover how Shopify Planet helps merchants make a positive environmental impact while boosting customer trust and conversions. David Vranicar, Shopify’s sustainability operations lead, explains how this innovative app enables carbon-neutral shipping with zero hassle. Learn how it works, why it benefits your busine...

What if your side hustle turned into an 8-figure brand selling out every week?

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DxGxZ20rfQI

Montana Knife Company’s Brandon Horoho shares the journey from launching during COVID to building a global brand rooted in American manufacturing. Discover how MKC redefined success with transparency, customer engagement, and relentless marketing.

Episode Highlights:

1. Why MKC chose Shopify as their platform an...

Devyn Merklin, former CMO of Livingood Daily, shares the raw truth behind scaling a supplement brand to $70M in annual revenue. From relentless testing to mastering Shopify funnels, Devyn provides a thoughtful analysis of the strategies that worked, the mistakes that taught valuable lessons, and how brands can apply these insights to their own growth journeys.

Links

People

• Devyn Merklin
• Dr. Blake Livingood
• Ezra Firestone
• Ran...

“Look, if you redesign your grocery store and I can’t find the chicken or checkout clerk I like, I’m shopping somewhere else.”

How do you turn clicks into customers without falling for CRO myths? Oliver Kenyon, CEO of ConversionWise, exposes the lazy habits holding Shopify stores back and shares proven strategies to boost sales. It’s all about clarity, problem-solving, and delivering customer value—no gimmicks, just real results. Th...

"I wanted to create a product that could be the yoga pant for the foot."

Rob Fraser, former pro cyclist and the founder of Outway, believes socks should do more than cover your feet. Drawing from his background in sport, Fraser has crafted a brand that blends durability with everyday style. In this episode, he shares the unlikely story of how a thousand-dollar loan sparked a $10 million business, tapping into the potential of a $50 ...

Kevin Lavelle’s got a knack for big ideas and starting fresh. First, he took on menswear with Mizzen+Main, bringing performance fabric to dress shirts and making them a hit with pro athletes and office rebels alike. Now he’s back with something new—a baby monitor. Yep, from dress shirts to baby tech. In this episode, he breaks down the whole journey: the wild beginnings, early mistakes, and how he built a brand from scratch, twice....

“We’re doing about 1,500 pairs a day… we’re gonna hit eight figures this year, probably next year for sure.”

You know that favorite pair of sunglasses you can’t throw away? Brandon Dill turned that frustration into an 8-figure business. He’s the founder of Fuse Lenses, a brand built on bringing those scratched shades back to life.

In this episode, we trace Brandon’s journey from side hustle to scaling a manufacturing business, built ...