What if your e-commerce platform is actually holding you back? Mikel Lindsaar, founder of StoreConnect and author of the forthcoming book Customer Commerce, explains why most platforms end up controlling your business rather than serving it. We explore how unified data systems enable smarter automation, faster page loads, and the kind of personalised customer experiences that build lifetime value.

Mikel shares practical examples including a museum using AI to identify VIP visitors, automated refunds that create customer delight, and how one company consolidated 76 websites across 26 brands onto a single platform. We also discuss why his strongest advice has nothing to do with technology: put a phone number on your website and actually answer it.

Key Point Timestamps:

09:23 - The Tail Wagging the Dog Problem

15:21 - AI for Customer Identification

22:04 - The Real Cost of Platform Fragmentation

26:41 - Creating Moments of Joy

39:34 - Why Phone Support Still Matters

Mikel had three clients approach him in a single year asking to build e-commerce platforms that integrate with Salesforce. His initial reaction was to redirect them to Shopify or BigCommerce. Their response changed his thinking entirely.

"Those platforms are all fantastic for the front end," Mikel explains. "They do an incredible job at helping someone buy a widget. What they all genuinely suck at is if I want to access the data in my way, or I want to build automations the way I want to build those automations."

The result is what Mikel calls "the tail wagging the dog" - your e-commerce platform dictates how you access data, how you report, how you contact customers, and how the checkout flow works. Instead of your business processes driving the technology, the technology drives your business.

As e-commerce businesses grow, they accumulate SaaS tools. Shopify, then Klaviyo, then reviews, then loyalty, then subscriptions. Before long, you've got 20 different products running your business.

"You now have your data in Shopify, in Klaviyo, and maybe six or seven plugins on random Amazon servers around the world," Mikel points out. "That data is becoming a bit of a challenge from a security point of view."

Each plugin charges monthly, holds a piece of your customer data, and potentially slows down your site. The clever automations that actually transform customer relationships become nearly impossible to build when your data is fragmented across dozens of systems.

When your data lives in one place, you can start treating customers as humans rather than transactions. Mikel shares a common scenario: you buy something, then days later receive an email offering 10% off the thing you just bought.

Now flip it. A customer buys something 24 hours before a 10% sale launches. Instead of sending them the promotional email, your system automatically refunds 10% to their credit card and explains what you've done.

"If I got an email like that, I'd be like, are you kidding?" Mikel says. "These moments of joy, treat them as humans. Don't treat them as just a transaction."

Mikel suggests using AI for pre-processing rather than real-time calculation. An education provider using StoreConnect runs algorithms when a student completes a course, determining the next best course based on their entire history. By the time the congratulations email goes out, it already contains a personalised recommendation.

"Instead of having to send them to a site which is trying to calculate the next best course for that student, you've already done all that work in the back end," Mikel explains. "That page loads within a tenth of a second or less."

The key is...

With over 10,000 3PLs in the US alone, how do you avoid choosing one that sinks your business? Dave Gulas from EZDC 3PL shares the horror stories he's witnessed and the questions that separate good logistics partners from disasters waiting to happen.

In this episode, we explore why treating logistics as a commodity leads to problems, how to vet a fulfilment partner properly, and the operational details that matter when you're shipping thousands of orders monthly. Dave's background in the pharmaceutical industry, where urgency is non-negotiable, shaped his approach to e-commerce fulfilment. He shares what he looks for in great clients (spoiler: they ask the most questions) and why his sales cycle runs several months by design.

Key Point Timestamps:

07:06 - What EZDC 3PL does and who they serve

08:57 - When outsourcing fulfilment makes sense

22:45 - Why treating logistics as a commodity fails

27:43 - Horror stories from bad 3PL partnerships

32:37 - The technology stack that matters

40:59 - Warehouse layout for efficiency

48:20 - The questions to ask before choosing

Dave doesn't respond to enquiries that simply ask "what's your pricing?" without context. His reasoning is straightforward.

"It truly is a partnership. When you get into a business partnership with somebody, are you just going to look someone up online, ask a couple of questions and sign the contract? I hope not."

The brands that treat logistics as a commodity, shopping purely on price, often end up with the problems Dave sees repeatedly. His sales cycle runs several months because both sides need to establish clear expectations before committing.

Dave has heard them all. Warehouses going bust without telling clients. Inventory tracked on spreadsheets. Response times measured in days.

"We've heard all the horror stories you can think of from literally the warehouse going out of business because they defaulted on their lease and not telling the brand and basically stealing inventory."

These aren't edge cases. When they happen, it's "a big hole to dig out of." Sometimes businesses don't recover.

Dave uses ShipHero as his warehouse management system. But the specific system matters less than having a proper one at all.

"I'm shocked at how many actual 3PLs are out there where they're tracking inventory on spreadsheets and they're doing things manually. I have brands talk to me like, can you connect to our Shopify? Is that possible? They don't even realise that's possible because they're coming from a warehouse that doesn't do that."

If a potential partner mentions spreadsheets, that's your cue to walk away.

Dave's best advice is simple: ask more questions. The best long-term relationships start with the most questions on the front end.

"The best clients, the best long-term relationships are the ones that ask the most questions on the front end. So we're happy to answer them. You can't ask too many."

Ask about their technology stack. Ask for references. Do a site visit if possible. The goal isn't to catch them out. It's to establish clear expectations before you commit.

Today's guest: Dave Gulas

Company: EZDC 3PL

Website: ezdc3pl.com

LinkedIn: Connect with Dave on LinkedIn

Companies that capture and apply lessons have a 27% higher success rate. Yet most eCommerce founders either skip their year-end review entirely or give their numbers a cursory glance. In this Slingshot episode, Matt Edmundson shares the framework that saved LEGO from bankruptcy and reveals why accountability partners increase goal achievement by 95%.

Matt opens with the remarkable story of LEGO's near-collapse in 2003, when the company discovered it hadn't generated economic profit for over a decade. Through confronting brutal facts with honest review, they transformed into one of the world's most successful brands. We explore the common traps founders fall into during reviews, including the dangerous 'genius trap' when things go well. Matt introduces the Slingshot framework covering seven essential business areas, explains the critical difference between lead and lag measures, and shares the specific financial and customer metrics worth tracking. The episode closes with compelling research on why doing reviews alone limits your potential.

Key Point Timestamps:

00:18 - The Importance of Year-End Reviews

01:16 - How LEGO Saved Themselves from Bankruptcy

04:49 - Common Review Pitfalls and the Genius Trap

14:00 - The 7 Areas of the Slingshot Framework

22:00 - Lead Measures vs Lag Measures

27:00 - The Numbers Worth Tracking

33:53 - The Power of Accountability Partners

In 2003, LEGO was on the brink of bankruptcy with sales down 30% and $800 million in debt. This was a company that hadn't made a loss between 1932 and 1998. When leadership finally conducted a thorough review, they discovered the company hadn't generated any economic profit for more than ten years.

"They didn't know which products actually made money. They didn't know their customers anymore," Matt explains. "As one executive put it, the culture was so closed off that massive opportunities were completely invisible."

The result of confronting these brutal facts? Nearly 20% compound growth over two decades. By 2020, they'd launched an entire 18+ product line for the adult customers they'd previously ignored.

Matt introduces a subtle trap that catches founders when things actually go well. When the facts aren't brutal, it's dangerously easy to cherry-pick wins and build narratives that feel good but teach nothing.

"The goal isn't to prove you're brilliant. It's to understand what actually worked, what didn't, and where to focus next," Matt emphasises. "Imagine presenting your findings to a board of directors. What would you proudly share? And what would you rather not mention? That second list is where the real insights live."

This isn't ego management. It's pattern recognition that drives genuine improvement.

After years of building and selling eCommerce businesses, Matt shares the seven interconnected areas that meaningful reviews need to cover:

1. Sell (Product) — Which products are your real winners versus quietly draining resources?

2. Story (Brand) — Do you truly understand who you're serving and is your messaging landing?

3. Tech Stack — Is your technology helping or hindering? Are systems integrated or fragmented?

4. Marketing — If your main marketing channel disappeared tomorrow, would your business survive?

5. Optimise (Conversion) — When did you last watch a real customer try to use your site?

6. Experience (Post-Purchase) — Is your post-purchase journey building loyalty or losing customers?

7. Growth — Which growth lever has the most room to...