As Q4 heats up and ad costs keep climbing, most Shopify brands are stuck in the same exhausting cycle—pouring more money into Meta and TikTok ads while watching their CAC creep higher every month.

You know you need to diversify, and influencer marketing seems like the obvious answer. So you start DMing creators, sending free products, maybe paying a few to post. Three months later? Crickets. Maybe you got a handful of posts, zero sales you can track, and now you're convinced "influencer marketing doesn't work for us."

Here's what's actually happening: you're treating a top-of-funnel awareness channel like it's bottom-of-funnel direct response—and then measuring it with the wrong metrics entirely. It's like judging your Facebook ads purely on organic reach. The mechanics are completely different, which is why most brands are burning budget on random tactics instead of building a system that actually compounds.

Today's guest has cracked the code on making influencer marketing predictable and profitable. Yash Chavan is the Founder and CEO of SARAL—what he calls the world's first influencer operating system. His platform has helped over 250 brands generate more than $40 million in incremental revenue, not by gambling on viral moments, but by running influencer programs like actual business operations with clear frameworks, predictable outcomes, and measurable ROI. Whether you're doing your first $10K month or scaling past seven figures, his "Predictable Pyramid" approach works because it eliminates the guesswork at every stage. Let's dive in.

Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.

For more ecommerce, marketing, and growth strategies, check out the eCommerce Fastlane Insights Blog.

Karl Rove breaks down tight NYC, NJ and VA races