Future Commerce

When should I use open source software and how do I build on top of it to create the unique and differentiating elements of my business where I am right now? How can open source create community and lead to a wider array of solutions? Sander Mangel, eCommerce Solutions Architect at Shopware, joins this episode to explain the necessity of community in open source. Listen Now!A Bigger Beneficial PieDoing eCommerce has become tremendously complex and that requires not just developers but specialists, analysts, and more discipline than it ever has beforeWe wouldn’t have the internet if we didn’t have open source“The actual lineage and the history of these communities goes on to power commerce at its core and whether that's in a commercialized way or not, open source sits at the root of all of this.” - PhillipThe only way to actually leverage open source is to contribute back and be a part of the communityIf you’re not sharing that knowledge because you’re worried about IP, or if the whole value of your company relies on a set of features, you're probably doing something wrong“When you have so many voices, it's easy for vision to splinter, but you have to have {vision} in order to be successful.” - Brian“If you're measuring the success of your community by the lines of code written, it's never going to work because that's not how community works.” - Sander“If you run open source software and leverage that in a smart way, in a conscious way, you can make the difference with just a few lines of customization to make sure that it specifically fits your business. That's where the value of open source lies.” - SanderAssociated Links:Get connected with ShopwareLearn more about Sander MangelListen to our other Step by Step seasonsArchetypes Event December 1 in Miami, FLSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Download VISIONS 2022 NOW!Listen to our other episodes of Future Commerce

Open Source isn’t dead, actually it’s never been more alive. We’re in the ninth season of Step by Step and this season, we’re exploring the question, “is open source still viable for the modern business?” We think the answer is yes, but getting to the solution requires the business operator to do a cost benefit analysis, manage complexity and budget, and choose the correct software to set their team up for success.In this first episode, Ben Marks, Director of Global Market Development at Shopware joins the show to talk about the Open Source Business about why open source isn’t dead.Open Source Isn’t DeadPut simply, open source is just collaboration in the open.Just because something is free doesn’t mean it’s open source and just because it’s open source doesn’t mean it’s free.The startup capital is minimal and the opportunities are abundant, making open source really appealing.People misconceive SaaS software to be the easy option, but they fail to think through the learning curve, necessary level of customization, and architecture that’s required, which can make SaaS options more expensive depending on your business type.Is open source still viable for commerce?The beauty of open source is the ability to differentiate based upon your business’s needs.Associated LinksListen to past seasons of Step by Step!Find out more about Shopware.Connect with Shopware on LinkedIn.Have 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!

We’ve been through Brian Goes Bougie together, but can we handle Phillip Goes Dirtbag? Also the guys talk about brands they are loving right now, hot takes on Mr Beast and a bit of a musing on the Age of Contentment.

What if the way we think about expense management and reimbursements could be reinvented? What does that look like? Listen in to learn how Divvy is changing the way business is done and making life easier for teams like yours. An Easier WayDivvy provides software to make the details of expense management easier with tools for keeping track of everything that passes through accounts, budget locks to prevent overcharging, and even cash-back rewardsBecause accountants have feelings, too, and giving them more time to do their job instead of chasing you down for receipts makes everyone happier“We try to do things that you could only do with a card plus software together.” - TuckerDivvy provides ways to creatively find growth and cost savings in areas that perhaps were overlooked“We've had consistently over 100% net revenue retention for years. We get customers onboarded, they stick around, they know what they like, and they keep doing more of it.” - TuckerMaximize your cash back, maximize your rewards, and turn your finance team into a revenue centerAssociated Links:Subscribe to Insiders and Senses to read more of what we are witnessing in the commerce world!Download VISIONS 2022 NOW!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceCheck out Decoded, our newest limited seriesLearn more about Tucker Stoffers and Divvy at getDivvy.com or {{social media}}.Have 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!

What’s the biggest addiction in eCommerce and how in the world can it be solved? It’s discounting and couponing! Fondue has a solution that has been shown to increase revenue, boost profits, and create win/wins for brands and consumers. Oren Charnoff, Founder of Fondue, and Roy Rubin, Founder of Magento and Investor join the podcast this week. Listen Now!

Pattern Brands has just announced that they’re acquiring Onsen Towels.What was it like to see the market go from 20,000 using Shopify as a platform to now 2 million? Well, Nick Ling can tell you. What is it like to help founders become millionaires? He can tell you that, too.Phillip takes some time with Nick Ling to talk about Pattern’s Acquisition of Onsen, how they build trust with founders, and why they hold strong views loosely as they build differently.Time and Trust“Good brands aren't built overnight. It takes time to build a loyal audience and a really great product.” - NickBuilding trust is a very important aspect of how Pattern approaches brand acquisitions.“It's never been more exciting to be an entrepreneur and consumer in general. There's a much bigger community and there are a lot more interesting ideas bubbling to the top.” - NickThe past couple of years have been the toughest yet for eCommerce businesses because there have been so many challenges to navigate and also big growth to be had“As a company what we're trying to do is keep an open mind towards how you really can grow brands in the evolved environment that we have today.” - Nick“Brands are more valuable as brands than just products because you're buying into a way of life and you build trust.” - Nick“You're an incubator on a few levels. You're building brands, and you're building brand operators, and you're building people with aspirations who seem to want to go build things for themselves.” - PhillipAt Pattern Brands there are new problems to solve all the time because they are building in a very different wayAssociated Links:Check out Onsen at OnsenTowel.comSubscribe to Insiders and Senses to read more of our hot takes!Download VISIONS 2022 NOW!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceCheck out Decoded, our newest limited seriesLearn more about Nick Ling and Pattern at PatternBrands.com or on Twitter.Have 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!

eCommerce is in need of a deconstructionist movement. Brands should question the norms of their behaviors and their beliefs of “best practices,” but we don’t always take time to reflect.In this episode, Phillip and Brian explore the nature of deconstructionism, why eCommerce is due for a deconstructionist movement, the quiet builders in our space, and the influence of artists in our space. Listen now!Building the FutureAn eCommerce deconstructionist movement is needed where we question our norms and we question our beliefs and why we do the things we doPeople who build the future do things that haven't been done yet.“If you want to build a pretty successful brand using only best-practices, go for it. But if you want to build the future, you have to do things that have never been done.” - Phillip“In reality, the thing that is differentiating you is your efficiency in your ability to build something new, not to reinvent the thing that already exists.” - Phillip“You can build a successful business without questioning things. You're just never going to be a front-runner.” - BrianIf you can’t question why and what you’re doing as a brand, then maybe you shouldn’t exist as a brandLike Ju Rhyu who “quietly built” to her huge success, there are many out there who are quietly buildingIt’s interesting to learn what inspires your heroes, especially when their heroes are people you’ve not even heard of before (Phillip and Brian have some intriguing examples of who has inspired them)“I think that fiction writers and musicians are infinitely more effective than nonfiction writers. I believe in the power of story and the power of mediums that can convey more than one meaning at once. I believe in multi-dimensional thinking.” - Brian“In the future, there are a scant few who actually can create an impact and emotional resonance and shape the way that customers' desires pull other parts of the industry forward. They are artists in their own right.” - PhillipAssociated Links:Phillip recommends Dirt and Blackbird Spyplane as two publications to check out and enjoyBrian recommends listening to Acquired.fm’s episode on the history of Amazon (buckle up because it’s four hours)Subscribe to Insiders and Senses to read more of our hot takes!Download VISIONS 2022 NOW!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceCheck out Decoded, our newest limited seriesHave 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!

Mags joins Phillip and Brian to discuss the role of Web3 and the blockchain as we enter into the new wave of commerce. Does Web3 open up a new world of possibilities for brands to interact with and meet the needs of their customers? How can brands and investors partner with celebrities to solve problems? Listen now! Mindful Web3A successful approach to Web3, from a brand perspective, is asking questions like "Why would we do this? Why should we care? Why should our customers care? And what can we bring to the table that's different and unique because it's built on blockchain?"“We are just going to be scratching the surface right now of the Starbucks product, but it will embolden other brands to think about what they can do and what they can do in the right way as opposed to a campaign PR-y way.” - Magdalena“If you want the ultimate decentralization something has to give because you can't have it all in the blockchain context. You either get cheap transactions or you get ultimate security in decentralization and you can't have everything at once.” - MagdalenaDoes aligning with a celebrity institute a playbook that other consumer brands have used to try to gain scale?“If a celebrity has a brand, then a brand itself is also a mind virus that will find a way to propagate. Extremely successful brands are just very efficient propagation of a virus that likes to replicate. And that's why we have enduring brands that last for centuries.” - Phillip“The magic happens when you are really good at multiple things because you have something that no one else competing with you in each individual area.” - Magdalena“One of the things that's a big misconception of private equity that I hate that it's all just acquiring, stripping it off, and then question mark, question mark, question mark, profit. That's not how this works. It's very much a partnership because there is something magical in the underlying business and there is a value that the private equity firm can bring to grow it faster than it would grow on its own, independent of just the capital.” - MagdalenaCommercially-minded celebrities can help investors solve problems of distribution and attention with the networks they already have.Associated Links:Learn more about Magdalena Kala and @magdalenakala on TwitterSubscribe to Insiders and Senses to read more of our hot takes!Download VISIONS 2022 NOW!Listen to our other episodes of Future CommerceCheck out Decoded, our newest limited seriesHave 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!

“Death eventually comes for us all, why not buy your casket direct and save a bunch of dough?” Today we dive into the digital transformation that has taken place in death care, and how funeral home websites have become marketplaces unto themselves. PLUS: a Veleb gets canceled for “digital blackface.” Listen now! Caskets, but in Millennial PinkA large portion of the funeral homes in the United States are owned by private equity rollups that consolidated infrastructure and operations through the 90’s and early 00’s.Phillip: “Why would you want to go direct [for a casket]? If you have ever been a family member making end-of-life choices for someone that's close to you, there is a very soft and gentle, but really gross, method of upselling in the funeral industry”Business Wire from 2021 says Titan Casket grows 400% in 2021, and it's poised to move beyond caskets to become a digital solution for funerals in 2022. It has seen its B2B business grow 15 X this year as well in launching a wholesale program. They also are in Sam's Club and Costco.com as of October.Capitol Records announced just last week that they were bringing on a robot rapper called FN Meka. And that robot was apparently powered by artificial intelligence for some marketing purposes. So it was backed by a major label, backed by Capital Music Group, backed by Blue Note.The virtual appearance of the rapper people were calling digital blackface and saying that there were tropes and appropriative tropes and maybe racist tropes therein of both the likeness, appearance, and the rap style, and all designed specifically to appropriate culturally that of real people.Phillip: “Virtual celebrities have an innate advantage in that they are the product of a marketing machine. And a marketing machine would make careful and considered decisions before putting the actions of a virtual celebrity out into the world that would bring repercussions back to the brand.”Brian: “This feels like corporations want to take all of the artistry out of something and just turn it into something that they can control 100%. They realize that… people are messy. So why don't we do this with non-people? It turns out that you have to have people behind something somewhere.”Associated Links:The New York Times piece recounting the cancellation of FN MekaTitan Caskets OnlinePhillip’s Twitter Thread about DTC Caskets

Show Notes“Being a retailer of a brand, there are a number of different pressures that I think they have to address, but in doing so, it will only make them stronger companies. It'll only make consumers want to shop with them more.” - Miya KnightsWhen it comes to sustainability, are consumers really adhering to their convictions or are convenience and practicality leading to incongruent behavior there?“Retailers are going to have to be a lot more transparent and a lot more in the same way that they've had to cope with the diversification of channels, the complexity of just selling in terms of transparency and choice when it comes to sustainability, particularly around fulfillment, they're going to have to offer a lot more choice than they currently do.” - Miya Knights“It doesn't matter if you're 100 plus year old brand or if you're like a six month DTC brand. If you don't have that {sustainability}, it's going to be like trying to be a brand now without an eCommerce offering. It's just you're going to be missing out on so much opportunity.” - Michael Miraflor“My experience of people and how they spend their time with digital products is that they diligence them a little bit less, but classify them as generally bad, much faster, just to say, "They have all my information, so they're probably doing something bad with it, but I don't have as much intensity to scrutinize them." Yet, we interact with those products way more often for the most part.” - Grace Clarke“Fifty-one percent of our study said you have to fake it till you make it. Forty-nice percent said authenticity at all costs. And I think that that is that's actually the undercurrent of tension that we have in the world, even in our own businesses, is that we have to project outwardly like we are doing everything because we've got to fake it till we make it. When it becomes operationally efficient for us to do it all, we'll really do it all. Maybe. But there's the other side of that which says, "I just want you to tell me the truth. Just tell me the truth.’" - Phillip Jackson“Folks that care about the purpose of the business, where they want to work and customers that care about who they want in their dollars with you can't sandbag those things. And so it's a very fine line between under-promise and then failing to compel versus pitch the best pitch you can come up with right now in this room and fail to think through whether you can do that the next 52 weeks of the year.” - Mike Lackman“If we're 100% outcome-focused, I think that leads to insincerity.” - Brian Lange“Tthere is sort of like the old saying, "People don't buy from companies, they buy from other people." And it's sort of democratized like it's bringing a face, not just one face, but individual faces to a brand and bringing that brand to life in a similar way that we've seen influencers drive sales and be the face of a brand.” - Kiri MastersGuestsMiya Knights, author, and retail analystKiri Masters, Head of Retail Marketplace Strategy at AcadiaMichael Miraflor, Chief Brand OfficerGrace Clarke, brand and omnichannel strategistMike Lackman, CEO of Trade CoffeeAssociated Links:The Visions Report is a 100-page report with deep insights, created by Future Commerce.Have 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!Have any questions or comments about the show? You can reach out to us at hello@futurecommerce.fm or any of our social channels; we love hearing from our listeners.