Shopify Masters

What happens when the product that made you famous starts holding you back?

Kevin Gould co-founded Glamnetic in 2019 with Ann McFerran, launching a magnetic eyelash brand that exploded from $1 million to $50 million in revenue in just one year — fueled by a great product, smart growth marketing, and the COVID-era boom in DIY beauty. But when the tailwinds reversed — iOS 14 updates sent acquisition costs soaring, the lash category contracted, and revenue dipped 25% — Kevin faced a make-or-break decision.

Rather than doubling down on what was declining, he pivoted the entire business into press-on nails, a category still in its infancy. Today, Glamnetic is one of the largest press-on nail brands in the world, doing over $100 million a year.

In this episode, Kevin gets real about the unglamorous side of hypergrowth: the cash flow crunches that come with scaling too fast, the inventory mistakes that haunt you, and the emotional toll of watching revenue fall when you expected it to double. He shares how he and his team navigated the pivot, why community and brand affinity will always outlast paid acquisition, and why the best advice he can give founders is: don't grow too fast.

You'll learn:

Why going from $1M to $50M overnight nearly broke the business

How to manage cash flow and inventory when you're self-funded

The marketing mix that built a real brand — not just an ad machine

Why TikTok Shop is the biggest arbitrage opportunity right now

How a 40,000-member Facebook community doubles as a product development engine

The one hire every founder should prioritize early on

What it really takes — personally and professionally — to turn a pivot into a $100M business

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Supreme Ecom’s AC Hampton breaks down how he turned a dropshipping business into $1.8 million in six months—and why it’s the smartest path to brand ownership.

For more on Supreme E-com and show notes, click here

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Two recent college grads turned a dorm room pistachio recipe into a fast-growing food brand—by letting their community call the shots.

Nicola Buffo and Francine Voit, co-founders of Pistakio, share how they pivoted from pistachio mayo to a sweet pistachio spread one week before their first big grocery pitch, built a loyal following on social media because a college professor forced them to start posting, and turned customer DMs into their best-selling products—including their crunchy spread and date bark.

In this episode, Nico and Fran talk about:

How a last-minute product pivot landed them in Portland's biggest local retailer

Why they said no to Shark Tank and Target before they were ready

How community-led product development drove 10x growth

Building a brand in public from day one (even with terrible dorm room lighting)

The café tour strategy that gets customers to try the product risk-free

Navigating a business partnership that's also a romantic relationship

The $20,000 TikTok agency mistake and what they learned from it

Why taste—not health trends—is their only non-negotiable

Whether you're starting a food business, looking for community-driven marketing strategies, or figuring out when to say no to big opportunities, this episode is packed with real talk and actionable advice for ecommerce entrepreneurs.

For more on Pistakio and show notes click here: https://www.shopify.com/blog/pistakio-community-led-product-development?utm_campaign=shopifymasters&utm_medium=youtube&utm_source=podcast

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Flamingo Estate stayed true to its roots and built an eight-figure brand by saying no to almost every piece of outside advice.

For more on Flamingo Estate and show notes click here. 

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Premier League soccer player Thomas Robson-Kanu turned a career-threatening injury into a mission—building The Turmeric Co., a raw functional beverage brand now reaching customers across 15,000 UK retail locations.

For more on The Turmeric Co and show notes click here

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