S16 E4: 7 Strategies Behind Today’s Fastest Growing Brands

Your landing page is good…but AI can make it great! In this latest episode of Limited Supply, Nik explores the transformative impact of AI on landing pages, creative content, and e-commerce strategies. Listen as ne discusses how AI accelerates page creation, enhances ad creative, and enables hyper-targeted merchandising, while also warning about potential pitfalls of AI-generated garbage if not managed properly. Nik also talks about: The explosion of ad creative and its impact on marketing AI shopping agents transforming consumer discovery Landing pages as AI merchandising tools Whether you're an AI skeptic or a seasoned DTC pro looking to make some improvements, this solo episode is packed with ideas you can use today. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma

AI is everywhere…but what's actually working for brands today? In this latest episode of Limited Supply, we're jumping into a panel discussion from last year's Ecom AI Summit, featuring leaders from DTC powerhouses like Unilever, True Classic, Jones Road Beauty, and Athena. This session cuts through the hype and shares how these market leaders are putting AI tools to work across marketing, ecommerce, customer experience, operations, and search. From AI-powered personalization and creative testing to AI search optimization, autonomous agents, and team-wide AI adoption, this conversation explores the practical applications brands are implementing right now and where the technology is heading next. Whether you're overwhelmed by the pace of AI innovation or looking for actionable ideas you can bring back to your team, this episode is packed with real-world insights from operators on the front lines. And don't miss your chance to sign up for this year’s Ecom AI Summit, taking place on June 25 at Webster Hall in NYC: https://ecomfounders.com/pages/ai-summit What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma

AI is shifting ecommerce from manual, broad marketing to fully autonomous, hyper-personalized systems…and if you don’t get onboard soon, you could be left behind. Liam Millward, co-founder and CEO at Instant, returns to Limited Supply for a deep dive into how AI is completely reshaping ecommerce, retention marketing, and the way modern brands operate. Nik and Liam break down how brands are moving from generic flows and static campaigns to fully dynamic, individualized experiences where every shopper receives a unique email, message, and buying journey. They also discuss: Why AI-first brands are moving faster than legacy companies The evolution from ChatGPT interfaces to autonomous agents How retention marketing is becoming as important as acquisition This episode is packed with practical insights for founders, marketers, ecommerce operators, and anyone trying to understand where AI is taking business next.--- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠⁠⁠

What actually keeps customers coming back? In this episode of Limited Supply, Nik sits down with retention expert Joseph Siegel from Boring Ecom (https://www.boringecom.com/) to break down the systems behind high-retention ecommerce brands. From his time leading growth and retention at Feastables to building retention programs for some of the fastest-growing supplement brands in the world, Joseph shares how modern retention goes far beyond email marketing. They dive into onboarding flows, product inserts, gifting strategies, subscriber psychology, and why the best brands obsess over customer experience at every touchpoint. They also explore how AI is changing ecommerce operations from CRO systems and generative email workflows to building smarter customer insights with tools like Claude, Manus, Fireflies, and OpenAI voice models. If you run a subscription brand, consumable product, or ecommerce company focused on long-term growth, this episode is packed with actionable retention strategies. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠⁠. --- Connect with Joseph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph--siegel/ Check out Boring Ecom: ⁠https://www.boringecom.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma

The internet’s most trusted product reviews aren’t coming from brands anymore…and most companies still haven’t caught on. Nik Sharma sits down with Vinay Sridhar from Reddit, Inc. to unpack one of the biggest shifts in commerce right now: why Reddit has quietly become the most influential product research layer on the internet…and how brands are massively underutilizing it. Vinay breaks down how the platform went from “memes and karma” to a high-intent decision engine where real purchase decisions happen daily. They explore how AI has actually increased the value of human conversation, why Reddit threads are now baked into everything from Google results to AI recommendations, and what that means for the future of marketing. They also dive into the biggest mistake brands make on Reddit: showing up like a brand.  If you’re a brand trying to win in a world flooded with AI-generated content, this episode is your guide to tapping into the last truly human corner of the internet. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠ --- Connect with Vinay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinay-sridhar/ Learn more about Reddit Pro: https://nik.co/reddit-pro Explore Reddit Dynamic Product Ads: https://nik.co/dpa

Most brands don’t fail because of bad products…they fail because their funnels don’t convert. In this solo episode, Nik breaks down the exact funnel strategies behind today’s fastest-growing brands and introduces his concept of performance branding: building brand and driving conversions at the same time. He shares a practical playbook for testing angles, finding winning audiences, and turning one idea into a high-converting funnel using listicles, landing pages, and creators. Plus, he breaks down how AI is making it faster than ever to build and scale. If you want to improve conversion and scale smarter, this episode gives you strategies you can start using immediately. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠instant.one/sharma⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠⁠DTC newsletter⁠⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠

What actually separates a $2M brand from a $100M one? Nik Sharma joins John and Bart of The Checkout Podcast to break down what the fastest-growing e-commerce brands are doing differently, from product and brand to execution, hiring, and marketing strategy. The conversation goes beyond surface-level tactics and gets into the real drivers of scale: timing, talent, product quality, and relentless execution. Nik explains why most brands don’t fail because of marketing…they fail because they never build a true brand or a product good enough to scale. You’ll learn: - Why “right place, right time” still matters more than you think - The difference between a product business vs. a real brand - How top brands win with better execution, faster iteration, and more creative output If you’ve ever wondered why some brands explode while others plateau, this episode gives you the real answer! What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ⁠⁠⁠ Follow Nik on X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/mrsharma⁠ Also, be sure to check out the Checkout Podcast at their YouTube channel

What are the fastest-growing DTC brands actually doing right now? In this solo deep dive, Nik breaks down the exact playbook behind today’s highest-performing consumer companies, especially in supplements, telemedicine, and subscription-driven businesses. After studying dozens of breakout brands and compiling 40+ pages of notes, Nik shares the 7 core strategies driving modern DTC growth, from acquisition to retention to product page optimization. At the center of it all is a major shift: the best brands aren’t optimizing for quick conversions anymore, they’re building for long-term value (LTV). Straight from the operators behind today’s fastest-growing companies—If you’re building, scaling, or optimizing a DTC brand, this episode is for you! --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠⁠instant.one/sharma⁠⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the⁠ Limited Supply YouTube page⁠ for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ⁠⁠ Follow Nik on X: ⁠https://x.com/mrsharma

What does it actually take to build a modern DTC brand? In this deep dive, Nik Sharma and David Perell unpack the real playbook behind today’s fastest-growing direct-to-consumer companies from first idea to scale. Nik shares how top operators think differently: instead of guessing, they validate everything. From testing fake brands before launch to using Facebook as a real-time messaging lab, he explains how the best brands remove risk and find what actually converts before going all in. They also go deep on brand strategy, from owning a color and standing out on shelves to building real differentiation in crowded markets. Nik explains why most brands fail (they look the same), and how the best ones win by creating a moat across product, story, and distribution. If you’re building (or thinking about building) a consumer brand, this breaks down how to go from idea → traction → scale without guessing. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: ⁠instant.one/sharma⁠. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the Limited Supply YouTube page for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the Limited Supply Slack Channel for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s DTC newsletter: ⁠https://bit.ly/3mOUJMJ⁠ Follow Nik on X: https://x.com/mrsharma

Most brands don’t fail because ads stop working. They fail because everything around the ads is broken.  In this live session, Nik breaks down what actually separates $5–20M brands from the ones that scale to $50M+ and beyond. The answer isn’t “more spend” or “more creative,” it’s building the rest of the machine. He also breaks down the $500 (now ~$5K) “fake brand test” for validating ideas fast, why pre-launch email lists still win (and how to build one properly), and how top brands are using creators and content pre-launch.  If you’re stuck between early traction and real scale (or trying to figure out how to actually use AI beyond surface-level tools) this episode is a deep dive into what’s working right now. --- What’s Instant? It's the secret weapon to triple your email revenue with AI-powered flows and campaigns. Instead of sending the same cart reminders to everyone, Instant gives every shopper a personalized email experience: Copy, products, and offers that adapt to your shopper’s behavior and purchase history in real time. Emails sent at the exact moment each shopper is most likely to buy. 11+ abandonment flows and smart multi-step campaigns live in minutes. Built for DTC marketers. Made for revenue growth. See why brands are replacing their ESP with Instant: instant.one/sharma. --- Want more DTC advice? Check out the Limited Supply YouTube page for more insider tips. And if you’re looking for an instant stream of on-demand DTC gold, check out the⁠ Limited Supply Slack Channel⁠ for Nik’s most unfiltered, uncensored thoughts. Check out the Nik’s ⁠DTC newsletter⁠ Follow Nik on Twitter:⁠ https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠