Common Thread Collective

Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Business EN ↓ 439 episodes

2020 transformed the world of ecommerce forever. For the modern DTC brand, the rewards have never been greater. But the waters have also never been choppier, and the way forward has never been more uncertain. So how do you navigate this dangerous new reality? No matter how you do it, you’d better not do it alone. That’s where the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast comes in — join Common Thread Collective’s Taylor Holiday & Richard Gaffin as they bring you guiding insights from across CTC’s portfolio of growing DTC businesses. Whether you need a clear view on the macro issues affecting the world of eco...

Author

Common Thread Collective

Category

Business

Podcast website

www.commonthreadco.com

Latest episode

Jul 9, 2026

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Episodes

Taylor & Andrew Build An Organic Marketing Flywheel 12.11.2020

We're back with the monthly installment of "One Topic with Taylor". This week on the show, we're going to do a thought-exercise about how to extend brand success beyond Facebook advertising & build an organic marketing flywheel. Shownotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F2yzttpbgE

5 Holiday Tactics It's Not Too Late To Try (S2: E17) 05.11.2020

You don’t have time to read this episode description, because Black Friday is right around the corner! So, we'll be quick – today's episode will teach you five holiday marketing tactics it’s not too late to try.

Product First, Brand Impact Second (S2: E16) 02.11.2020

We’re diving back into the story of 31 Bits, one of our newly acquired ethical jewelry brands. From its acquisition to proving viability, the growth journey has been a struggle. This week, we’re taking a whole new approach – making changes that center in part on talking less about the brand’s impact in the world, and more on how great the product is. Here’s how we’re approaching this new strategy.

We Acquired Our 6th Brand: Modern Fuel 21.10.2020

This episode, we have an exciting announcement to make… 🎉 We’ve acquired our 6th brand: Modern Fuel 🎉 From its founder story to early-stage strategy, we cover all things brand acquisition on today’s episode. Shownotes: - Sadie’s Design Tweets: https://twitter.com/sadielewski/status/1314744909237309440 - Dave’s Modern Fuel Growth Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZxDKtAdB5ysKNvftEYNKyUiON...

One Topic With Taylor: Is Discounting Bad For Your Brand? 14.10.2020

Back by popular demand, is the second monthly installment of “One Topic with Taylor” series on the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast. CEO of Common Thread Collective, Taylor Holiday and host, Andrew Faris get together (*socially distant) to talk about a highly debated subject: whether or not your brand should discount. Shownotes: - ​DigitallyNative’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/digitallynativ/status/13152...

Episode Update: A One Week Break 08.10.2020

A short message and a notice of a one week break from the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast

We Ran Out Of Inventory Somehow (S2: E15) 30.09.2020

The ongoing narrative of what it’s like to run a new ecommerce business goes something like this: 1. Trying to prove brand viability in the early stages 2. Failing and learning post-launch 3. Then finally, growth If you’ve been following along on the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast, then you’ll know that our brand 31 Bits has been hovering around “step 2” on that list. And if there’s any indication on...

Signs of Life (S2: E14) 24.09.2020

You read that title correctly – we have signs of life in the ad account of our newly acquired brand 31 Bits. We've had some bumps in the road getting the brand off the ground, but this week we may have finally solved it's problems. Here's how.

We Relaunched Our Ad Campaign. And It’s Going Badly. (S2:E13) 17.09.2020

From acquisition, to relaunch, to this episode. Every weekly episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast up until this point has been leadup to this moment. Our newly acquired brand, 31 Bits, is a fully-built player in the ecommerce space. But, even though this is one of our favorite growth phases – brand redesign, supply chain locked down, etc – that doesn’t mean scaling it through ads going well....

One Topic With Taylor: Where Did The Marketing Campaign Go? 10.09.2020

The first in a new monthly episode – CEO of Common Thread Collective, Taylor Holiday and host, Andrew Faris each bring one topic they've been wrestling with over the last month and talk it through. Shownote Resources: 1. QALO "Mark Of A Maker" Quality Campaign: https://bit.ly/2ZodSJZ 2. QALO "Mark Of A Maker" Quality Campaign Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5f7-ObdsvQ 3. Western Rise "Wear...

Failure To Relaunch (S2: E12) 03.09.2020

The episode title pretty much says it all … But, when we started this podcast, we committed to sharing it all – the raw numbers, struggles, and growth. And after our brand relaunch for 31 Bits did not go as planned, there’s an emphasis on the “struggle” piece of our podcast title. Here’s what happened.

The 31 Bits Relaunch Is Officially Underway. Here's How It's Going. (S2:E11) 27.08.2020

We finally relaunched our newly acquired brand, 31 Bits. After months of planning and research, we share how it went. Plus, get the exact strategies we used, so you can replicate what worked for your own business.

We Solved Slick's #1 Problem (S2:E10) 20.08.2020

Our brand, Slick Products, just had it’s biggest. win. ever. That’s because we (finally) solved the problem of customer retention. How? This Richard Thaler quote — a Nobel Prize winning economist — from our new episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast sums it up: “If you want someone to do something, then make it easy.” Seriously though, this realization may have unlocked the account for us. And...

Growth vs. Profit: How the Age Old Debate Is Unfolding (S2:E9) 13.08.2020

On this week’s episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast, we talk about the challenge of sorting out profit vs. growth. Truthfully, it’s something we battle with for our own brand (Bambu Earth), but we know we’re not alone. It's a live issue for many operators. Knowing that, we get really transparent and talk a lot about the numbers – so that you can take these learnings and apply them to your own...

Building A Brand Homepage: Design & Copywriting Strategies (S2: E8) 06.08.2020

We are right on the cusp of rolling out all the work we’ve put in to get our newly acquired brand, 31 Bits, firing on all cylinders. That’s because we've just finished building out 31 Bit’s new homepage. For this week’s update, we’re taking a break from the numbers and focusing on the marketing substructure of our homepage – telling you the “why” behind strategic design and copywriting decisions o...

The Headaches & Rewards of Building an Ethical Supply Chain (S2: E7) 30.07.2020

The challenge and beauty of our newly acquired brand, 31 Bits, centers on its mission of ethical manufacturing. While we’re always striving for ethical business decisions, it doesn’t mean business ethics are easy. When applied to the supply chain, a list of challenges can ensue, but the rewards are worth it. On today’s episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast – Andrew Faris interviews Rob Clemons...

Resisting The Tyranny Of The Urgent (S2:E6) 23.07.2020

C.S. Lewis said it first, and we’re seconding it today on the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast. Regardless of what the gurus say, jumpstarting revenue isn’t necessarily easy – especially coming off the back of a new brand acquisition. And, to be frank, revenue for our brand 31 Bits is getting destroyed right now. But, here’s why we’re not too worried about it ... [ BONUS: If you’re interested in diving...

We Acquired Our 5th Brand (Featuring: Taylor Holiday) 16.07.2020

We acquired our fifth brand into the 4x400 ecosystem! Listen now to find out... Featuring: Taylor Holiday, CEO of Common Thread Collective

Product Development By The Numbers (S2:E4) 08.07.2020

On today’s episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast we’re talking about the product development approach for 31 Bits. It’s built not just on what we think looks good – but, on what fits the unit economic approach we’re going after.

The 4 Steps To Fix Conversion Rate (S2:E3) 02.07.2020

We’ve analyzed the problem, now it’s time to fix it. But, before we get to any solutions, we have one last question about conversion rate to answer… From website session to add-to-cart to initiate checkout to purchase – where did visitors drop off in the funnel? Once we determined the answer, we came up with a 4-step plan to fix conversion rate. As an added bonus, here's the Strategy Deck for 31 B...

How Do We Know If We're Successful?(S2:E2) 25.06.2020

On today’s episode of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast, we’re defining success, putting a number on it, and pointing to metrics that indicate it. As we walk you through the journey of both acquiring and growing a business in real-time for this new season, one thing is still clear – you’re learning it, while we’re learning it.

The Exact Plan For Growing Our Brand (S2:E1) 18.06.2020

Welcome to Season 2 of the Ecommerce Playbook Podcast! Coming off the back of acquiring a new brand, this season will focus on pulling back the veil of how we approach growing a business from the ground up. First up, how we solve the problem of customer acquisition.

Stop Running Small Tests (Episode 15) 28.05.2020

There’s big business opportunities in front of you if you stop with the small stuff. How big? Well, let’s just put it this way: our brand Slick Products had one of it’s highest revenue days ever this past weekend… … and on today’s episode we’ll tell you exactly how we did it.

The ONE Thing We Have To Do To Win For 31 Bits (Episode 14) 21.05.2020

Fresh off of the new acquisition of ethical fashion brand, 31 Bits, into the 4x400 portfolio – we talk about the ONE metric that will determine our destiny with the brand. We could either get this right, or get it really wrong. Listen now.

Bonus Episode: Why 31 Bits Chose 4x400 20.05.2020

Bonus Episode! Host, Andrew Faris interviews the founders of newly acquired brand, 31 Bits.

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