Takeaways From Beanstalk + Meta Muse

In this episode, Jack and David dig into personal AI agents: what they are, how to set one up, and what they can actually do for a small ecom brand.Jack walks through his Hermes agent running on his Mac mini. It’s connected to Slack, Shopify, Klaviyo and his team’s project management tool. It handles returns, buys international shipping labels, answers “where’s my order?” tickets, and turns creator videos into invoices. David is setting up his own agent after his part-time VA moved on, and he asks the questions every founder will have: where do you start, and how do you stop it leaking financial data into a customer conversation?They also cover guardrails and sandboxing, how bad actors might try to trick AI agents, and whether you’re running an ecom brand or a software shop. If you’ve been wondering where to start, this one’s for you.📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we sit down with Shaun, founder of Creepers Socks, to break down how he bootstrapped a niche toe sock company into a 7-figure global brand. Shaun shares how he maintains 20–30% net margins through quarterly limited-edition drops, scales paid Meta ads profitably from first order, and keeps his operation lean with almost no full-time staff. From managing just-in-time inventory across three continents to turning down shiny distractions, this is an unfiltered masterclass in radical focus and operational discipline.   📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we dive into our on-the-fly prep for Q4 and BFCM, figuring out marketing strategies without a massive team behind us. We're swapping real-time tactics, from David using AI to review last year's tiered discounts and "Free Hat Fridays" to Jack's approach of site-wide markdowns and color-coded website updates. Whether you are considering month-long campaigns, early email list access, or BOGO offers, this conversation covers the scrappy promotional tactics working for small brands right now.   📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we unpack our biggest takeaways from the Beanstalk e-commerce conference, exploring why massive DTC brands are doubling down on high-touch, in-person customer experiences to stand out in an increasingly automated world. We discuss how smaller operations can leverage these same community-building "superpowers" to generate deep brand loyalty without needing a massive budget. Finally, we review Meta's new AI personal agent, Muse, and share strategies for avoiding the trap of "false productivity" when integrating AI tools into your daily e-commerce workflow.📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we break down Judge.me’s brand-new, ultra-cheap email marketing platform and discuss whether its bare-bones features are actually worth ditching Klaviyo. We also share our recent experiences running in-person pop-up shops, from collaborating with micro-creators in New York to testing high-AOV "buy more, save more" offers at the booth. Finally, we explore the untapped potential of taking e-commerce brands on the road and systemizing physical sales channels.   📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we dive into the frustrating realities of product development and debate the tricky balance of focusing on product design versus pushing the gas pedal on customer acquisition through organic content. We also brainstorm promotional ideas for upcoming local pop-up events and tackle the ultimate ecom founder question: would we ever sell our brands for a massive payout, and what would we do next? Finally, we wrap up by marveling at a hilariously simple viral website that managed to generate over $94,000 in just 48 hours - oh the wonderful world of selling online!📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we break down the grind of staying consistent with social media content and how leaning into a single compelling story led to a viral hit with over 700,000 views on Threads. We also dive into the messy but rewarding world of TikTok Shop, sharing our real, scrappy insights on running discounts, tagging products in videos, and ditching perfectionism to drive sales for our brands. If you are tired of the constant content hamster wheel or trying to figure out a new sales channel, we are sharing exactly what is working for us right now.📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

This week, we're unpacking the real impact of our summer drops and how pushing new products is helping us bounce back from recent cash flow struggles. We also dive deep into email deliverability mistakes, the challenge of warming up new domains, and a few scrappy engagement strategies to boost your sender reputation. Finally, we weigh the pros and cons of wholesale consignment and tease our upcoming in-person pop-ups.  📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In this episode, we dive into the vulnerability of sharing raw quarterly KPIs (like net profit and ad spend) directly with our small teams. We also discuss the ongoing struggle of over-relying on Meta ads and why diversifying our revenue channels through TikTok Shop, Amazon, and even custom iOS apps is becoming essential for survival. Tune in as we share real-time strategies for building community, pushing through the Q2 cash flow trenches, and keeping our brands afloat.  📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com

In episode 41, we're back after a short break to celebrate a massive five-figure wholesale win—our largest order yet—while keeping it real about the messy operational hurdles behind the scenes. We unpack an automated outbound strategy using Claude, plus a deep dive into building superfans through unscalable "surprise and delight" moments, from sending personal voice notes to hand-drawing mountains on mailers. We round things out with a candid update on navigating Google Ads and exploring YouTube as we look for incremental growth outside of Meta.📢 Enjoyed the episode?Thanks for listening! Leave a review on your favorite podcast platform and share it with fellow ecom founders! Your support helps us keep it real.💬 Join the Conversation:• Jack on X: @jackinprogress• David on X: @austriker27📩 Got feedback or topic ideas?Leave a comment or email us at [email protected]🌎 Join the Underdog Ecom Community:Apply here → underdogecom.com🎧 More from Underdog Ecom:Website: https://underdogecom.comPodcast: https://podcast.underdogecom.com