Emma Grede

But isn't it so, it's so hard in the beginning because you're trying to find a trusted partner.

I mean, look, what I've done in the past and I've had good suppliers and vendors and bad supplier and vendors.

And I would say almost every business that I've had that's been successful has

has started with a vendor partnership, a supplying partnership that has just stood the test of time.

And it's so interesting because I remember it like it was yesterday with Good American and still to this day.

We are almost nine, 10 years down the line.

I am still making, I'd say 20% of our assortment with the factory that we started with because they were an amazing vendor and amazing supplier.

But you don't always know what questions to ask.

You don't always know how to vet that person.

You don't always know the personalities that are involved.

So I guess you guys just fell foul to...

You had an amazing start.

One thing that I've learned building businesses is that having a great product is only part of it.

The operational side, site optimization, data, the work that keeps everything running, it's its own job.

And most founders aren't experts at it.

That's where things can really stall.

Shopify has been investing seriously in tools that handle that part for you.

Sidekick is the one that is worth you knowing about.

It's their AI tool that analyzes trends, optimizes your store, drafts copy, runs reports, so that you can focus on the creative and strategic decisions that move the business forward.

On the customer-facing side, ShopPay is the one-click checkout, the purple button that you've seen at checkout on a lot of online stores.