Honest Ecommerce

As COO of The Snooki Shop, Gina Cecala oversees the moving parts that customers may never see but that ultimately determine whether a brand can successfully grow. Her responsibilities span staffing, inventory, fulfillment, customer experience, expansion strategy, and daily operations across The Snooki Shop's various locations.

During her tenure, the company has increased overall sales by more than 50%, grown to approximately 27 employees, and expanded beyond its New Jersey roots into new markets. The business now serves between 35,000 and 60,000 customers each month, while 47% of customers participate in its loyalty program and 20% return to make another purchase.

One of Gina's most consequential contributions was helping lead the company's transition to Shopify. The move created a unified inventory and fulfillment system across every location, giving the business the operational structure it needed to grow without losing control of the customer experience. Since that transition, ecommerce sales have increased by approximately 50%.

Gina's work also challenges the assumption that a celebrity-backed company can survive on name recognition alone. Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi remains actively involved in merchandising and product selection, while Gina oversees the execution required to turn that creative vision into a sustainable business. It is a lean, hands-on leadership structure where growth depends on close collaboration and an understanding of what the customer actually wants.

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:03] How Gina became COO of The Snooki Shop
[02:51] Growing her role and building trust
[05:02] Klaviyo
[07:11] Consolidating e-commerce onto Shopify
[08:41] Navigating unsolicited help and opportunists
[09:47] Intelligems
[11:43] Becoming a Shopify expert
[12:40] Learning e-commerce without formal training
[13:38] Delegating without losing quality control
[15:37] eFulfillment Service
[16:57] Expanding from one store to four
[19:55] Would she make the same choices again
[21:31] Why decisiveness beats analysis paralysis
[22:44] Building a brand beyond Snooki's fame
[25:52] Handling backlash and separating brand from celebrity
[27:05] Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
[27:57] Final thoughts

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
From trendy casual to chic thesnookishop.com/ 
Follow Gina Cecala linkedin.com/in/gina-cecala-2a6781186/ 
Book a demo today at intelligems.io/ 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
Lower scale costs today efulfillmentservice.com/honest

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Samuel Rieder is Co-Founder at dear digital, an Odoo Gold partner and Shopify Premier partner. He loves thinking about technology and building things–whether that's companies, brands, websites, or ERP systems–and has co-founded several businesses over the years. Today, he spends his time at dear digital helping teams grow with the right tools and tech.

What drives Sam is working with motivated people who are fun to build things with, that's where the magic happens. When he's not deep in systems or strategy, you'll find him outside exploring and enjoying nature.

Jaap Vergote is the Founder of UpsellPlus (2022, NYC), where he helps grow revenue for Shopify brands. Before founding UpsellPlus, Jaap was Head of Sales at Viabill (2019, NYC), Co-Founder of Campo (2017, NYC & upstate NY), and worked in sales at Showpad, a B2B sales enablement platform (2015, SF).

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:37] Jaap's path into the Shopify ecosystem
[02:25] Sam's ecommerce roots and Shopify Plus
[05:07] Navigating Europe's payment complexity
[06:45] Internationalizing UpsellPlus
[08:15] POS pricing challenges in Europe
[10:34] Why in-person events build trust
[11:37] How community keeps partners on Shopify
[13:50] Talking roadmap directly with product teams
[15:41] Shopify's partner feedback loop
[16:11] Know, like, trust before you buy
[18:56] Go together to go far
[19:21] What brought them to DotDev
[20:44] Expanding into POS, SMS, and Sidekick
[23:09] UpsellPlus's growth strategy pitch
[24:01] Final thoughts

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Help brands grow and gain efficiency deardigital.com/ 
Follow Sam Rieder linkedin.com/in/samuel-rieder-shopify-expert/
Help merchants make every order worth more upsellplus.com/blog-post/upsellplus-is-built-for-shopify 
Follow Jaap Vergote linkedin.com/in/jaapvergote/ 

If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

JW Wiseman is the Co-Founder and CEO of Curious Elixirs, a booze-free adaptogenic craft cocktail brand with the mission to redefine how people drink socially. In 2015, JW woke up one morning after having 20 drinks in a single night and deciding to radically change his relationship with alcohol. He was inspired to explore his curiosity about life with less booze and started Curious Elixirs. 

Combined with JW's interests in herbs and adaptogens, Curious Elixirs launched as one of the first brands in America to pioneer the non-alcoholic and sober curious movement. As a fast-growing leader in the N/A space, Wiseman has been able to forge relationships with the best Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning restaurants, nightclubs and hospitality venues, and DTC partners in the world, serving over 10 million bottles and cans of Curious Elixirs since launch.

Prior to Curious Elixirs, JW founded the Good Business marketing agency, helping companies that aim to do well and do good in the world. Primarily focused on the food and wellness industries, Good Business jumpstarted brands including Daily Harvest and Chomps. 

JW is also in the bar and nightlife industry, opening subterranean bar The Whiskey Brooklyn and boutique liquor store The Whiskey Shop, along with investing in Williamsburg's OUTPUT as one of NYC's premiere techno clubs. He is a creative marketer at heart working at companies JackThreads and Thrillist (the third employee).

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:20] The night that changed everything
[02:48] Deciding to start Curious Elixirs
[03:57] Years of kitchen tinkering
[05:10] Launching three elixirs on Kickstarter
[05:46] Klaviyo
[07:57] Building the Curious Cocktail Club
[10:10] Intelligems
[12:01] The 24-hour Kickstarter rule
[14:28] Who Curious is really for
[14:52] Flowium
[16:01] Winning press with persistence
[18:06] eFulfillment Service
[20:31] Building the marketing flywheel
[21:51] Why wholesale came later
[24:02] The $70,000 mistake
[25:21] Keeping overhead low
[26:48] Naming the sober curious movement
[28:05] Where to try Curious Elixirs
[29:38] Final thoughts

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Award-Winning Non-Alcoholic Drinks curiouselixirs.com 
Follow JW Wiseman linkedin.com/in/johnwwiseman 
Book a demo today at www.intelligems.io 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest
Book a free lifecycle diagnosis call flowium.com 

If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Aman Advani is Founder and CEO of Ministry of Supply, a clothing brand using science to make the world's most comfortable clothing. The company was founded in 2012 with the mission to incorporate fundamental engineering and performance principles into clothing staples, ultimately building a wardrobe that both looks good, and feels comfortable.

Prior to co-founding Ministry of Supply, Advani spent 4 years in management and non-profit consulting with Deloitte and TechnoServe. He holds a BSIE from Georgia Tech, and half an MBA from MIT, was a member of Forbes 30 under 30 list and BBJ's 40 Under 40 list, and has been featured as the cover of both ASB and Boston Magazine. Most recently, Aman was named to the NRF's 2023 "List of People Shaping Retail."

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:58] First reactions to AI tools and Lovable
[05:04] Co-founder’s non-technical background
[07:39] Sponsor: Klaviyo
[09:45] Using Claude for CRO and analytics
[13:07] Sponsor: IntelliGems
[15:16] Build vs buy for AI customer service
[19:12] How much human oversight remains
[20:17] Sponsor: eFulfillment Service
[22:04] More efficiencies from AI tools
[24:22] Building an internal production system
[27:05] Why AI makes agencies more valuable
[29:42] Callouts
[29:52] Getting teams comfortable taking the demo
[32:08] Testing fast without overthinking

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
Machine Washable Everything ministryofsupply.com/pages/home-2  
Follow Aman Advani linkedin.com/in/amanadvani 
Book a demo today a intelligems.io/ 
Get your free demo klaviyo.com/honest 
Lower scale costs today eFulfillmentService.com/honest 

If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!

Alex McEachern is Head of Marketing at Intelligems, where he helps ecommerce brands unlock profitable growth through pricing and retention strategies. With a background spanning product marketing, product management, and brand development, Alex has led cross-functional teams and go-to-market efforts at high-growth companies.

He is acclaimed for building strategic narratives, scaling brand visibility, and launching initiatives that align product experience with customer value. A graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University with a BBA in Marketing, Alex brings analytical depth and creative energy to the intersection of growth, user experience, and commerce. His work is informed by a passion for behavioral psychology, practical experimentation, and a belief that great brands earn trust over time, not just clicks.

In This Conversation We Discuss:
[00:00] Introduction
[02:20] Disclosure on the Intelligems partnership
[04:05] Mistranslating conversion rate optimization
[07:50] Why CRO undersells what the work is
[10:15] Different stakeholders, different trade-offs
[12:00] CRO specialist vs Chief Revenue Officer mix-up
[13:18] Callouts
[13:28] Statistical significance and informed decisions
[18:30] The truth about minor test tweaks
[21:15] Where AI actually helps experimentation
[25:50] Coining the term growth experimentation
[28:10] AI in the wrong hands is dangerous

Resources:
Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
A/B Test Prices & Offers for Ecommerce intelligems.io/ 
Follow Alex McEachern linkedin.com/in/alexmceachern 

If you're enjoying the show, we'd love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!