When I was growing up, school holidays weren’t packed with organized activities. Sometimes, to relieve the boredom of a rainy day, I would tackle a jigsaw – I remember one particularly challenging 1000-piece puzzle which, when completed, promised to reveal a charming picture of Dutch skaters on a frozen lake.…

S03E11 (#339). Karen Hawkins, accessible design practice lead at Level access and chair of the W3C ARRM group joins us to discuss accessibility and design systems. Design systems can really help improve accessibility, but in reality design teams often don’t know their exact responsibilities, leading to accessibility gaps in implementation. We talk …

This week, after a very busy few months, I am putting down my pen, picking up my metaphorical spade and bucket and taking some vacation time. 2025, so far, has been a challenging year for analysts and it is tempting, as I’m trying to clear my desk, to assert that not much has changed over the past few weeks and so I don’t need to update any analysi…

How do you scale and optimize 45+ Shopify stores without losing your mind—or your margins? In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan Cassidy sits down with Dov Quint, Storefronts Lead at OpenStore, to explore the playbook he’s built for operating dozens of DTC brands at scale. You’ll hear: How OpenStore standardizes tech stacks without sacrificing…

S03E10 (#338). About 15 years ago Katrina Alcorn suffered from burnout while managing a team of designers and raising a family. Drawing from her own experience, Katrina highlights during our conversation the importance of autonomy, connection, as well as purpose in the workplace. We discuss the ways in which burnout can be avoided and how to create…

There have only been two U.S. recessions since 2001 – the Great Financial Crisis and the Pandemic Recession. Both of these were huge – accounting for two of the only three times since the 1940s that the unemployment rate has vaulted to double digits. However, because the recessions of our recent memory have been so dramatic, investors may not appre…

A crowd is gathered around the sickbed of the economic expansion. Among the multitude are the workers, consumers and business people who would be most impacted by its demise. There are political partisans too, some fervently praying for recovery, others quietly hoping for the opposite. At the foot of the bed are fiscal and monetary doctors, the for…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, we sit down with Xeba Zareie—founder of Preme Foods, a wellness-driven CPG brand helping people with chronic illness and sensitive stomachs enjoy indulgent nutrition again. What started as a personal battle with gut health turned into a mission: create functional, prebiotic-powered products that don’t compromi…

S03E09 (#337). Cal Thompson, VP of Product Design and Research at Headspace, joins us to talk about the evolution of Headspace from a pure mindfulness app to a comprehensive mental health platform, including health coaches and therapists. We chat about Headspace’s internal culture and how they manage being a healthy workplace as a health company. W…

Last weekend, I neglected to finish my Notes on the Week Ahead as I got caught up in watching the Masters. In truth, it was mostly a battle between Rory McIlroy’s emotions, which produced two double-bogeys in his final round, and his exceptional skill, which propelled his second playoff shot to within three feet of the hole. I was particularly happ…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan sits down with Ronnie Teja, founder of Branzio Watches, to unpack his inspiring journey from picking blueberries as a new immigrant to building a global watch brand with a scrappy $10K start. Ronnie shares real stories of entrepreneurship—burnout, supplier scams, PayPal bans, and team drama—and how he over…

S03E08 (#336). Inspired by feedback from his booked UX for beginners, Joel Marsh has written UX for business. A comprehensive guide for designers navigating real-world challenges. We talk to him about his own journey from design principles to practical business applications. We chat about Joel’s VDP methodology: Value, Diagnosis, and Probability, e…

One clear advantage of getting older, (and I can attest to many of its disadvantages), is that you learn from experience. The financial market chaos, following the President’s tariff announcement, is different from previous market slumps. Every market selloff is. However, a common thread in all crises is that the best decisions begin with a structu…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, host Dan sits down with Nishal Kumar, founder and CEO of No Days Wasted, a science-backed recovery brand helping people enjoy life’s moments—without paying the price the next day. Over a glass of wine (or two), Nishal shares: How a mountain workout routine and social life led to the idea for No Days Wasted The…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, we sit down with Kristin Charbo, co-founder and CEO of glonuts—a clean, craveable donut alternative with just 1g of sugar. Kristin shares the honest story of building glonuts from her one-bedroom apartment kitchen alongside her co-founder (and now husband) Grover, hand-making over 100,000 donuts before scaling…

S03E07 (#335). Lou Downe, author of Good Services and former director of design for the UK government joins us in this episode. We sat down with Lou and asked—Where is service design going wrong, and are we even doing service design? Among the topics we discussed were: The complexity of modern services and the complete reliance on infrastructure, a…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan sits down with Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, the best-friend duo behind Good Girl Snacks, creators of the now-famous Hot Girl Pickles. From launching in public on TikTok to landing Erewhon as a retail partner within a year, Leah and Yasaman share their journey of building a pickle brand that’s bold, cr…

I may have mentioned this before, but as a young lad, I had a very healthy appetite. Consequently, when deciding on a hobby, I prudently elected to go with “cooking”. My experiments included making fudge and my mother dutifully supplied me with sugar, vanilla and helpful advice. However, we possessed no candy thermometer and, as anyone in the fudge…

I was running along the roads of our neighborhood last weekend when I came upon a small herd of deer. I often see these beautiful but dopey creatures at dawn as they wander aimlessly in the middle of the road. When a car or truck bears down on them, they stop and stare. Perhaps they are pondering whether it would be more fun to hop into the woods t…

This episode of Shopify Happy Hour features Vasa Martinez, the founder behind Perfy—a mood-boosting soda that’s not just quenching thirst but supercharging brainpower. Vasa takes us on a ride through his personal journey launching a brand that focuses on blood sugar regulation and brain health, while serving up innovative flavors and disruptive mar…

S03E06 (#334). Aarathi Krishnan is an international aid expert, specialising in humanitarian futures and strategic foresight. In a world where the sets of rules that have governed us as humanity are rapidly changing, how will we know if the solutions that we are designing now are going to be fit for purpose? Aarathi pushes the importance of account…

This episode of Shopify Happy Hour features Justin Tidwell, the visionary behind Nowadays—a cannabis-infused spirit brand that's shaking up the beverage industry. Justin walks us through the evolution of his THC beverage brand, sharing candid insights on everything from product development hurdles to the art of organic marketing. He explains how pi…

I was at a conference last week and a financial advisor asked me what I thought he should say when a client asked him what was so bad about tariffs. It’s a fair question. Many people who instinctively believe in free trade would still have a hard time in clearly explaining the trouble with tariffs. And since tariffs are likely to be a big issue thi…

S03E05 (#333). A linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles they’ve stumbled on. This time we feature articles about things that slow down your website’s experience and why you can’t do anything about it plus the concept of “failing early” but not in a “failing fast” startup way. Article one is Six things that slow down your site’s UX (and why yo…

In December, the Census Bureau announced that the U.S. population had grown by nearly 1% in the year ended July 1st, 2024, marking the strongest annual gain since 2001[1]. Given this, it seems strange to be already talking about slowing population growth. However, the reality is that the gap between births and deaths is continuing to shrink, with a…

In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan sits down with David Fudge, co-founder and CEO of Aplós, a brand redefining non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails. David shares the journey behind Aplós, from the art of mixology to crafting functional beverages that don’t compromise on flavor or experience. He dives into the growing demand for premium non-a…

In the four weeks since he took office, the president has issued an extraordinary number of executive orders, while promising dramatic change across the full reach of the federal government. While these policy moves have broad political, geopolitical and social implications, for investors, the most important concern tariffs, immigration, the federa…

S03E04 (#332). Two years on from when Sheryl Cababa released Closing The Loop, her book about systems thinking for designers, we hear Sheryls reflections and insights about what she’s learnt during that time and we grapple with the challenge of applying system thinking as designers “out of the box”. We work in a complex space, with many complex as …

Will Nitze, founder and CEO of IQBAR, shares how he built a brain and body fuel brand from the ground up. This episode is packed with game-changing insights for founders and health-conscious hustlers! Will reveals: The "secret" growth hack that helped him generate his first $90K in sales—something you won’t find in any marketing book How he built a…

For investors, Europe seems like a train in a station, perpetually gathering steam and loading up for a long-delayed journey, but clearly advertising only a modest pace when it gets under way. Such has been the case for the European economy and, even more so, for European equities for many years. This has, of course, been deeply frustrating for tho…

Yash Chavan, founder and CEO of Saral, breaks down a smarter way to approach influencer marketing and why brands are shifting from paid media to earned media. This is a must-listen for e-commerce brands looking to scale influencer partnerships as he explores: The pyramid approach to influencer marketing and how it helps brands scale effectively Why…

On Saturday, the White House announced the imposition of heavy tariffs on goods exported from Mexico, Canada and China and all three nations announced their intention to retaliate. These tariffs threaten to raise prices and slow economic activity across all four countries. While the end game of this trade war remains very uncertain, it has the pote…

S03E03 (#331). Your destiny isn’t tied to a role. You were a person before your role. Leadership expert and strategist Christina Joy Whittaker talks to us about the murky middle, a phenomenon rooted in misalignment and purpose and quite distinct from imposter syndrome which is rooted in confidence. Christina shares her personal journey from corpora…

This Wednesday, at 2:00 PM, the Federal Reserve will release a statement on monetary policy. It will, as usual, be a brief and colorless document and will look paler still in comparison to the more than 60 executive orders, proclamations and memoranda that have emanated from the White House in the first week of the President’s new term. However, th…

Jennifer Commins, founder of Pluck Tea and certified tea sommelier, shares her journey launching and growing her premium, eco-friendly tea business. This is a must-listen for tea lovers as she explores: the journey of tea from leaf to cup the health benefits of matcha, and why it's different than other tea one surprising truth about tea most people…

“Unsustainable!” To quote Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means” For decades, journalists, economists, politicians, and central bankers have said that the U.S. federal debt is on an “unsustainable” path. However, it has stayed on that path, climbing from a very manageable $3.3 trillion, or 31.5% o…

S03E02 (#330). Oobah Butler, journalist and filmmaker known for his prankster antics, joined us to discuss his work, including “The Great Amazon Heist” and “The Shed at Dulwich”. Oobah highlights the relative ease of manipulating algorithms, such as TripAdvisor and Amazon, to boost fake products’ rankings. We also discussed the broader implications…

In football, it’s always better, at the snap of the ball to disguise your intentions. Are you going to pass or run the ball? Is it a zone defense or man-to-man? In business or in military maneuvers the same rule applies – keep them guessing. However, in macro-economic management, it is better to make your plans clear. That way businesses can feel m…

Over the holiday season, we got to spend some time with our very charming granddaughter and, as a bonus, I am now fully re-acquainted with all the verses of “The Wheels on the Bus”. As we enter 2025, the American economy is rather like an old school bus – slow but steady, reliable and resilient. It generally moves forward. However, it is not invuln…

S03E01 (#329). In the first episode of Season Three, James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom discuss the concept of dark mode, its benefits, and its implications for UX design, user experience and accessibility. We delve into the European accessibility directive, and the EN 301 549 European standard which includes a section on user preferences, requiring …

A wide-ranging discussion on what on earth is this thing we call 'church'? How it began and where has it got to. What was the reason for church buildings? Why do we meet together? What is the point of a local church? How many Christians in your local church? Where should folk find God - in Church or in the world? What's the point of mega-Churches? …

Kevin O'Leary and Will Patch, co-founders of Cape Cod'r craft cocktails, share their journey launching a beverage brand made for those who crave memories of care-free summers. In this episode we dove into topics including: using crowdfunding to raise cash for marketing and create raving fans why founders need to share their story over and over advi…

When testifying to the Senate Banking Committee back in 1987, the newly-appointed Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan, provided some insight into his views on communication: “Since becoming a central banker”, he said, “I have learned to mumble with great incoherence. If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.” His successors h…

This episode of the Shopify Happy Hour features Drea Groeschel, founder of Better Than Booze, an award winning beverage brand that duplicates craft cocktail flavors for consumers seeking non-alcoholic options. Drea shared TONS of insights and lessons learned from launching and growing Better Than Booze including: why early-stage brands need to KISS…

Many years ago, I worked for the Office of Revenue and Tax Analysis at the State of Michigan and, from time to time, Saul Hymans and his colleagues from the University of Michigan would visit the state government in Lansing to discuss the latest output from their macro economic models of the U.S. and Michigan economies. As they started into their p…

This week will be full of market-moving economic data. We expect purchasing manager surveys and light-vehicle sales to indicate steady demand in November, as investors await Friday’s jobs report. Recent data on unemployment claims point to continued momentum and payroll growth should rebound from October’s meagre reading which was suppressed by bot…

We are joined here by Paul Smith, leader of 'Prayer for Israel' in the UK. We hear of his background, as well as the history and objectives of his ministry in these difficult times. How to deal with the false information propagated by social media and how do we get the truth out? Why doesn't the Church in the UK by and large 'get' Israel? Is there …

I’ve been running my own econometric model of the U.S. economy for almost 30 years now. The basic structure is simple. You start by forecasting the components of demand, that is to say, consumption, investment, trade and government spending. This gives you an initial projection of real GDP growth. You then feed this into labor market equations, alo…

The most urgent task facing investors in the wake of the 2024 elections is figuring out how much of the Trump agenda, as broadly outlined on the campaign trail, will be put into effect. A full and literal implementation across taxes, trade and immigration could have unwelcome consequences for the economy in both the short and long run. A more parti…

Aaron Nosbisch is founder of BRĒZ which creates microdosed cannabis & mushrooms in a can. During this episode Aaron shared his journey launching one of the fastest growing DTC beverage brands. We dove into topics including: launch strategies using organic UGC amplified by paid ads why every brand should advertise on Meta navigating regulations in a…