How to Shift Consumer Preferences Quickly and Effectively
Executive Summary
Shopify Masters episode in which host Benjamin Gottlieb has the founders of Suri, the electric toothbrush brand, including Mark Rushmore and a co-founder whose name is garbled in the captions, return to talk about scaling from zero to 30 million dollars in sales in two years. They say step one to scaling is convincing people to leave their routine and adopt something new, describe cold emailing well-known figures including, they say, a famous Apple designer who replied with praise, and say they aim to be scrappy but not crappy on spend. They describe post-checkout surveys for attribution, tools such as Klaviyo and Triple Whale, and views on investors, saying a partner matters more than cash and raising money is not success. Sponsor named: Shopify, which hosts the show; the founders say they are not sponsored by the tools they mention. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note draws on the opening, cold outreach, attribution, tools and investor sections, and may miss parts of the roughly 37 minute video. Sales figures, endorsements and claims about the product are the founders' own and not independently checked. Nothing here is medical, dental, legal or financial advice.
Key Takeaways
Zero to 30 million
The host says the founders grew from zero to 30 million dollars in sales in two years and won retail partnerships in the UK and US.
Change routines
They say step one to scaling is convincing people to go out of their routine and adopt something new.
Scrappy but not crappy
They say they try to spend the least and still get the most beautiful result.
Bold cold outreach
They say they cold emailed an industry figure and a famous designer and got an enthusiastic reply.
Post-checkout survey
They say asking customers where they heard of the brand helps attribution and shows organic and podcast discovery rising.
Tools
They mention Klaviyo for email and Triple Whale for reporting and say they are not sponsored.
Investors as partners
They say finding the right partner matters more than the cash and that raising investment is not success.
The Conversation Breakdown
Zero to 30 million
⏱ Untimed topicThe host says the founders grew from zero to 30 million dollars in sales in two years and won retail partnerships in the UK and US.
Change routines
⏱ Untimed topicThey say step one to scaling is convincing people to go out of their routine and adopt something new.
Scrappy but not crappy
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they try to spend the least and still get the most beautiful result.
Bold cold outreach
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they cold emailed an industry figure and a famous designer and got an enthusiastic reply.
Post-checkout survey
⏱ Untimed topicThey say asking customers where they heard of the brand helps attribution and shows organic and podcast discovery rising.
Tools
⏱ Untimed topicThey mention Klaviyo for email and Triple Whale for reporting and say they are not sponsored.
Investors as partners
⏱ Untimed topicThey say finding the right partner matters more than the cash and that raising investment is not success.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Change the routine - the founders' scaling step
Show why a new habit is worth switching to.
Scrappy but not crappy - the founders' spend rule
Spend little but keep the result looking excellent.
Partner over cash - the founders' investor view
Choose investors who help solve problems.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Add a post-checkout question asking how customers heard about you.
- ✓Write a short, specific cold message to a person you admire in your field.
- ✓Judge any investor by how they would help with problems, not only by the money.
- ✓Treat the sales, endorsement and product claims as the founders' own, not as advice.
Notable Quotes
“step one to scaling is convincing people to go out of their routine and adopt something new”
“raising investment is not success”
“finding the right partner is just as important for you more than the cash”
The One Thing to Remember
The Suri founders say changing habits needs a clearly better product, bold outreach, careful attribution and investors who are real partners.