Obvi

Chief Marketing Officer

Junglee Inc.

Advisor

AfterSell by Rokt

Ambassador

PrettyDamnQuick

GrapevineAI

Elevar

Gorgias

Proxima

Ghost3Media

Co-Founder

Mohawk Group, Inc.

Senior Marketing Analyst

CMO and Co-Founder at Obvi

Ashvin Melwani

Every CRO test I run at Obvi makes me nervous.

New landing page layout = Could tank conversion rate. Different hero image = Might hurt engagement. Adjust the pricing display = Could hurt profit per visitor.

Your hypothesis might be wrong. And you won't know until you've already lost money.

But this new add-on we’re testing is different. It's the rare CRO move with zero downside risk.

We just implemented ROKT Pay+, a new product from Aftersell by Rokt.  

It’s super simple. 

When customers hit your payment page, they see a banner offering cashback or rewards for selecting Apple Pay or PayPal.

Apple and PayPal then pay YOU when customers choose their wallet.

That's it. No behavior change required. No new friction added.

Your customers were already using these payment methods. Now you just get paid when they use them. Bonus: Apple Pay and PayPal come with payment processing fees anyway. ROKT Pay+ helps offset those costs.

Here’s why this is literally no-risk → 

-Already extensively A/B tested by Aftersell

-Zero negative impact on conversion (some brands see lift)

-Integrates natively with your existing checkout

-Banner designed to match your site's look and feel

-Customers already trust Apple Pay and PayPal

Aftersell is reporting ~$20-25 cents added per order from early launches.

We've been running Rokt Thanks awhile, and it adds $10k/month to our bottom line. That’s $120k+/year in pure profit.  

So when they told us about Pay+, it was an easy yes.

Look, I test landing pages weekly. I test new offers constantly. I'm always looking for ways to improve profit per session.

But those tests come with risk. This doesn't.

This is the closest thing I've found to free money in DTC:

-No operational lift

-No conversion risk (extensively tested)

-No new products to manage

-Premium brand association

We just started testing this, so I'll share our Obvi numbers once we have enough data.

But if you're running CRO tests and want something with actual upside and zero downside, this is worth looking at.

#ROKTpartner

CTV is either your next growth channel or your biggest budget black hole.

The difference comes down to one thing: whether you're buying real inventory or paying bots to watch your ads.

Here's the reality: Most CTV platforms operate like black boxes. Fragmented ID systems lose signal across devices. First-party data can't connect to reach controls. 

Your dashboard shows results, but you can't verify who actually watched.

Vibe.co just dropped their 2026 CTV Performance Playbook. It's not another "CTV is the future" think piece. It's a technical breakdown of what's broken and how to fix it.

What you'll get:

-How to retarget your existing customers and site visitors on streaming TV with the same precision as Meta

-How to use AI to test narrative, pacing, and offers at scale, then tie those tests directly to site sessions and purchases

-How over 20% of Vibe.co ads were AI-generated using Vibe Studio (and tips on best practices)

-Real incrementality data showing how brands achieve 55% lower CAC on CTV vs paid social

If you've been treating CTV like a brand awareness play because "it doesn't convert," this will change your perspective.

Click the link in the comments to get the full guide. 

#Vibepartner

Growth in 2026 comes down to one thing: getting more out of what you're already doing.

CPMs aren't coming down. Competition isn't slowing down. Which means the only real lever is optimization: using the customer feedback you're already collecting, tightening up underperforming flows, stacking 2% improvements until they compound into real growth.

That's what I'm covering December 9th at 11 AM ET along with some of the sharpest operators in DTC. Maestra.io is hosting this one-hour session where we're each breaking down the small wins that are actually moving the needle right now.

We're not talking theory here. Every tactic comes with real numbers from brands that have already run it. Battle-tested plays you can actually use.

I'll be walking through the exact AI prompts I use to turn customer data into high-performing creative. Plus you'll hear from:

→ Tamanna Bawa – Tech Partner Manager at Triple Whale (analytics platform trusted by 45,000+ brands)

→ Kyle Cannon – Marketing Manager at Furniture Fair (9-figure revenue, 13 stores + online, 20+ years in retail)

→ Jonathan Cairo – Head of Solutions & Integrations at CustomersAI (5 years in event data & identity tracking for Skims, Netflix, Adidas, Unilever)

→ Andrei Rebrov 🚀 – Co-founder at Finsi, ex-Scentbird (scaled to 500K paying subscribers)

5 speakers, 15 proven plays, 1 hour.

You'll walk away with something you can implement immediately. And if none of the tactics fit your brand, Maestra will audit your funnel and map three fixes for you.

Forget the typical webinar format. This one's cameras on, live questions, real conversation. The kind where someone drops a tactic and three other people immediately jump in with how they'd tweak it for their brand.

(Oh, and Maestra's sending everyone a $10 Starbucks card when you register. Might as well grab that coffee.)

This is one hour you don't want to miss if you're trying to break through your current growth ceiling.

See you there. 

Register using the link in comments 👇

Ronak Shah

CEO & Co-Founder at Obvi | EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2022 | Featured on Inc. as 1 of 22 High Achievers | Chew on This Podcast Host

As the CEO of Obvi, I lead the company's vision to offer the most obvious choice of transparent products that deliver real results without sacrificing taste. Obvi, which has been featured on Inc. as one of the 22 high achievers of 2022, has grown rapidly since its launch in 2019, thanks to our innovative and customer-centric approach to product development, marketing, and community building.

With over a decade of experience in accounting, finance, and e-commerce, I have developed strong competencies in customer relationship management, analytical skills, communication, and technology. I have successfully completed enterprise-scale projects involving technology conversions, re-branding, custom CRM development, report design, and release management. As an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2022 and a co-host of Chew On This podcast, I am passionate about sharing my insights and expertise on DTC content and strategies with other founders and entrepreneurs. I am also a growth ambassador for Gorgias, a universal tool for CX that I endorse and use for Obvi.

Chief Executive Officer

Obvi was founded with one objective in mind: present the most obvious choice of transparent products which present real results without having to sacrifice taste. At Obvi, we believe the industry as it is currently, is facing a phenomenon which is known as the paradox of choice; that is, the more choices there are, the less satisfied the customer is starting to become. We have set out to make that choice as obvious and easy for our customers. Simple and transparent formulas with a cutting-edge flavor systems make any Obvi product, the obvious choice.

Year 3 pitching to Walmart  … need the best vibes sent our way for Obvi  🙏🏻

LFG Ashvin Albert Raj Ankit

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At Obvi, we run on one simple financial rule: Every dollar must return $3+.

Not $2. Not $2.50. $3 minimum.

We bootstrapped Obvi from $10K to over $40M in revenue. Zero VC funding. That means every dollar we spend is a dollar we earned, and we can't afford to be loose with it.

When you're bootstrapped, you don't get second chances. You can't just raise another round to cover your mistakes.

So the 3X rule became our filter for everything.

New marketing channel? 3X or we don't test it. 
Hiring decision? That person needs to generate 3X their cost. 
Product launch? Software tool? Same filter.

This isn't about being cheap. It's about being disciplined.

When you're this disciplined, you can actually take BIGGER swings than VC-backed brands burning through cash. 

Because the bets that DO work often return 5X or 10X, and you have the cash flow to double down immediately—not six months later after another board meeting.

Most founders see a rule like this as handcuffs. For us, it's rocket fuel.

Last month we were supposed to be in our new Obvi office. This month, one of my employees is working out of their shoe closet and I'm set up in my son's bedroom.

We didn't choose this. But we're figuring it out anyway.

For 6 years, Obvi has been an in-person team. That's how I built this company. That's how I work best. 

I'm fully against working from home—I need the energy, the collaboration, the focus that comes from being together.

Then reality hit. Office delays forced us remote for 2 months while our new space gets ready.

So here we are. One team member literally set up in their shoe closet because that's the only quiet space in their apartment. I'm working out of my son's bedroom with a makeshift desk. Others are on their couches trying to take Zoom calls with decent lighting.

None of us had real home offices. Why would we? We've been in-person for 6 years.

Here's the thing though—when you have to operate in a way that completely contradicts how you believe things should work, you can't just push through with the same approach. You have to fundamentally change how you communicate, how you structure your day, what you're willing to accept as "good enough."

It's uncomfortable as hell. But watching our entire team adapt and just do what needs to be done has been incredible.

We're still hitting our goals. Still staying efficient. Still moving the business forward from bedrooms and closets.

Sometimes the best growth doesn't come from doing things your way. It comes from being forced into a completely different way and realizing your team will rise to meet it anyway.

Two months. Then we're back in person where we belong. But this sh*t has been a masterclass in adaptability.

Margin is brutally hard to find in DTC right now. So when we find the rare lever that generates pure profit with zero effort, we jump on it.

That’s why we just implemented Rokt Pay+ at Obvi. Here's what it is →

Trying to boost revenue usually comes with different tradeoffs:

- Launch new products = R&D + inventory risk + COGS

- Raise prices = risk CVR hit

- Add upsell products = more COGS + shipping costs

- Free shipping threshold = lower margin

You're constantly trading one thing for another.

But something Rokt Pay+ is different. It’s a simple, incentivized add-on to your checkout.

When customers reach your payment page, they see a simple banner offering them something (like cashback or rewards) for using Apple Pay or PayPal.

Brands like Apple Pay and PayPal then reward you when customers choose their payment method.

This is a no-brainer. Your customers were already going to use these methods anyway. Now you just get paid for it when they do.

The banner is minimal, designed to match your checkout flow. Meaning no disruption to the customer experience.

This is a brand new product and things are early, but so far Aftersell by Rokt is reporting an average of $20-25 cents in pure profit added per order. 

We’re happy to test this because we've been running Rokt Thanks for a while now and it adds 5 figures per month directly to our bottom line. Zero operational lift or trade-offs. 

When the same team told us about Rokt Pay+, it was an obvious “yes”. 

The math is simple:

- No impact on conversion (heavily tested)

- No new products to manage

- No supply chain complexity

- Customers see premium brands (Apple, PayPal)

Obviously, this won't 10x your business. But $20-25 cents per order adds up fast for us.

That could cover payment processing fees. Fund a new hire. Give us more budget to fund marketing spend. 

We just turned this on, so we’ll share our numbers once we have enough data.

But if you're looking for margin and not finding it in the obvious places, this is worth a look.

#ROKTpartner

There are at least 5 ways your DTC brand can trigger sales tax obligations that have nothing to do with how much you sell.

Most founders have no idea these exist. And states are actively auditing back to 2018.

Here's what can randomly create a six-figure tax liability:

THE BASICS: Economic nexus = $100,000 in sales OR 200 transactions in most states (California is $500K). At $5M in revenue, you could be obligated in 30+ states.

But that's just the beginning.

The weird/scary stuff…

1. Your inventory creates instant nexus 

Amazon moves your FBA inventory between warehouses without asking. Each state where your products sit = physical nexus. We woke up with obligations in states we'd never directly sold to.

2. Marketplace facilitator laws don't cover everything 

Amazon collects tax on marketplace sales, but you still must register in states where inventory is stored. Your Shopify/DTC sales? Still your responsibility. Multi-channel = tracking it all yourself.

3. Affiliate programs trigger nexus 

Pay commissions to influencers or affiliates? Pennsylvania: $0 threshold. One sale = nexus. Illinois: $10K. Georgia: $50K. Most founders have no idea this exists.

4. Trailing nexus = you can't just leave 

California requires continued collection for the rest of that year PLUS the entire following year after you fall below thresholds. Colorado, Washington, Arizona have similar rules. The obligation follows you.

5. States audit back to 2018 

The Supreme Court Wayfair decision changed everything in June 2018. If you had nexus but never registered, there's no statute of limitations. Back taxes + penalties + compounding monthly interest.

THE SCALE: 

-13,000+ tax jurisdictions in the US
-100,000+ changes to tax rules annually 
-Different filing frequencies and thresholds by state 
-Manual tracking = 9-10 hours/month (and you'll still miss things)

Consequences for screwing this up are huge. Besides a sudden tax bill, penalties are 10-30% of unpaid taxes. Interest compounds monthly. States can legally shut down your website until you're compliant. For brands on thin margins, this is a potential death blow.

Good News…

When we started, there weren't great solutions. But now you don't have to be a sales tax expert.

Platforms like Kintsugi handle this: real-time nexus monitoring across all states, automatic registration, automated filing, AI support. Free tier for monitoring and alerts.

For multi-channel brands, it's the difference between 9+ hours monthly on compliance vs. having it completely off your plate. 

Bottom line: Sales tax gets exponentially more complex as you scale. The obscure triggers and state variations are designed to trip you up. But you can get ahead of it before audit letters arrive.

If you don’t have sales tax compliance handled yet, check out Kintsugi: https://lnkd.in/eAY8C8_k 

#Kintsugipartner

Most CTV campaigns fail before they even start.

Not because of bad creative or weak targeting, but because most of the “views” you’re paying for aren’t human.

In 2024, bot fraud accounted for 65% of all fraud in CTV environments. That means bots, spoofed Roku devices, and fake streaming apps are inflating your reach while your real customers never see the ad.

It explains why so many CTV tests look great in a dashboard; cheap CPMs, strong completion rates, but drive almost no conversions.

To help brands clean up the chaos, Vibe.co put together a 2026 CTV Performance Playbook.
It’s a deep dive into the state of CTV right now: what’s broken, what’s working, and where the real opportunity sits.

Here's what you'll learn:

-CTV is booming—but flooded with fraud, recycled inventory, and unverifiable impressions.

-Vibe.co’s curated supply enables more accurate targeting and cleaner feedback loops.

-AI accelerates production and reduces cost—allowing rapid testing of message, pacing, and offers.

-Verified lift studies from WorkMagic and Northbeam show exclusive results.

The full playbook covers how brands are achieving 55% lower CAC on CTV versus paid social, how to verify real viewers, and which metrics actually predict customers, not just “views.”

If you want to understand how to make CTV actually perform in 2026, click the link in comments to access the full guide.

#Vibepartner

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The Battle

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Ronak Shah

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The Battle

Ashvin Melwani

Ronak Shah

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ashvin Melwani's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAshvin Melwani's LinkedIn Performance