How To Grow From Startup to Multimillions: 11 Founders Reveal How They’re Winning (And How You Can Too)

0:002026 just landed. If you're already feeling the pressure to move faster and get ahead of the competition but don't know where to start, we've got you. The best founders aren't guessing. They're following a playbook. Here's how they're winning 2026. Launching products driven by loyal fans. Next year, we are releasing product categories that the community have asked for again and again and again. From investing in content that stops the scroll. This idea that you can create a mini movie to storytell and you're not stuck to the seven seconds of scrolling, but people are actually watching. Hosting events the community craves.

0:35Next year is going to be a lot about anchoring back into our roots and our community, whether it's classes or connecting them with the pros that we know, doing things where we're helping people become better in their craft. Rewarding engagement in brand new ways. Gamification of loyalty is something that we're excited about. Finding different ways to reward your customer for their interactions. Streamlining operations and running a smarter ship. changing operations and changing the way I operate, learning how to run a really lean, smart, sleek ship. But perhaps the biggest shift? The dawn of AI-powered commerce and how founders are preparing for it.

1:14That's going to be a paradigm shift. Exploration of new products will be really disrupted by AI. We've collected the most future-focused business strategies for 2026 right here on Shopify Masters. Your companion for starting and scaling your business. For 2026, how AI will play out in e-commerce will be very interesting. I believe that's going to be a paradigm shift. Over the next couple of years, consumers' exploration of new products will be really disrupted by AI. Any early predictions that you want to share? Well, I have some hypotheses. I think that AI will be commoditized and controlled by a few large companies, right?

2:00Grok, Gemini, ChatGPT, they're all going to start running sponsored ads. You're going to have to start looking into large language model optimization. You know, back in the heyday, that's called SEO, search engine optimization. But this time around, it's not just about squeezing keywords on a web page. It's about actually being authentic and having quality products because these large language models amass so much data that it's really, really, really almost impossible to spoof it. If you're trying to ask, you know, what is the best trimmer out there? It's going to aggregate reviews from multiple data sources to come up with that answer.

2:40So either you're paying for it as a sponsored listing or you're going to have to actually develop really good products so that you can rank organically. I am loving this trend of like what's kind of being referred to as slow content. So really leaning into this kind of short film format. It gives you such a greater opportunity to do the storytelling of a brand, which I think is so much fun. It's much more creative. our whole team is like very creative i if we could launch like a film studio i think we would like we have so much fun ideating these things um but just this idea that you can create a mini movie to storytell and you're not stuck to the seven seconds of scrolling but people are actually watching these like films online on instagram even on tiktok like it's super interesting So we're really leaning into that and helping to build the Sanzi world around that, not just for, you know, a product launch campaign, but as a way to continue building the brand.

3:47And you find that, you know, this concept that people have super limited attention spans and will only watch for a few seconds isn't necessarily the case. People are watching the films. People are watching them and they're sharing them not even knowing what the brand is. like I've watched so many brands just kind of lean into it over the last couple of months and it's kind of a nice way again to get out of your own head you know like if you're scrolling and then you see something really beautiful and then you found yourself watching it for a minute and a half it's kind of like okay I took my pause you know I don't need to keep scrolling so I think it's actually having a really positive impact and I hope it continues gamification of loyalty is something that we're excited about, finding different ways to reward your customer for their interactions, whether it's a comment or a piece of product feedback or for being a repeat purchaser or for wearing your merch on their Instagram.

4:42Like, how are we going to reward these people for all the ways that they interact with us is something that we're, you know, interested in building custom or finding ways to do online and offline. And so that's something that we're really interested in. And how are you rewarding their loyalty? Today, we use a platform called TYB for loyalty. We also do a lot of high-touch individualized stuff. We have a launch coming in February, and I can't say what it is, but to preview and tease the launch, we've handpicked everyone on our website who has bought something in that fragrance already, and we're going to do something personalized and high-touch for all the customers that we know love the scent.

5:19And so I think it's just like about figuring out different ways to reward and incentivize that we can do for all the different types of customers we have who are engaging in the brand in different ways. And keep that like really human component alive. Exactly. If you're thinking about each of these people as an individual human being, what might excite them? Human is the key word of 2026. Adapting to platforms and tech. I think there are some people who are really worried about that. Like, oh, well, don't you feel like you'll be out of a job? There's platforms like Like to Know or ShopMy. And I feel like lean in even harder for them.

5:59We use ShopMy. We actually really push our clients to onboard ShopMy. And that's because there's such, it's an incredible measurement tool. And so for us to be successful at the end of the day, we need to be able to show metrics at the end of every month. So it's measuring, you know, the EMV for every post. I'm able to record all the screenshots. I'm able to do a really thoughtful key learnings document and recap. And I wouldn't be able to do that if I said, I don't want to adapt to some of these, you know, platforms that could replace us. If anything, it's what's the integration of what we're doing and what the platforms and what AI can, you know, do for us.

6:39Next year, we are releasing product categories that going back to the community have asked for again and again and again. we've done like several surveys, all these focus groups, I told you they've been asking for them. So they're finally coming. And I think that's what we're really excited about. With trends, we try not to look at specific micro trends, like blues trending or something like that, but instead looking at a trend, shopping trends as a whole. And I think people are really looking for those accessories to elevate their day-to-day outfits, but stuff that they truly can wear every day.

7:06So I think in the new year, we're looking towards things like a watch that you just leave on. Eyewear that you take every day. Things like that, that is just like sticks with you and really elevates your outfit, but becomes your identity rather than having these like quick products that you only wear once or twice to an event. We want these core staples. So that's what we're looking for. And then in terms of the business, we're doing what any smart business owners should do is looking at our best sellers and reinventing them. Everyone loves us for specific earrings, like the ones I'm wearing, but how can we offer a different variation of those?

7:36So we're really going deep into offering different variations and like really developing those design styles into making a new category. I'm actually focused on a full calendar year. To me, it's really exhilarating, right? And actually having the time to map things out. I think when you start up, you're just on this sprint where you almost can't see straight. You're just, dates are coming at you so quickly, products rolling so quickly, opportunities coming at you so quickly. And we now have the opportunity to sort of map tentpole moments out, which we didn't have in the first six months of the business.

8:08So I'm really optimistic about that. I feel really great about the product and the pipeline. One of the things I sort of get paid for is look into my crystal ball and say, at the end of 26 or the beginning of 27, these are going to be the trends. So culturally, I'm looking at where that category goes. From a boot making standpoint, let's say, a product making standpoint, it could be as simple as, am I seeing more tall boots than short boots? Am I seeing more white than red? So we're looking at all those different trends. Are we looking at higher heels versus lower heels? Are you looking at exotics, you know, snake and python and ostrich and things like that?

8:44So all those trends are coming into play. And I think one of the things that I talk a lot about is keeping an open mind. And for me, it's not just as a creative, because I'm an entrepreneur. You have to be really, really open-minded. And I think you have to take in information from everywhere. and you have to absorb it and you have to keep your mind open. Even though if you don't agree with it, you can say, actually, the consumer is moving here and maybe I should open my mind open to that. And my wife always told me this story and I wasn't sure about it, but I'll tell it here. And I actually fully believed it and I jumped onto it.

9:16You know, you don't own ideas and you don't possess them. And when you need an idea, you don't have it for some reason, right? Like, I have to have an idea in the next five minutes, but you don't have it. Ideas are out there in the atmosphere. And I've heard, I think Mick Jagger talked about it. I've heard Noel Gallagher talk about it when they talk about songmaking. And if you open your mind up and you open your brain up and you're open to receiving new information, fully formed songs would fall into their lap. And for me, that's how I look at information. That's how I look at Boots and the marketplace.

9:44So if I open myself up, fully formed ideas are going to come to me versus trying to noodle on it and say, I need an idea right now. And you're not possessive of those ideas, really. They're coming to you through the atmosphere and through all these different places that you're finding, whether it's the Internet, whether it's in person, whether it's on socials. So that's sort of what I'm looking at for 26. I think we're talking about it now is just learning how to run a really lean, smart, sleek ship. I'm still in the process. I'm not all the way there. You know, like I said, I still have my warehouse.

10:18I still have my assembly. I don't have a 3PL. Maybe that is the direction to go into. It wasn't, it didn't make sense for me five years ago. But, you know, changing operations and changing the way I operate might be something that I'm doing in the future. Next year is going to be a lot about anchoring back into our roots and our community. During COVID, a lot was digital and people are craving in-person experiences in a really real way. So doing things where we're helping people become better in their craft, whether it's classes or connecting them with the pros that we know. But it's bridging the gap between our home cooks and our pro cooks and servicing them both by inspiring them from each other's worlds.

11:04I've always found inspiration from other worlds that are not my own. So I'm like, okay, a home cook and learn from the pro cook and vice versa. And we're going to be doing a lot more activations around that, which is really exciting. I think it's, yeah, it's getting back to the roots of how we built this thing in the first place. And do you see that as kind of a cultural trend that's coming into play, the move from online to off? Yes, I think it already started. This year, you could see it ramping. As the year, you know, through June, July, it just became like every day there was a different event, a dinner.

11:40There's a lot of, honestly, there's a lot of food appearing in beauty brands. You look at Rode that just sold, right? A lot of their assets have food in it. So there's this like return to the culinary space in all these different pockets that have nothing to do with food, which I think is really cool. Flamingo Estate is such an amazing company, an example of someone who's made food sexy and Mother Nature sexy. And I see more and more beauty brands just anchoring into that. Giacomoose uses a lot of food in their assets. Lueve, I never say it right. Lueve as well. And I think that's just going to continue to grow because, as Richard Christensen always says, he's the founder of Flamingo Estate and is a good friend.

12:28He's like, Mother Nature is like the ultimate designer. She's the ultimate brilliant savant. Like she makes things gorgeous, right? And anytime I want inspiration, I do turn to nature in some capacity. So I think just going back to things that are real, right, with the world being flooded with AI and all this stuff that's so digital, how do we get back to our roots? We're thinking about new formats and new ways of enjoying your product. We won't say more than that for now. and then also just keeping on building like a really strong foundation for the business that we can grow on. And so making sure that, you know, we have a solid base to continue expanding into retail.

13:10Yeah, we are also going to be exploring new sales channels that are more digitally native with this new format, which will be really awesome because we'll be more accessible. And anything from a trend perspective that you see and are excited about Anything you're thinking about leveraging? Yeah. So not specifically a trend in food and beverage, but Coachella as a cultural moment was a huge thing for us last year. And so we're really going to double down on it in 2026. And we have some really, really fun and exciting partnerships and things that we're going to be doing. This year has been wild, I think in business, but also in beauty in particular.

13:53We're in an incredibly oversaturated market. Next year, I am excited by this new generation that's really coming into fragrance, the way that people talk about and communicate on social media. You know, as a parent of a teenager, social media is scary. But as it evolves and I think the awareness around it and the way that people interact with it is an exciting way to get to our community. It's just we've never been able to touch people and talk to them in this immediate way. I'm really excited about that for 2026. We're locking in our 2026 budget, which informs all of our at least first half of the year spending is probably what we're thinking about.

14:39We do OKRs as a company, objectives and key results. So we're thinking about, OK, step back. What are our shoot for the moon, land and the stars type of goals? We do that by function. I'd say our brand marketing strategy and then like our account timelines are like the two longest lead ones. So we're putting those calendars in place. So I feel like we're doing all the tactical pieces now. And then come the new year, I try to be a little bit more visionary and a little bit more like, okay, refreshed. It's January. What are really my like hopes, dreams, desires for the business? Any of those shoot for the moon goals that you want to speak into existence here?

15:20I really want to land a big restaurant chain for De Sois, like something national that's going to be really PR worthy. And I have a few in mind that I'll keep in my mind, but that's what I'm manifesting. Okay. Also in this category that is like vastly growing and changing all the time, any trends that you're seeing that you're excited about? I think there's a big trend just in, this is like really tactical, but I think there's a big trend in more like variety packs for brands. And I think that's a really fun way to get into a brand and makes it really easy. So particularly as we're coming into like our business, we'll start to pick up literally December 26th, even December 25th, we start to see a spike in our online sales as people are prepping for dry January and people want to experience a bunch of flavors.

16:10So I'm like, give them what they want. Like every brand should have a variety pack. It's a great way to potentially build your LTV, but also the AOV, right? Like somebody might come in thinking they're going to buy a couple of cans or something and then they see the variety pack and they're like, okay, well, I guess I'm in for 12. No, our top seller is actually, we call it Le Grand Ensemble and it's every single flavor that we sell on our site. And that's our best seller. I've got to get me one of those. Yes. Thanks for tuning in to Shopify mastered. Want more insider insights? Make sure to hit subscribe on our YouTube channel so you never miss out on strategies and bold ideas from your favorite businesses.

16:48Now's your moment to make 2026 the year you turn your passion into action. Start your business journey today and click the link below for a free trial. We'll see you next time on Shopify masters.