My first time in California couldn’t have gone better, and I’m blessed I get to share the experience with you.
From the great people I met to all the food and views I got to take in, this trip is locked in the memory bank.
But you’re here for the tea, the juicy ecommerce info packed into two days. I got you.
My Favorite Talks
Jimmy and Shack brought together an amazing lineup. From AI-winning creative to the evolution of live shopping, the stage was stacked with confident practitioners in the space.
And we can’t forget the kick-off with Gary Vee!
AI Winning Creative
Featuring: Alex Cooper
You shouldn’t be afraid of AI. In the grand scope, it’s been around for years. It just recently got the attention and tech development to spark fear.
Alex went deep on how great creatives won’t be replaced; they’ll be accelerated. AI won’t replace creative ideation, It will speed up the execution of editing and helps a real human bring an idea to life in a fraction of the time.
Bottom line: you can only make good AI ads if you can already make good ads.
To get the best out of AI copywriting, Alex outlined tools and processes for the strongest results right now (and yes, this changes literally every day, so what’s best today might not be best tomorrow).
- Use Claude Projects to keep a memory base.
- Train the Claude Project on historically correct, well-performing creative and copy.
Best Use Cases
- Classic static pain-point ads
- Writing messages in creative ways, like “writing on body”
This was just the tip of the iceberg of what Alex has on AI and creative. If you want more, check out his course.
The Key to Subscription
Featuring: Jordan Menard – Co-Founder of Instant Hydration
The common theme in media buying is chase the highest ROAS and the lowest CAC. Jordan had the opposite take.
He said the lower the ROAS and higher the CAC the better. Wait… But why?
If your ecom brand relies on subscription, you want qualified customers who stick, not cheap one-offs that churn after the first subscription delivery.
Years of doing the opposite led to unqualified buyers and heavy churn. Switching the strategy increased LTV.
But it comes at a cost. You will spend more on CAC and have lower ROAS, this means you must focus on retaining these customers over anything. The biggest lever for profit comes only after 6 months of this customer being on subscription.
What Doesn’t Scale
- One-off hero creative
- Chasing 3 to 4 ROAS just to feel good
- Relying only on Meta
- Spamming subscribers. Only send re-billing emails
If your subscription first, ask yourself, “How do I lose the most money on the first purchase?” Then make it back with experience, retention, and LTV. lose the most money on subscription-first purchase?”
Social Commerce & AI Landscape
Featuring: Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary touched on everything from the future of AI to the social window everyone should be capitalizing on right now.
GEO Search Optimization
AI is here, and it’s moving fast. If you aren’t putting in hours, someone else is, and they’ll pass you.
Gary pushed “feeding the LLMs.” What you publish fuels the organic geo search that will power the AI future we all know is coming.
Bare minimum: post to YouTube and Google surfaces. A world where Gemini leads the AI push is likely, and it will pull results from what’s on YouTube and Google.
You’ve got three years to get ahead. Start training the models now and give them reasons to index you for prompts tied to your niche.
How To Win On Socials
We’re in a creator-led market. Creative quality beats follower count.
The TikTokification of the world shifted platforms from follower graphs to interest graphs.
So how do you win today? Be educational or be entertaining. There isn’t room for much else.
Miami Vs San Diego
In 2025, I was blessed to hit both the Miami and San Diego events this team hosts, and there are some real differences between the two.
For starters, San Diego is two days of fun, compared to Miami which only had one.
Having two days takes the pressure off cramming everything into a single day and encourages longer conversations and more people sitting to really listen to the speakers.
San Diego also had way more space. The room felt open and inviting, perfect for separate conversations and speakers.
Looking to 2026, Jimmy and team are testing Austin for the first time, taking the successful two-day format into a new market with big potential for Texas-based ecommerce professionals to connect and learn.
Photo-Mantage:
At This Point In Time:
Age: 21
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Job: Southern Tide