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Limited Supply

Nik Sharma

So many DTC brands think nice PR is more important than honesty. But that’s not us.

I'm Nik, and I'm tired of all the hot air in our industry. This podcast is the behind-the-scenes conversation that gets to the heart of what DTC is really like.

Nik Sharma founded Sharma Brands - and has no reason not to call people out, and share his spicy takes. Joined by the most experienced names in the industry, these are the conversations you won’t hear anywhere else.

We’ll be diving deep into industry moves, autopsies on failed brands, and why we’re investing in certain companies.

Episodes drop every Wednesday. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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  • 23 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 42 min
  • English

Episodes 23

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  • Wednesday · 39 min

    S17 E8: What Every DTC Brand Should Know Before Q4 (with Shopify's Harley Finkelstein)

    What actually changes in Q4 every year, and what stays exactly the same? In this week's episode, Nik revisits a live conversation about the Q4 playbook for DTC brands with Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. Recorded on-stage at an earlier Q4 Summit, what Nik and Harley cover still applies directly to 2026, so it felt like the right time to bring it back! Harley opens with fresh data from a survey of 18,000 consumers, breaking down where holiday spending is headed, why discounting and free shipping are still the top two loyalty drivers, and why shoppers are starting their holiday planning earlier every single year. From there, Nik and Harley get into why novelty might be the most underrated Marketing tactic out there (like Gymshark literally turning off their site for Black Friday), how small founder led brands can out execute big companies by doing things that do not scale, and where AI is actually moving the needle on personalization versus where it is just noise. Whether you are locking in your Black Friday promo calendar or just trying to figure out where to focus before the Q4 rush hits, this conversation is packed with tactical takeaways you can use right now. And stick around for the end of the episode where Nik shares some important info about the upcoming 2026 Ecom Founders Q4 Summit, taking place on September 24th in New York City. Nik will be hosting and shares information on how to grab your free ticket. To learn more about the event, check out: https://ecomfounders.com/q4 --- 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/X: ⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠

  • August 19 · 44 min

    S17 E7: The Acquisition Channel JRB Got Wrong ...and How They Fixed It

    How do you know when it's time to add TV to your Marketing mix? In this episode, Nik sits down with Cody Plofker, former CEO of Jones Road Beauty, and Sean Drobeck, Senior Team Lead, Services at Tatari (our presenting sponsor for this episode), to break down exactly how Jones Road built TV into a quarter of its ad spend, starting from zero TV experience. Cody shares how he scaled Jones Road entirely on paid social before hitting a wall of diminishing returns, why he assumed TV was only for giant brands (and why he was wrong), and how the channel created a halo effect that made his Meta campaigns convert even better. Sean then breaks down how Tatari builds a TV strategy for brands testing the channel for the first time, the truth behind remnant inventory, and why chasing free ad credits is the wrong way to judge a TV partner. You'll learn how to think about linear vs. streaming vs. CTV, how much budget you actually need to get statistically significant results, and how to measure TV without letting any platform grade its own homework. Whether you're bootstrapped and skeptical of TV or gearing up to test the channel before Q4, this episode gives you the exact framework Cody used to scale. --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at ⁠⁠https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply⁠⁠ --- 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 Cody Plofker on Twitter/X: https://x.com/codyplof Follow Sean Drobeck on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandrobeck/ Follow Nik on Twitter/X: ⁠https://www.twitter.com/mrsharma⁠

  • August 12 · 36 min

    S17 E6: Why Your Company's AI Chats Are a Total Mess (And How to Fix It)

    Nik sits down with Jacob Posel, co-founder of HQ (https://hqforwork.com), to talk about the biggest problem nobody's solving in AI adoption: every person on your team is having a completely different experience with Claude or ChatGPT, and none of that context ever gets shared. Jacob breaks down why most companies end up with wild fragmentation instead of the compounding benefit they expect, how HQ works as a shared memory layer across your whole org (think Dropbox for agents, 1Password for agents), and what it actually takes to turn one person's AI workflow into a skill the whole team can use. They also get into Jacob's path from an AI/ML master's program straight into e-comm logistics, then Common Thread Collective, to co-founding HQ with Corey Epstein. Plus: why Marketing teams are seeing the biggest per-person leverage from AI right now, how HQ's "gardening agent" keeps stale context from poisoning your workflows, and Jacob's predictions for what's going to look ridiculous a year from now (spoiler: picking a model manually might be one of them). If you've ever built something great in AI and had zero way to hand it off to your team, this one's for you. --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at ⁠https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply⁠ --- 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 --- To learn more about HQ, check them out at: https://hqforwork.com/ Follow Jacob on X: https://x.com/jacob_posel Follow Nik on X:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://x.com/mrsharma

  • August 5 · 58 min

    S17 E5: Your Moat Already Expired (And Most Founders Don't Know It Yet)

    In this latest episode of Limited Supply, Nik gets in the guest seat for a conversation with Ryan Ayala for his show, The Alchemist's Library (https://www.alchemistslibrary.org/). Listen as Nik and Ryan break down why the old moats (distribution, proprietary data, a big audience) don't hold water the way they used to now that small teams are running 20-agent AI stacks and compressing weeks of execution into hours. Nik breaks down why agencies get brutal to run once you cross $200-250K a month, why raising too much money can trap a startup before it's proven anything, and where he is actually seeing opportunity right now in niche agencies and boring Main Street businesses nobody wants to touch. Also, Nik calls it out at the top of the episode...the Ecom Founders Q4 Summit is officially back! Third year running, and it's the biggest one yet. For more information, check out https://ecomfounders.com/pages/q4-summit. Questions on the Q4 Summit, or just want to talk about the episode? DM Nik on Twitter/X (@mrsharma) or email him at nik@nik.co --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply --- 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

  • July 29 · 26 min

    S17 E4: Stop Building Landing Pages by Hand...Here's What's Next

    Nik breaks down what's actually new with GPT-5.6 Sol and why it's a bigger deal for marketers than most people realize. He walks through how he's using it inside his AI agent "Jet", why hyper-realistic product imagery is now table stakes, and how a tool called Jurni is changing the way he builds high-converting landing pages. Nik also gets into the real question every marketer should be asking: what should stay in-house, and what's better handed off to an external vendor or freelancer. --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply --- 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

  • July 22 · 25 min

    How Brands Are Building Creator Armies Right Now (Live from Social Commerce Summit NYC)

    Most brands are still buying ad space…the smartest ones are building an army instead. In this episode, Nik shares his recent conversation from the Social Commerce Summit in NYC, where he and Heatmap.com's Dylan Ander dig into exactly what's working in social commerce and creator marketing right now. Nik breaks down why the best brands have stopped treating creators like a media buy and started industrializing them, building real, commission-based "creator armies" the same way Comfort scaled with the now-famous Hudson Method. He unpacks his concept of persona mapping and persona maxing, why YouTubers and vloggers specifically outperform every other creator type on paid, and gets brutally honest about his own celebrity brand flops to explain why most celebrity brands don't survive past day three. For brands doing $3–10M a year without a nine-figure budget, Nik lays out a practical playbook: parallel-path your creator and paid funnel strategy, feed winning ad angles back to creators (and vice versa), and find your product's exact price "sweet spot" for TikTok Shop before you scale spend. If you're trying to figure out where your next dollar of creator marketing budget should actually go, this episode is as tactical as it gets. --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply --- 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

  • July 15 · 31 min

    S17 S2: The Creative Supply Chain Every Brand Needs (And Most Don't Have)

    A billion-dollar ad budget sounds like it solves everything. It doesn't. Nik shares a recent experience he had sitting in on a CMO offsite for one of the largest consumer brands in the world, expecting the conversation to be light-years beyond anything a $10M or $50M brand deals with. Instead, he found the exact same problems: slow creative production, personalization that doesn't scale, and attribution that never tells the full story. In this solo episode, Nik breaks down why more resources at a big company often means more dependencies, not more speed, and uses the "telephone game" as the perfect analogy for what happens when a single test has to pass through strategy, brand, legal, and five other teams before it ever runs. He also gets into: Why lean, scrappy brands often move faster than teams with 10x the budget The real cost of approval bottlenecks on how fast you can learn Why deliberate angle testing beats "spray and pray" every time A first look at the "creative supply chain," the framework Nik's been using with clients to source, produce, and test content on repeat If you've ever wondered why growth feels harder the bigger your team gets, this episode is for you! --- Tatari helps brands run TV like a modern performance channel. Unlike most platforms that focus only on programmatic CTV, Tatari gives marketers access to all of TV - linear, streaming, programmatic CTV, and direct publisher inventory - in one platform. By combining premium inventory with transparent reporting and outcome-based measurement, Tatari lets growth teams evaluate TV the same way they evaluate paid search or paid social. The result: more control, better reach, and TV spend that can actually be tied back to business results. Learn more at https://lp.tatari.tv/limited-supply 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

  • July 8 · 38 min

    S17 E1: Founder Mode: Building a Second Brain to Supercharge Execution (Live from Ecom AI Summit)

    Most founders are still stuck living in a chat window…and it's quietly costing them hours every day. In this episode, Nik shares his recent keynote from the 2026 Ecom AI Summit in NYC, breaking down exactly how he built "Jet Damon," his personal AI chief of staff, and the second brain system now running nearly every part of his business. Listen as Nik walks through the three stages most operators get stuck in on the way to real AI leverage, then goes step-by-step into how a Mac Mini running Hermes powers 20+ specialized agents, from copywriters to an e-commerce ops manager, each paired with a "senior" agent that reviews their work before anything ships. Nik prompts a full advertorial from scratch in real time, and shares the exact prompt he uses to onboard a brand-new agent in under two minutes, plus how his daily "cockpit" report flags revenue dips, rising CAC, and competitor moves before he's even out of bed. If you're ready to stop checking five dashboards a day and start building a system that runs itself, this is the actual blueprint. And if you want to follow along with Nik's full slide deck, head over to https://jet.nik.co/ --- 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

  • June 24 · 23 min

    S16 E13: Shopify's AI Revolution: What You Need to Know

    Shopify just dropped its biggest update of the year — and if you're in ecom, this one actually matters. In this latest episode of Limited Supply, Nik breaks down the five Shopify announcements that are going to change how brands build, sell, and scale in the age of AI commerce. From making your entire product catalog readable by LLMs to a massive affiliate play that could reshape the publisher ecosystem, Shopify isn't just keeping up with AI — they're betting the whole roadmap on it. Nik covers the vibe coding integration that finally makes one-shot landing pages a reality inside your main Shopify store, why Sidekick is actually worth your attention now, and how the Shop app is positioning itself to become the default shopping agent across every AI surface you use. Plus: the smaller updates that quietly matter — A/B testing on live themes, scheduled go-lives, WhatsApp as a native marketing channel, and what checkout intelligence actually means for conversion. If you've been watching the agentic commerce wave from the sidelines, this is your signal to start paying attention. --- 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

  • June 17 · 38 min

    S16 E12: The Anatomy of a High-Converting Listicle

    Most brands spend thousands driving traffic but send visitors to the wrong pages. In this solo episode, Nik breaks down his complete process for creating high-converting landing pages and listicles that turn paid traffic into customers. From research and copywriting to UX, design, and testing, Nik shares the exact framework he uses to build pages that consistently outperform traditional product pages and homepages. You'll learn: Why AI can sometimes hurt the research process How to uncover customer insights that actually matter How to structure landing pages that keep visitors engaged from click to conversion Whether you're running paid social, optimizing conversion rates, or building your next campaign, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can implement immediately. And be sure to check out the links below to see the listicle examples Nik shares during the episode Bioroot labs listicle - nik.co/pod-lp-1 Bioroot labs PDP - nik.co/pod-lp-2 Hydroh listicle - nik.co/pod-lp-3 Hydroh PDP - nik.co/pod-lp-4 Koriderm listicle - nik.co/pod-lp-5 Purestrike listicle - nik.co/pod-lp-6 IM8 8 Reasons Why - nik.co/pod-lp-7 Gruns collab - nik.co/pod-lp-8 Gruns 7 reasons - nik.co/pod-lp-9 Gruns 6 reasons - nik.co/pod-lp-10 --- 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

  • June 10 · 24 min

    S16 E11: How AI Is Revolutionizing Landing Pages

    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

  • June 3 · 38 min

    S16 E10: Practical AI for Brands

    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

  • May 27 · 45 min

    S16 E9: Why DTC Brands Need AI-Driven Personalization (with Liam Millward, Co-founder and CEO at Instant)

    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

  • May 20 · 56 min

    S16 E8: Your Retention Strategy Is Probably Broken

    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

  • May 13 · 44 min

    S16 E7: How Brands Are Winning on Reddit Right Now

    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

  • May 7 · 23 min

    S16 E6: The Funnel Strategy Driving Brands Right Now

    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

  • April 29 · 1 hr 22 min

    S16 E5: What $100M E-Commerce Brands Know That The Others Don’t

    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

  • April 22 · 45 min

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

    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

  • April 16 · 1 hr 30 min

    S16 E3: The Step by Step DTC Build Playbook

    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

  • April 8 · 31 min

    S16 E2: How to Break Through Your Next Growth Ceiling

    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

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