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This Week's DTC Pod Guest

#284 - Mike Xhaxho - From Viral Tik Tok To 10M+ Brand

Mike Xhaxho, an Albanian-American entrepreneur, started his career in finance and investment banking. After leaving finance, he created one of the first creator led fitness app business, which he scaled and sold, before finding his way into e-commerce and importing rattan bags. In 2020, he noticed a whitespace in the market around hydration products, and Waterboy was born.

📰 DTC & eCommerce News

Off-Amazon Prime Day Boom - This year saw a tenfold increase in brands offering Prime Day discounts on their own websites via the Buy with Prime feature. Despite Shopify's resistance, 85% of these off-Amazon Prime Day participants hosted their deals on Shopify platforms. Although the real impact of this new approach remains unclear, Amazon's ambition to make Buy with Prime ubiquitous is indisputable. The tech giant envisions Prime members enjoying the perks of their membership across the internet. For more, check out the full article here.

Oddity's IPO Success - This has to be one of the most interesting comapnies we’ve come across this year. Israel-based beauty and tech company Oddity Tech recently went public on the Nasdaq with a booming debut. Their shares, priced initially between $32 and $34, popped 35%, closing at $47.53 per share, giving the company an approx valuation of $2.7 billion. Oddity, who owns IL MAKIAGE and SpoiledChild brands, combines data and AI to tailor product recommendations. Truly fascinating to see two powerful verticals merging, AI and beauty. Check out the full story on CNBC and Barron’s.

Polar Analytics Secures Funding - Drowning in data? Polar Analytics is here to help, having recently secured a $9M Series A funding round. The company aggregates data from multiple apps, providing Shopify brands a comprehensive, one-stop data overview. Set up with just one click, brands can create data points and insights, supporting improved business decision-making. Founded by ex-Turo and Airbnb executives, the platform now aids over 2,200 brands in making sense of their data. With an aggressive expansion plan, Polar Analytics aims to grow its Shopify footprint, hoping to support 10,000 merchants, a fivefold increase on its current client base. Read more here.

Roku x Shopify = TV Shopping - Roku has stepped up its e-commerce game, partnering with Shopify to allow viewers to buy products straight from their TV through Roku's action ads. Shopify merchants can now catch the eye of their audience during binge sessions. When an ad pops up, viewers can click to learn more and check out using Roku Pay. Brands like True Classic, Ergatta, and Olly are already on board. This move marks a first in the streaming world and another stride for Shopify's commerce frontier. Catch the ful story here.

Tweet of The Week

David Herrmann (@herrmanndigital) touched on the guaranteed certainties of life. Stay patient, e-commerce warriors!

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