Matt Putra

Fractional CFO | Helping eCom Brands Find Their 8 or 9 Figure Exit | Helping ventures from Seed to Series B

Your CFO/Coach/Board Member is wrong. Profitability isn't math problem. 

It's an alignment and communication problem.

Most CFOs try to fix profitability by staring at spreadsheets. I fix profitability by breaking down silos.

For $10M–$200M eCom & CPG brands, profit leaks rarely happen because of "bad math." They happen because Demand, Supply, and Finance are operating in different realities.

When these three teams aren't in lock-step, you get:
- Inventory Bloat: Buying stock you can’t sell.
- Margin Compression: Selling stock you can’t afford to discount.
- Opex Creep: people need tools, more people, more subscriptions...
- Cash Crunches: Surprises that kill growth. POs that shouldn't have been cut. 
- and more

How We Fix It:
I install a proprietary operating system called X&OP™ (Cross-Functional Execution and Ops Planning).

We don't simply forecast; we engineer synchronization. We deploy the Cash-Validated Procurement Gate™, ensuring that every operational decision—from ad spend to inventory POs—is vetted against a unified cash and margin model.

The Outcomes (Real Client Data):
- Optimization: $2MM cash freed up in inventory (10% reduction)
- Efficiency: From -$7MM profit to +$3.5MM, gross margin up 10%
- Precision: 94% forecast accuracy over 14 months
- *Valuation: Client acquired for 25x ebitda (yes, really). Another for 3x revenue.

My Promise:
I am so confident in the power of alignment that I guarantee results. 

🎙️ Host of "How Do I?" — interviewing CEOs scaling from operators to architects.

* Both were omni-channel brands.

Co Owner, CFO/COO

John Surdakowski

Founder & CEO, Avex – NYC-based Ecommerce Agency for High-Growth and Enterprise Brands

With two decades of experience in digital, I’ve worked through every major evolution of the web—from the early days of Web 1.0 and Flash to the rise of mobile commerce and now, Artificial Intelligence. I’ve led through constant change, staying ahead of the curve while helping brands do the same—with clarity, speed, and results.

I’m the Founder and CEO of Avex, a digital commerce agency based in New York City. We partner with high-growth and enterprise brands to scale their Shopify commerce experiences through conversion-optimized UX, custom development, and lifecycle retention strategy. What began as a solo consultancy in 2015 has grown into a 40+ person agency serving both category leaders and market disruptors.

Earlier in my career, I consulted for some of the world’s most respected agencies and brands—including JWT, Havas, Estée Lauder, BBDO, MRM Worldwide, NBC, MTV Networks, and Nickelodeon. That foundation shaped my approach: combining creative thinking with operational discipline and commercial outcomes.

Avex has since partnered with globally recognized brands such as Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, KITH, O’Neill, Quip, AriZona Beverages, Equinox, and more. In 2025, we were selected for the Shopify Premier Partner program—one of only a handful of agencies in the world to earn that designation.

I remain hands-on as a leader. I take pride in building high-performing teams, navigating complexity, and driving growth for our clients. My approach is grounded in experience, focused on execution, and always driven by outcomes that matter.


Founder & CEO

Big announcement from Shopify during NRF. UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol), co-developed with Google, will enable selling in AI Mode in Google Search and the Gemini app. 

Non-shopify brands can now use Shopify Catalog to deploy products discoverable by all AI platforms, without having a shopify storefront. 

💡This is big for brands who don’t want to be on Shopify or simply want to test the waters. 

I’d liken this to commerce components. Shopify gets the transaction fee and the brand gets catalog distribution. 

Will this discourage some brands from fully migrating?

I don’t think so, because most move to Shopify for TCO and efficiency reasons. The ones who don’t need to move, wouldn’t have anyway. However, this can get a foot in the door. 

UCP will provide brands who did not plan to move to Shopify a way to utilize cutting edge AI discovery. 

In fact, I’d imagine this would allow Shopify even bigger land and expand opportunities. 

For existing Shopify brands, they now have a new channel for discovery. Outside of optimizing for search, brands can/should be optimizing for LLMs. 

Will the big brands take advantage of this or will smaller players navigate the technology to take market share? 

Shopify is definitely changing the game and things are getting exciting. 

#shopify #ai #nrf

Founder at Avex. Partnering with industry-leading brands to design, build, and optimize unified commerce experiences. Podcast Host.

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