Future Commerce

In this engaging conversation, Bryan Cano, Head of Marketing at True Classic, shares insights on the brand's rapid rise to an $850M valuation. He emphasizes democratizing AI, empowering employees to innovate solutions organically. Bryan discusses building a century-long legacy by shifting from mere products to a cultural force that connects with communities. He highlights the importance of human empathy in brand strategy, revealing how emotional intelligence complements AI in driving authentic customer relationships. This blend of technology and storytelling aims to foster genuine connections and sustainable growth.

Phillip and Pini decode the implications of operating in a world where generative AI acts as both creative partner and analytical assistant. The walls between departments are dissolving. Roles are becoming more flexible. Tools are learning faster than their users. And the new creative process starts with a prompt. Key TakeawaysAI is now the default creative and analytical partner—prompting, planning, and predicting across workflows.The boundary between job functions is vanishing. Designers analyze data, data scientists shape stories. You no longer need to be a specialist to do specialized tasks.Context collapse is real. But AI is rapidly learning how to avoid it.Generalists who can flex across roles (with help from AI) are the new MVPs.Curiosity beats credentials. The only requirement is a mindset that’s open, iterative, and unbothered by a little ambiguity.Key Quotes“It gives you back hours and hours and hours of time... and it’s $100 a month. That’s ridiculous.” – Pini Yakuel“I used to look for excuses to use AI. Now it’s part of my all-day, every-day routine.” – Phillip“You can’t be creative if you can’t lie. And now the computer can lie.” – Pini Yakuel“Instead of having positions, we’ll have roles. You might be 80% designer—but you’ll need to do data too.” – Pini Yakuel“Hire for attitude, not skill. New skills can always be acquired if you have the right mindset.” – Pini YakuelAssociated Links:Learn more about Optimove’s platformsLearn more about Positionless MarketingCheck out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plusAccess to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefitSave 15% on Future Commerce print journals and merchExclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

Emily Segal, co-founder of Nemesis, dives deep into the quirky world of branding in a vibe-centric marketplace. She discusses how we’ve transitioned from storytelling to brands merely emitting frequencies, ripe for algorithmic manipulation. Emily critiques the absurdist trend of presenting heritage as just another vibe, highlighting the low-quality 'slop' in today’s brand narratives. She poses intriguing questions about the future of brands as they become influenced by machine learning while contemplating the essential purpose they must redefine. Get ready for a thought-provoking journey!

In this kickoff episode of Decoded, Phillip Jackson sits down with Pini Yakuel to explore the concept of "positionless marketing" — a radical rethinking of how marketing teams operate in an AI-powered world. Drawing inspiration from the evolution of positionless basketball, Pini argues that marketing, like sports, is evolving toward roles defined by agility and capability, not titles or silos. The conversation weaves through leadership, startup culture, and how Optimove is enabling marketers to work faster, smarter, and more autonomously.Key TakeawaysPositionless marketing is a mindset — It's about autonomy, adaptability, and eliminating bottlenecks, not just rearranging the org chart.Modern teams thrive when roles are fluid — Inspired by positionless basketball, today’s marketers succeed through cross-functionality and creative flexibility, not rigid specialization.Gen AI is the new creative exoskeleton — Like an Iron Man suit, AI tools enhance marketers’ abilities, enabling faster, smarter, and more creative execution.Speed is the native language of startups — Startups operate positionlessly by necessity, while legacy orgs must dismantle silos and empower self-service to keep up.Positionless isn’t chaos—it’s craftsmanship — The best managers focus less on blocking and tackling, and more on elevating outcomes by distributing capability and unlocking human potential at scale.Key Quotes[00:12:25] “Let’s look at the Renaissance man... the celebration of the wide gamut of human talent — that’s what this could be.” – Pini[00:24:53] “It’s not that departments will disappear. It’s that the type of work they do will start to change.” – Pini[00:26:23] “Almost every person in our exec team started their job at Optimove by writing SQL.” – Pini[00:30:12] “A team should be small enough to be fed by two pizzas — and fully autonomous.” – Pini (on the Bezos principle)[00:34:07] “You’re already positionless — that’s why you get to focus on what actually matters: the work.” – Pini, on Phillip’s agile team setupAssociated Links:Learn more about Optimove’s platformsLearn more about Positionless MarketingCheck out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Massive acquisitions—from Skechers to Touchland to Foot Locker—aren’t just headline fodder; they reflect deeper shifts in how value is defined in commerce today. Phillip and Brian explore what this means for brand identity, consumer behavior, and retail strategy, while diving into everything from Ghost Nutrition’s licensing fallout to how Ozempic might reshape fashion trends. It’s all a signal: the future of commerce is being redrawn across culture, tech, and even your closet.The Skechering of CommerceKey takeaways:The recent wave of M&A is less about scale, and more about strategic repositioning.Ghost Nutrition’s licensing phase-out may challenge the brand’s original cultural cachet.City Furniture proves sustainability investments can directly boost profitability.Weight-loss trends like Ozempic are subtly altering fashion preferences and product demand.Context—not trend—is becoming the driving force in personal style and shopping decisions.[00:01:41] Phillip: "Everything is an ad unit. That’s the new wild future we have for you."[00:05:15] Brian: "Skechers was also acquired this month... $9.4 billion."[00:27:04] Phillip: "If you want your Ghost Nutrition stuff, you better stock up."[00:47:00] Brian: "Context is taking dominance again ... That’s our next move in fashion."Associated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce Plus for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Join the Membership: futurecommerce.com/plus and save $10 on your first month with code AFTERDARKWooden nickels, gilded sovereigns, and a juke-joint cash drawer. We peel back the layers of Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS to show how currency turns into control—and why plantation scrip still echoes in today’s loyalty points. Get the full breakdown and bonus notes with Future Commerce Plus.Join the Membership: futurecommerce.com/plus and save $10 on your first month with code AFTERDARK

Live from Los Angeles, Phillip and Brian explore bizarre and brilliant intersections of commerce and culture of late, from commerce themes in Sinners to pope merch to DIY luxury. In an episode that’s part futurist insight, part sacred absurdity, they connect the dots between retail psychology, meme theology, and trade policy. PLUS: Phillip and Brian head to The Whalies with Triple Whale. Coming up on the show, catch their live interview from The Whalies with Bryan Cano of True Classic!High Church, Low InventoryKey takeaways:The Commerce of Catholicism – Pope transitions now drive digital engagement, pilgrimage surges, and resale markets. Welcome to the Vatican's Shopify moment.Tariffs as Theater – The recent 90-day tariff reprieve reveals how uncertainty fuels deal-making and could permanently reshape global economic alliances.Contentification of the Sacred – From Conclave to meme lore, the papacy is now part of the entertainment-industrial complex, raising questions about the role of narrative and brand in modern faith.DIY is the New Luxury – Phillip’s journey from $300 Instagram pants to $6 Goodwill masterpieces signals a cultural shift: recession-core meets personal branding.Slop is Dead (Maybe) – Brian drops a bold claim: participatory lo-fi media has peaked. What’s next? Meaningful myth, meta-modern storytelling, and high-context digital ritual.[00:06:27] “Once you hit the limit with your product, you start to look at category expansion. You have to ask the ‘why’ questions.” – Brian[00:52:45] “The way we relate to culture is through the commerce experience of it—when an American lens is applied.” – PhillipIn-Show Mentions:The Senses: I Vatican’t Believe These PricesInsiders: Language GamesAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

Get ad-free episodes and bonus content, including the full recording of this podcast, by joining Future Commerce+ at futurecommerce.com/plusAccess to our new Word of Mouth Index with Fairing, a brand new member benefitSave 15% on Future Commerce print journals and merchExclusive invites to physical events, dinners, and priority invites to industry events (SXSW, Art Basel, VISIONS)Ad-free episodes and bonus content!

Phillip and Brian bring hot takes on eBay’s Met Gala presence, the latest tariff turmoil, and the future of autonomous driving. PLUS: Dissecting Warren Buffet’s retirement and new research on Gen Z vs. Millennial communication trends. The Y2K Bug Zapped Us Into PostmodernismKey takeaways:Trends that feel like youth trends are actually just internet trends.  Their effects are now felt across generations, not siloed age groups.There has been a shift from modernism to postmodernism, and in turn, sincerity to ironic insincerity.Boy Meets World: 25 years after its series finale airs, we reflect on its sitcom era as a marker of TV’s transition from modernism and sincerity to postmodernism and ironic insincerity. Kendra Scott taps into Gen Alpha.eBay returns to Brian’s radar and then sponsors the 2025 Met Gala. Coincidence?“Understanding the society in which you live, and the cultural moment taking place, is taken for granted a lot.” – Phillip“The Y2K bug was actually just the end of sincerity.” – Brian“We’ve leaned so far into cheap goods for so long, there might be a memetic cycle happening now where we lean back into goods that are durable.” – Brian“Autonomous driving is extraordinarily disruptive—just like AI is for information, AVs are for how we live, plan cities, and think about ownership.” – PhillipIn-Show Mentions:The Guardian: Gen Z Is Turning to Voice NotesDirt.fyi: The State of A24Titan Caskets: Grave ConversationsWaymo Partners with ToyotaAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeJoin Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!