Ramon Vela

CommerceFocused Media, Inc.

CommerceFocused Media produces in-house podcasts, social media channels, and original content and provides podcast production & management services to personal/corporate brands and organizations.

Managing Director

Compass Rose Ventures

Advisor and Media Strategist

The Story of a Brand Show

Welcome to The Story Of A Brand Show. Hear the unique entrepreneurial journeys of 1000+ Consumer Brand founders. We tap into the doubts, failures, wins and inspirations that come with building Consumer Brand startups in extremely competitive times. Whether you own a brand or work for one, you will learn from our guests as they share the building blocks of their brand’s evolution. Who knows, you may even discover a few new products that become faves.

Host & Producer of Top Podcast featuring the Founders of Consumer Brands

Founders' Paradiso

Launched in April 2023, Founders' Paradiso is a podcast where listeners learn business lessons directly from the founders of successful Direct-to-Consumer, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Omnichannel consumer brands and the experts that helped them get there.

Podcast Producer, Entrepreneurship Show

Economics Explained

As the podcast co-producer for the relaunched show, I manage 1) Topic Generation, such as presenting topic ideas and identifying suitable guest partners. 2) Promotion Strategy, such as developing a comprehensive strategy to promote the podcast. 3) Partnerships, such as driving collaborations with relevant media outlets, newsletters, and public figures. 4) Content Extraction, such as distilling promotional material from each episode for various platforms. 5) Format Strategy, such as strategizing diverse podcast formats and subgenres. 5) Post-Production Oversight, such as overseeing post-production editing and quality control.

Advisor for the Leading Economics Brand on YouTube

ReSci (Retention Science)

Constant Contact, Inc. acquired Retention Science. 1) Generated outbound calls/messaging to drive pipeline sales. 2) Identified key contacts, trends, and messaging to be used to support discussions. 3) Supported any marketing/campaign planning to help develop leads and drive the leads to opportunities within the new/existing customer base. 4) Achieved quarterly and annual targets based on defined set accounts and objectives set by the business.

E-commerce SaaS Executive

Oracle

Hired on to Bronto Software. Bronto was acquired and became division of NetSuite. NetSuite was acquired and became division of Oracle. 
• Awarded Revenue Recognition Award for achieving 123% of Quota in 1st Fiscal Quarter of 2018 for selling SaaS
• Responsible for driving new software sales including identifying and qualifying opportunities, deal progression, and closure of new business with a contract value of $200,00+

Ecommerce SaaS Executive

MSP Marketing Services

My role was two-fold: 1) Identified, prospected and sold digital marketing and lead generation services to small IT managed service providers.  2) Implemented services sold, including graphic design, branding, content creation, email marketing, telemarketing, event management, and lead generation services

SMB Marketing Consultant

StreetSmartVAR

Changed name from Vela Alegria Consulting Group, LLC; launched a successful multi-million dollar consulting company serving over 260 enterprise technology services firms nationwide, including several Global Fortune 100 companies. Provided outsourced marketing and sales consulting and services.

Formed, managed, and grew coaching business comprising over 60 business owners & founders in the southern California area; provided business planning and management coaching; planned and conducted monthly business building events; Sold in 2011.

Founder & President

Host of Top Podcast Featuring the Founders of Consumer Brands

Why appear on our show? 

We believe that people want to buy from Brands they love, admire, and feel community with.

Our show attempts to illustrate “Why” people connect to a Brand and how the Brand connects the customer to the world around them.  

If you have had some success, have crazy happy customers, and are passionately obsessed with delivering an amazing customer experience and are interested in appearing on our show, please message me here on LinkedIn.

Host of Top Podcast featuring DTC, CPG, Omnichannel Brands

Interviewed the CEO’s of PAIGE, Sugarfina, Diff Eyewear, Pair of Thieves, HUM Nutrition, The Bouqs, Mighty Audio, Burst Oral Care, Ties.com, Tenzo Tea,  Lola Getts, and many more.

💛 What happens when two sisters decide to protect everything they love?

Earlier this year, I recorded a powerful conversation with Hayley and Stephanie Painter, the Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Painterland Sisters. After you listen to this episode, you'll see why their story hits so deeply.

In this interview, the sisters talk about what it really means to grow up on a family farm, to watch that way of life disappear around you, and to decide: 

"We’re going to fight for this. Not just for their own farm — but for all family farms, for real food, and for a generation that's craving connection back to the land."

Their journey is equal parts heart, grit, and truth. This episode will make you see your yogurt—and your food system—completely differently.

Listen to find out how two young women from rural Pennsylvania turned a near-loss into a national brand rooted in purpose, place, and perseverance.

👇👇 Podcast Episode Link in Comments!👇👇

Then make sure to visit this amazing brand: https://lnkd.in/gJwvHGaV

#PainterlandSisters #TheStoryOfABrand #CPGFounders #RuralEntrepreneurship #FarmToSpoon #WomenInBusiness #FoodSystem #FamilyFarms #PurposeDrivenBrands #EntrepreneurshipStory

Top Podcast Focused on Founders, Brands, & Products

✨ What if the habits you build today become the strength you need for tomorrow’s darkest moments?

In this clip from The Story of a Brand Show, Angelica Fuentes, Founder & CEO of NOWFUL, shares why rituals are far more than “wellness moments.” They’re what anchor us when life knocks us flat.

Angelica opens up about losing everything — her company, her assets, and almost her daughters — in a single 24-hour period. And she explains how the tiny rituals she’d practiced for years — grounding, clarity, sleep, spiritual work, self-belief — became the only things that carried her through that unimaginable chapter. 

Her message is powerful: rituals aren’t optional. They’re how we come back to ourselves. They’re how we rise.

🎥 Watch the clip here and then listen to the full episode here:

 NOWFUL – How Tiny Rituals Build an Unstoppable Life
👉 Podcast Episode Link in Comments!👇👇

BIG THANKS TO Madelaine Kukanza Goldstein for referring such an amazing founder and brand to the Show!

#TheStoryofaBrand #NOWFUL #FounderStories #Resilience #Wellness #Mindfulness #WomenInBusiness #PersonalGrowth #EmotionalStrength #Leadership

I help DTC brands turn $1 into $43.80 | Scaled Chronos from 0 → 85 team members

Hey! Thanks for stopping by my profile.

I'm Josh 👋, co-founder of Chronos - a retention and lifecycle marketing agency for 7 - 9 figure DTC brands (say that 3 times fast).

In short, we help fast growing brands nail repeat purchases, so they can scale their acquisition efforts with confidence.

Over the past 7+ years, we've worked with over 500+ brands and have generated over $300M in tracked, attributable revenue. Some of the results we're proud of:

👉 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞: 2x-ed email rev in 90 days, $44M in first 12 months

👉 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲: 26% increase in cart recovery AOV

👉 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐌+: 288% increase in total email revenue

👉 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐈𝐂𝐄: 2.53x in customer return rates

👉 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲: 32% increase in customer AOV

In a sea of retention agencies, choosing the right one can be tough. Here's why brands choose Chronos:

🏷️ 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬: We've been in the game for 7+ years and focus on building long term relationships by consistently delivering results.

🏷️ 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: We've seen a lot. Having worked with over 500+ brands, we bring a proven playbook of what works - and what doesn't - to get you results faster.

🏷️ 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬 No 'yes men' here. Our team actively challenges ideas and collaborates with you to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Making that leap is never easy - but if you're ready to partner with a team that's as invested in your growth as you are, let's chat.

Feel free to DM me, or check us out at: chronos.agency

Joshua Chin

The #1 business lesson that made me a better husband:

Growth comes from ownership. 

It taught me to take responsibility for my mistakes, voice my needs clearly, and face uncomfortable conversations before they snowball.

You can’t always measure things objectively, but even a directional sense of how things are going is better than flying blind.

So every week, my wife and I check in.

How we’re feeling.
What’s working.
What’s not.

We don’t wait for issues to pile up or pretend things are fine.

A marriage, just like any other relationship, needs to be worked on actively. 

A lot of couples try to bury problems under gifts or distractions, hoping they’ll disappear, but they don’t.

The true growth in any relationship happens when you face things head-on with intention, data, and honesty.

Maybe love doesn’t need a metric, but a little structure never hurts.

Curious to hear your thoughts. How do you see structure in relationships?

li_at

JSESSIONID

Talks about #klaviyo, #shopify, #ecommerce, #emailmarketing, and #ecommercemarketing

Helping DTC Brands Turn $1 into $43.80 | $380M+ Revenue Driven for 500+ Brands | Scaled Chronos from 0 → 85+

Something really cool happened recently!

Chronos just got named a Fall 2025 Clutch Global Winner in Email Marketing.

Moments like this make me pause and reflect on our mission. 
 
It goes without saying that we don’t build for awards, we build for results.

But if recognition shows up because we help brands turn their list into predictable revenue systems, that’s a bonus we are truly thankful for.

This award reflects the unsexy, behind-the-scenes work the Chronos team puts in every day to make retention a true competitive edge for our clients.

To the founders who trust us with their retention system: thank you!

Since you’re here, check our top-performing email campaigns you can copy right away: https://shorturl.at/jZTOl

Seeing our name on Clutch’s official press release still feels unreal. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g4agEWT4

I used to operate like life was a stovetop with 4 burners: family, social life, work, and personal.

I’d crank 1 or 2 to full heat and let the others barely simmer because there was only so much gas to burn.

And I lived like that for years, constantly choosing which part of my life had to suffer next.

But I don’t fully buy into that belief anymore.

I’ve realized that success and fulfillment don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

It’s a limiting belief to assume success in one area of your life must cost you another.

The entrepreneurs I admire most have great family relationships, great health, great personal lives, AND great businesses.

All of those things fuel each other.

I threw $200K at crypto, thinking time had my back until I got burned. Bad. 

Back in my early 20s, I knew I could lose money and still bounce back because time was on my side.

What I didn’t have back then was experience, network, and stories. 

So I started putting money to work to snag those things: mentorship, connections, and knowledge.

$10K courses, $30k sponsorships.

Those were the bets that didn’t bring immediate financial returns, but the lessons and relationships I picked up along the way compounded for years.

But not every calculated risk pans out. During the crypto boom in 2021, I dropped around $200K across a bunch of investments.

At the time, it felt like a smart move: even if I blew most of it, I told myself I had time to make it back.

The risk-reward seemed tilted in my favor, with the potential upside far outweighing the downside.

In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have gone all in the same way.

It didn’t open doors to network, experience, or connections that actually mattered for the way I wanted to build my business and career.

I walked away with very little to show for it.

It was a tough lesson that hammered home one big lesson for me: not all “good” bets are worth taking.

Follow for more hard-earned lessons on leadership, growth, and building smarter retention strategies.

The exact system we used to grow Chronos into a 75-person, strategist-led retention agency running 100s of campaigns every month:

Pillar 1: Get Clear on the Founder’s Role
 
When a founder gets tied to the day-to-day of retention, it’s usually not the best use of their time. 

As a founder, your focus should be on these core metrics that tell you whether your retention program is working:

- List growth
- 90-day LTV
- Overall content retention
- Contribution margins from emails, SMS, and other retention channels

Compare these metrics to previous periods and prior years to get a clear sense of progress without getting bogged down in campaign-level details.
 
Pillar 2: Strategic Alignment with Business Goals 

If you have a strong retention team, the next step is making sure your retention strategy actually supports your business goals.

That means every email, SMS, and campaign you send should tie directly to your core business objectives and growth targets.

To make this happen, you’ll want a dedicated Strategy Lead in-house. 

This person will bridge operations, product, and marketing, keeping everything in perfect sync.

Pillar 3: Clear Role Separation
 
At the $5M-$25M stage, it really helps to separate strategy from execution by having these two different roles for each: 

1. Strategy Lead: Focuses on high-level planning and making sure everything aligns with your business goals.

2. Activation Specialist: Handles operationalizing campaigns, meeting deadlines, and keeping things running smoothly.

Splitting these roles gives you clear accountability and focus, which leads to much better results than ONE person trying to do both.

Pillar 4: Dedicated Creative Resources

You’ll also want the creative support of copywriters and designers. 

Ideally, they’re dedicated to retention, but if they’re shared across channels, that’ll work too. 

The key is having specialized creative resources so your strategy can turn into action without friction.

Rapid scale exposed every weakness I thought I’d already outgrown.

Chronos is the biggest thing I’ve ever built, and holding the weight of it has forced me to grow faster than I ever planned to.

For a long time, I didn’t trust myself.

I leaned on others because I was terrified of being the one responsible for getting it wrong.

But eventually, I realized you don’t build something great by copying someone else’s path.

You learn from them, then you build your own.

That shift is how we’ve grown with clarity and confidence instead of chaos.

I’m still figuring it out, but I’m no longer afraid of the learning curve. I’m built for it now.

BFCM isn’t over. 

The next 14-21 days are your leverage window to make or break your Q4, yet you are missing out by not:

- Using the post-BFCM regret window to recover lost buyers 
- Segmenting using BFCM data 
- Converting first-time buyers while the excitement from their recent purchase is still high
- Warming passive sign-ups from BFCM before attempting to sell 

If you want the full breakdown jump to the Post-BFCM Segment at 30:30 here:

https://lnkd.in/gX7JmVJH

But to actually run these plays successfully, you need the angles, segments, timing windows, and follow-ups that make the difference.

So I pulled everything into one clean, actionable checklist:

https://lnkd.in/gzJhiQGC

Open video: Materclass: Copy Our 2025 BFCM Emails, Ads, and CRO Plan on youtube.com

Materclass: Copy Our 2025 BFCM Emails, Ads, and CRO Plan

My friend runs a community-driven brand with a super loyal following, but for the longest time, his owned revenue was stuck at 23%.

His audience is mostly mobile-first and makes quick decisions, but email couldn’t hit them at the exact moment they were ready to buy.

So we built a 3-pronged touchpoint strategy for his brand to reach people when they see a notification or pick up their phone.

Touchpoint #1: SMS → for time-sensitive lock-screen interactions. 

Touchpoint #2: Web Push → for micro-nudges right when intent is heating up.

Touchpoint #3: Email → for deeper storytelling and nurturing.
 
Once this system was in place, his retention revenue jumped from 23% to 71%. 

Granted, his acquisition would need to scale to not create a skew like this, but it still shows the power of a well-built retention system.

Honestly, it’s so fun to see how showing up at the right moment makes such a huge difference.

I’ve been helping a friend in the industry rebuild their brand over the last 12 months, and the turnaround has been huge.

Their focus shifted from chasing top-line revenue to:

- Increasing engagement from existing customers

- Maximizing LTV through bundles, mystery bags, and repeat purchases

- Building a brand they could genuinely be proud of

Here’s the breakdown of what we executed:

1. New Customer Acquisition (Welcome Flow)

- Reduced first-time discount from 15% → 10% → slight dip in orders, but big boost to margins

- Let customers pick their biggest skincare concern → directed them to tailored landing pages

- Added a 72-hour limited-time discount to create urgency

- Nudged toward bundles → increased AOV

- Invited new customers to 60k-member Facebook group → immediate engagement

- Introduced Rewards System → points, freebies, perks

2. Cart Recovery

- Targeted repeat buyers who abandoned carts but hadn’t taken the Truly quiz. 

1-minute quiz → boosted placed orders 44%, click rates 45%

- Follow-up emails to non-openers + 15% discount in final email → captured revenue that would have slipped away

3. Post-Purchase / Fulfilled Order

- Delivered Amazon Prime-level experience from order → delivery

- Cohort analysis → most customers repurchase within 2 months

- Upsells timed perfectly to ride the buyer’s high

- Encouraged joining Facebook group → community engagement = retention

4. Repeat Customer / VIP Flow

- After 2+ purchases, customers get recognition + 15% discount

- Option to subscribe to a recurring mystery box

- Build-your-own bundles with 20% off → encourages repeat spending

Seeing it all come together with their customer engagement, repeat purchases, and customers genuinely loving the brand is just next-level satisfying.

Book a free strategy session with Chronos to see how thoughtful retention strategies can boost your revenue month after month.

Open article: eCommerce Email, SMS & Paid Media Marketing Agency | Chronos by chronos.agency

eCommerce Email, SMS & Paid Media Marketing Agency | Chronos

After hanging out with a bunch of successful operators at Ecom North, I learned 2 lessons that will definitely save your business in 2026:
Lesson #1: Defend what you have 

I was reading a stat that in just 1 month this year, more ecom brands went bankrupt than in all of last year, and most of it came down to market conditions.

Consumers are stretched thin, and wallets are tight, which makes a solid defense non-negotiable right now.

Defending what you have means protecting your revenue, operations, and customer relationships. It’s about:

- Optimizing your operations: eliminate inefficiencies, reduce errors, and make your fulfillment, logistics, and customer service fail-proof.

- Protecting cash flow: focus on retention, reduce unnecessary expenses, and prioritize profitable products over risky experiments.

- Locking in customer loyalty: deliver consistently, maintain trust, and make repeat customers feel valued, because in a tight market, loyal customers are your strongest shield.

Lesson #2: Don’t chase the shiny objects 

I’ve seen brands wanting to diversify out of Meta before even hitting $10M.

But if you can get Meta running efficiently and scale it to $20M-$50M, that will grow your brand far more than chasing a new channel that might only add $100k-$1M.

And while paid channels rise and fall with the market, retention is the only lever that stays stable no matter what’s happening outside.

Focus on making it a solid anchor of your business because if you can hit a healthy LTV to CAC ratio (3:1 is the sweet spot), you can scale paid social without risking your business.

Those who defend their operations and focus on proven strategies will be the brands that stay strong amid upcoming chaos.

I used to believe that hitting $10K would magically make all my problems disappear.

Over time, it grew to $100K, then 5x, then 10x. 

But the insecurity that I must keep proving I’m enough never truly disappeared.

I don’t allow myself to pause and look back at the flowers I’ve planted because I’m only focused on the barren road ahead and the work that still needs to be done.

People say: “Be grateful. Stay humble. Count your blessings.” 

And I live by that as best I can.

But the hunger, scarcity, and insecurities that got me here still stay with me.

It’s a very strange paradox of success: the very drive that pushes me to achieve also brings constant anxiety, self-doubt, and the fear of never being enough.

And I’m learning to coexist with it.

I’ve written thousands of emails, but this one we did for a brand still stands out.

Broke every “best practice” and still led to 7x the industry-average click rates.

Full breakdown of how we did it:

You’ll fall to the level of your habits if you don’t strive to level up.

Managing a million moving pieces in my business taught me that weak systems hide big problems until it’s too late.

Sometimes, day-to-day numbers from our clients' accounts feel all over the place, and even in week-to-week data, there’s a lot of variance. 

But still, I rely on a systematized dashboard to get a clear sense of how accounts are trending and catch anything that needs my attention.

It gives me a clear pulse on everything, from the technical metrics to client sentiment, so nothing slips through the cracks.

You need processes and SOPs in place that make sense of the data and help you act before small issues snowball.

Hearing clients mention our “attention to detail” and “data-driven optimization” reminds me that all the invisible hard work and systems do pay off.

If you want to hear more about retention, leadership, and business growth, definitely hit follow to stay plugged in.

Brands doing $5M+ a year often leak Millions in repeat revenue without even realizing it.

We’ve helped 500+ of them plug those gaps using 13 Advanced Retention Flows that have driven 9-figure profits across our clients.

Pre-Purchase Flows

1. Welcome Flow

Leverage core human triggers to push readers off the fence and toward the decision.
- Show off 3-4 bestsellers.

2. Abandoned Checkout Flow

Highest-converting new customer flow, yet most brands mess it up. 

What you need to add in the email:

- The item they left behind
- A direct CTA back to checkout

3. Browse Abandonment Flow

Window shoppers comparing options, weighing alternatives. Show them the product they viewed is the solution they need.

4. Abandoned Cart Flow

Similar to abandoned checkout, but customers have lower commitment. Identify blockers and address them in your email. 

5. Site Abandonment Flow

These visitors aren’t ready to buy yet. They are just exploring.

Use it to:

- Reintroduce brand story & USPs
- Highlight top sellers
- Guide them to landing pages for warming up

6. Failure To Launch Flow

Targets anyone who created a profile in the last 30 days but hasn’t opened or clicked a single email.

This is where you go a little heavier with a slightly bigger discount than your welcome flow, but not so big that it kills your margins.

7. First-Time Purchase / Thank You Flow

Attention & interest are at their peak at this stage. Use these 3 emails: 

- Email #1 (Transactional): Order confirmation, FAQs, shipping info
 
- Email #2: Boost deliverability & engagement by asking for a reply 

- Email #3: Encourage second purchase

8. Win-Back Flow

- Recapture past buyers. 
- Offer strong discounts or bonuses. 
- Every conversion here is essentially free revenue.

9. Sunset Flow

Targets inactive customers. Acknowledge the relationship winding down.

- Offer one last strong incentive
- Ask for reviews or referrals for ongoing value

Example: post-pregnancy, maternity products may no longer be relevant

10. Repeat Purchase Flow

Second purchase = strong satisfaction signal.

- Primary objective of this flow: request reviews & referrals
- Secondary objective of this flow: loyalty perks (exclusive access, early drops, VIP communities)

11. VIP Flow

Define VIP for your brand (purchase frequency, spend, engagement). Then treat them differently with early access and better offers. 

12. Cross-Sell / Upsell Flow

Increase revenue per customer automatically.

- Suggest products based on past purchases
- Remind them why they’re receiving the email

Example: bought emergency light → upsell battery bundle

13. Replenishment Flow

Target one-time buyers whose products are likely to be used up.

- Encourage repurchase
- Introduce subscription programs for retention & savings

Book a call to see how $5M+ brands are leveraging these flows to maximize repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.

I sat down with Eric Siu, co-host of the Marketing School podcast (2M+ downloads/month) and Chairman of Single Grain, to discuss building, scaling, and thinking long-term. 

I boiled down our 49-minute interview into the top 5 lessons that changed the way I think.

I was chatting with my partner Jackson Blackledge about the moves 7-8 figure DTC brands should be making to crush this BFCM.

The same team that’s pulled in $195M+ in Q4 revenue for 100+ brands had some solid advice about Google ads: 

1. Optimize, don’t rebuild

Layer BFCM messaging on top of what’s already working instead of starting fresh campaigns.

2. Front-load budget so Google can fully participate in the surge of traffic without choking your ROAS.

When BFCM hits, search volume explodes. If your daily budgets are tight, Google can’t spend enough early in the day to enter auctions, learn, or scale.

So your ads either don’t show, show late, or lose to competitors with bigger budgets. 

3. Optimize Merchant Center

Promotions, discounts, and shipping details need to be spot-on for your ads to perform. Those tiny offer badges can make a huge difference in who actually clicks your ads.

During BFCM, competition spikes. People search “Black Friday [product]”, and if your titles, promotions, or discounts aren’t updated in GMC, you lose clicks to competitors.

4. Use time-based creative

Schedule your search and Performance Max assets to match the customer journey: early-bird, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and last-chance messaging.

5. Warm up and retarget

Build audiences early and hit them post-BFCM with short, targeted video ads to turn traffic into profit.

All of this helps you win attention during BFCM. But attention only matters if you can hold onto it.

The brands that crush Q4 make sure traffic sticks around with smart retention and lifecycle moves, turning clicks into loyal customers.

To actually make sure your Google Ads account is ready for Q4, ask yourself these five questions:

Q#1. Should you launch new campaigns for BFCM or optimize what’s already running?

Q#2. Are your budgets and bids set to protect ROAS during high-volume spikes?

Q#3. Are your Merchant Center promotions fully optimized to capture clicks?

Q#4. Is your search ad copy scheduled and adapted for each stage of BFCM?

Q#5. Do you have retargeting audiences ready to convert warm traffic post-BFCM?

Here’s the breakdown from Echelonn on all five questions:

chronos.agency

Google Ads BFCM Strategy for 7-8 Figure DTC Brands

google & youtube ads for dtc brands / tabs, snow, obvi, craftd, agemate, muscle nation, sasha therese, forest super foods, icon amsterdam / daily mentor coach

I made a huge mistake last year, and my team was the one who paid the price for it. 

We hired and invested based on an overly optimistic plan and didn’t account for higher-than-expected churn or lower-than-expected revenue. 

By mid-year, everything hit at once: layoffs, shaken trust, and my team bearing the consequences of my blind spots.

Looking back, I see that our approach to spending was almost like we were still in the early days of the business, when taking big bets was possible without catastrophic consequences. 

But now with 80+ employees and dozens of clients depending on us, those bets crossed in the reckless category.

It was painful, but it taught me a lesson I bring to Chronos and every client account we manage: optimism is fine, but systems need to plan for the worst.

Now, while hiring, we plan for the worst-case scenario on costs while aiming for the best-case scenario on revenue. 

That approach keeps us profitable, sustainable, and ensures the team doesn’t bear the consequences of poor planning.

If you want to hear more about retention, leadership, and business growth, definitely hit follow to stay plugged in.

After 8 years in the industry and working with 500+ brands, these 5 lessons have never failed me.

#1. Lock in the systems

It’s tempting to chase quick wins and adrenaline-fueled spikes, but real traction comes from locking in repeatable systems. That’s why we:

- Funnel top-performing email campaigns straight into automations
- Tweak incrementally instead of tearing everything down yearly

#2. Break the rules 

I grew up hearing I wasn’t “business material”. For years, I bought that story. 

But meeting kind, sharp business leaders flipped that story on its head, because: 

- You can play nice and crush it 
- You can play rough and still crush it 

#3. Boring wins beat flashy bets

Not every day needs to feel like a roller coaster. 

Our strongest months came from boring, steady execution day over day. 

#4. Just dive in

Perfection is a trap. The only way forward is to dive in and learn on the go.

#5. Own your version of success

Create a version of success that lets you sleep at night. If you’re at peace with yourself, every other win is just icing on the cake.

Lock in your systems, break the rules that don’t serve you, dive in without waiting for perfect, and define success on your own terms. 

Do this consistently, and growth and fulfillment will follow naturally.

Over 9 figures in GMV across 20+ brands have taught me this: 

The top 20% of your loyal customers hold the majority of your revenue in their hands, but only if these 3 retention pillars are in place.

5 Key Pillars of A Profitable Retention System 

Funny enough, the moment you stop chasing scale is exactly when it starts to show up.

Instead of chasing more clients, we chose to go deep with the ones we have and focus entirely on maximizing LTV for e‑commerce brands.

Every decision, hire, and system is built around getting exceptional at it and creating outsized value for our client partners.

Our 80-person team only works with 40- 60 clients at a time, onboarding each one carefully. Now brands are waiting for their turn to work with us.

When you stop chasing scale and focus on serving your clients exceptionally well, scale starts chasing you.

taplio

The Battle

Ramon Vela

Joshua Chin

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Performance ScoreRamon Vela's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJoshua Chin's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Ramon Vela

Joshua Chin

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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);}Ramon Vela's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJoshua Chin's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRamon Vela's LinkedIn Performance