eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection cover art

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection

eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection

By: Steve Hutt | Shopify and eCommerce Expert
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About this listen

 Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth. I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more. Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table. 6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages. Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We dig into Shopify apps, digital marketing, retention tactics, AI tools, and the operational stuff that actually reduces overwhelm—while building customer loyalty that lasts. You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from guests across 430+ episodes who've been exactly where you are. This isn't content for content's sake. It's what you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's built, scaled, and exited—and helped hundreds of others do the same. Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify." Steve Hutt DTC Founder | Podcast Host Find Us Online Website: eCommerceFastlane.com Newsletter: FastlaneInsider.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shutt X: x.com/stevenhutt Instagram: instagram.com/ecommercefastlane Email: steve@ecommercefastlane.comSteve Hutt Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • Why Your Best Content Is Invisible in AI Search (And How to Fix It)

    Why Your Best Content Is Invisible in AI Search (And How to Fix It)
    Feb 10 2026

    Six-month window to rank in AI search before enterprises catch up—if your Shopify brand isn't showing up in ChatGPT or Perplexity product recommendations yet, this is your roadmap.

    In this episode, Ivan Slobodin, Director of Product at Searchable.com, breaks down:

    • Why the next 6-12 months offer a rare chance to rank alongside Nike and Sony in AI platforms before competition intensifies
    • How automation runs hundreds of prompts daily across 9 AI platforms vs the 10-20 you'd do manually
    • Why brands are seeing visibility results in 1 week instead of the 3-6 months traditional SEO requires

    Whether you're doing $10K months or $10M years, this conversation delivers strategies you can test this week.


    📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-446/

    Connect with us:

    🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt
    💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/
    📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • Why Your $100 DTC Orders Can't Compete with $10K Wholesale Relationships

    Why Your $100 DTC Orders Can't Compete with $10K Wholesale Relationships
    Feb 3 2026

    DTC brands struggling in 2025: there's a $5.9 trillion wholesale opportunity you're missing while chasing the $1.3 trillion online market.

    In this episode, Meghann Butcher, founder of RepSpark, breaks down:

    • How 80,000+ retailers actively discover and order from emerging brands through B2B platforms
    • The operational backbone that turns chaotic wholesale order management into automated fulfillment
    • Why adding wholesale legitimizes DTC brands and opens revenue channels beyond paid acquisition

    Whether you're doing $50K months or $5M years, this conversation delivers strategies you can test this week.


    📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-445/

    Connect with us:

    🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt
    💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/
    📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify

    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • Why Alibaba Shows You The Wrong Suppliers First (And What Top Brands Do Instead)

    Why Alibaba Shows You The Wrong Suppliers First (And What Top Brands Do Instead)
    Jan 27 2026

    Alibaba makes 90% of revenue from supplier advertising—meaning the factories you see first simply paid the most to rank there.

    In this episode, discover:

    • Why Alibaba's pay-to-rank model keeps premium suppliers (like those manufacturing for Lululemon and Calvin Klein) off directories, and how customs data from Vietnam, Mexico, India, and China reveals actual factory quality
    • The compliance risk that cost brands hundreds of thousands: how US DNA testing on Xinjiang cotton caught unsuspecting brands, and why sanction screening prevents customs seizures
    • SourceReady's AI workflow consolidating trend research, product redesign, supplier discovery, and quote automation—replacing weeks of email ping-pong with verified manufacturer data

    Ricky Ho is founder of SourceReady and third-generation manufacturing family. He raised venture capital from Sequoia and GGV, earning Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.

    Whether you're doing $10K months or $1M months, this conversation delivers actionable insights you can implement this week.


    📝 Full show notes, strategic takeaways, and resources: https://ecommercefastlane.com/podcast/episode-444/

    Connect with us:

    🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevenhutt
    💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shutt/
    📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingwithshopify

    Show More Show Less
    38 mins
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