Dylan Ander is the Founder & CEO of Heatmap, the #1 on-site analytics tool that tells ecommerce brands how to make more money—not just track clicks.

Unlike traditional heatmaps that focus on generic engagement metrics, Heatmap ties revenue to every pixel on your site, showing exactly which elements drive purchases (and which ones kill conversions).

💰 Finally, you can optimize for buyer behavior—not just traffic.

With trillions of data points and billions in tracked ecommerce revenue, Dylan has uncovered the data-backed insights brands need to turn website interactions into profit.

Before Heatmap, Dylan built and exited SplitTesting.com, one of the largest CRO agencies for ecommerce brands. He’s helped top brands like Hexclad, True Classic Tees, GEICO, and Planet Fitness optimize their websites for maximum revenue impact.

Dylan has been featured in Forbes, Disrupt Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and Entrepreneur.com, and appeared on top podcasts like Hustle Sold Separately and The AdSpend Podcast.

Outside of professional life, Dylan played NCAA tennis and is a USPTA-certified tennis coach. He's also a singer/songwriter and has written several songs that reached the Billboard Hot 100.

Want to optimize your website for revenue, not just clicks? Let’s talk.

At 20, I toured as a musician. 36 shows in 42 days.

On show 30, someone stole $110,000 worth of equipment from our van.

Cracked it open and took guitars, amps, everything. We had to cancel the rest of the shows.

I was pissed off. I wish I had a GPS tracker to find these dudes and beat the sh*t out of them. But you can’t just throw a tracker in a guitar case, they would just toss it.

So I designed a locking system that went over the strings and around the neck. D-shaped, like a capo with GPS tracking embedded. 

You couldn’t remove it without breaking the guitar neck itself. 

I submitted it to a business plan competition at my college. The TAM was tiny, but I won $5,000 for it.

I spent the winnings on getting a patent for my device... then I learned what non-exempt taxes were (i forgot to pay oops), got slapped with a $2,500 bill the next year. 

This was when I learned that solving your own problems is a profitable adventure, and no I never built it into a company, but I have a patent and got a pretty sick guitar.

Dylan Ander

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3 exits. $5B+ in online revenue optimized. 12+ years in marketing. 1 book published.

Funniest way I got a 6-fig monthly contract lol (try at your own discretion)

Early twenties. Sitting across from a Fortune 500 CMO. Looked him dead in his eyes and said, “Your website sucks.”

He immediately got defensive with:

- "But our traffic is up"
- "Engagement is great"
- "We just redesigned"

I stopped him and asked, “What’s your goal for this next quarter?” 

He said to “improve net profit”.

“Cool. Then your website sucks and you need to improve it.”

At first, he was pissed, but after I explained what CRO really is, he was so grateful, he handed me a contract. 

Took over a year to write Billion Dollar Websites. I was so close to calling the book “Your Website Sucks.”

Throughout the book, I tell you that your website sucks. I don’t even need to look at it. 

It’s like going to the gym and working out twice a day for 6 months. Getting a crazy 6-pack.

But the second you think “Cool, I’m in good shape” and stop the routine. Slowly, you gain the fat back and lose the muscle.

Same with your website. The second you say “Yeah, our website’s good” and stop optimizing, you lose. 

Doesn’t matter if you’re pushing a billion dollars on Shopify a year. Your website still sucks, and you need to optimize it.

Maintain a healthy dissatisfaction: “We’re doing well, but we can do better.”

Your website is either getting better or getting worse, and this is the foundation of Billion Dollar Websites.

Your website sucks. Accept it. Do something about it.

I was 20 when I got my first agency client. 

My dad was bragging to his friends about how I was making cash with Facebook ads for my ecom brands. One of them ran a wholesale box company and asked if I’d run ads for him.

I charged $400/month. I offered to do it for free, but he insisted on paying me something.

I totally FLOPPED. Like, negative ROI on even $400 lol. 

I knew how to sling ecom products, but B2B lead gen was a different beast. But that’s exactly why I took it on, as a challenge. 

He's a good family friend, and we catch up once a year. 

He still comments on my LinkedIn posts about how proud he is of how far I've come. Warms my heart every time 😊

Everyone starts somewhere. My somewhere was $400 a month and negative ROI lol

The founder worship needs to end.

People act like starting a company is the ultimate life hack. 

"Freedom! Flexibility! Be your own boss!"

That’s straight-up bullsh*t lol 🤣

For most, becoming a founder is career suicide disguised as ambition.

Your schedule isn't yours. Saturday night client calls feel like being on-call forever.

I've got 50 people on payroll. That's 200+ mouths to feed. Every decision impacts whether these families make rent. That pressure keeps me up at night.

The stress of carrying everyone's livelihood on your back.

The people who have perfected their skill to shut down laptops at 6 pm, and disconnect on weekends without guilt are the real ones with flexibility.

This toxic hierarchy puts founders on pedestals, and it needs to be over. It's classism wrapped in hustle culture.

Pick the path that fits how your brain works, not what sounds impressive at dinner parties.

But most of you aren’t ready for that conversation yet... 🤷♂️

Hot take: if you have the opportunity to sell your company, 9 out of 10 times you should.

About a year ago, one of my friends sold his first 8-figure company, and I was pumped for him.

He probably got about half the amount he could have gotten. But his company was growing, and he was miserable as the founder.

I worked with him to keep the momentum going before he sold. Started helping him with operations to get things more automated. 

We got him out of sales calls and hired a full-time salesman so he could have more free time.

But the unhappy customers calling and messaging were heavy for him. 

We figured out how to cut contacts, get a second cell phone, and completely disconnect from the company.

It finally started to help, but funny enough, he started getting offers from the people who he said no to when I first spoke to him.

After that, he found a buyer and did a 5-day deal because they already knew everything.

He was able to get an even better amount of money because his revenue was up a little bit, but nothing astronomical.

He got a way higher number because he didn't need to sell, and he was happier.

Sometimes money isn’t the biggest asset needed.

I’m a billionaire...just not on paper.

Not in equity either. 

It’s in my emotional bank account, and that’s worth more than money ❤️ 

People say their companies are built on referrals, and they attribute it to good work.

But good work alone isn’t enough. You need that to simply survive. 

I got to $300K/month in my agency by being a good dude and following through on my promises, by helping people first.

My philosophy has always been simple: if I can help you, reach out. If I'm not the best person to help you, I'll connect you with who is.

People go to networking events, trying to sell. 

I go to find opportunities where I can help even one person. And I mean that.

It's about building up the emotional bank account. Every time you help someone (even something small like helping them move furniture), that's a deposit.

When you ask for a favor, that’s a withdrawal. And those cost like 10X what you gave. 

When I put out my book, we sold out nearly the entire first print run in three days. I got messages saying, "I bought your CRO masterclass. I'm probably not gonna watch it, but I wanted to support you for how much you've helped me."

That's what having an emotional bank account gets you, and I'm f*cking loaded in the emotional bank account (not to brag) 💯

2+ years ago, I posted “F*CK CONVERSION RATE.”

Today, it's a full chapter in Billion Dollar Websites (page 147).

You can 4x your conversion rate overnight. Just cut 100% of your ads and send 5 emails.

Would you actually do that? Of course not.

Because conversion rate tells you NOTHING about your website's actual performance.

The only metric that matters is revenue per session.

That's what I optimize for, and that's what drives profit. 

Not some vanity metric that looks good in investor decks but means nothing for your bottom line.

P.S. Page 147 of Billion Dollar Websites breaks down exactly why CR is misleading and what to track instead. 

296 pages of frameworks like this from optimizing $5B in ecom revenue → https://lnkd.in/eFvcgH7W

Nobody gives a f*ck about your charity partnerships 👏

Customers in 2025 have been shopping online for 15+ years. They're experienced and can spot when you're trying to emotionally manipulate them into buying.

"We donate to children's hospitals!" doesn't make your product better. 

It makes you look desperate.

People only care about the actual product.

Does it work? Is it quality? Am I getting what's advertised?

That's the entire decision-making process.

They don't care that you're saving the rainforest or funding dog shelters. Using causes as a sales tactic feels like a scam because it usually is one.

You're trying to guilt people into buying mediocre products by making them feel like bad humans if they don't.

Focus on the products to sell themselves, not some manipulation tactics.

99% of people aren't worth saving from their own limiting beliefs.

And that's fine.

Your job is to find the 1% who immediately get what you're building and turn them into fanatics.

When I came out with Split Testing(.)com pre-iOS 14, I had to guarantee I'd double revenue or they wouldn't pay. The market just didn't get it yet.

Suddenly, everyone gets it now post-iOS 14

I’m just a dude who stopped trying to educate everyone and moved on to making it as simple as possible, even a baby could understand.

Find your 1% who get your vision, and make them obsessed.

They'll convert the other 99% for you.

Them: "This candidate doesn't have experience, but they're eager to learn."

Me: "How many years of paid experience do they have doing this exact role?"

Them: "Zero, but they took an online course and seem motivated."

Me: "Would you let someone 'eager to learn' operate on you?"

Them:

I burned out at 23 because I didn’t learn say “no” yet.

Post-college, I ran an agency doing ads, SEO, and web dev. 

I said yes to every client because I wanted the cash, but I stressed myself out so bad with low-quality customers that I shut it down completely (didn’t even try to sell).

Then came another yes season with 4 equity deals, some free work, and some break-even. My net worth went DOWN.

But I don't regret getting my hands on everything: 
- SEO
- Ads
- Supply chain
- CRO 

Became a f*cking gangster at diagnosing any ecom problem. 

That year cost me money but gave me a PhD in ecom marketing.

Then I lost $400K on a drink company.

That's when I shifted to NO.

Dropped major clients (even GEICO-level contracts) to focus only on CRO. 

Started at $1.5K/month. Got clients 100x results. Doubled my rate to 3K, then 5K.

That’s when I met Mubbu (Wiz Of Ecom). He convinced me to post my first tweet with 5 followers. Blew up to 1,000 overnight. Closed $40K MRR in two weeks.

Had one more yes moment when I bought an AI split testing platform for $40K. Google Optimize killed it. 

But that $40K acquisition became the base code for Heatmap. 

There are seasons of yes where you're learning, getting reps, building skills.

Then there are seasons of no, where you cut everything that isn't moving you forward.

My rule now is if it's not a f*ck yeah, it's a f*ck no.

Building Mogul Ventures. We Create Authorities. Posts on authority-building, AI, operations, personal branding, and funnels.

Every DTC brand yaps about ad costs to the point where they ignore some of the biggest opportunities in front of them.

ORGANIC CHANNELS. 

Brands are burning millions on Meta when there are 4 massive channels completely untapped:

EMAIL - Stop tracking ROAS. Track cost/earning per email (EPS). I've seen brands that know exactly what each email is worth.

SEO/GEO - You invest upfront, but once you're ranking, those clicks don't cost per acquisition anymore. 

SOCIAL - Celebrity brands win because they have distribution day one. Ads are just a bonus on top. Build the following first.

PRIVATE GROUPS - Important Leather Goods has a community of raving buyers. That's owned distribution you can't buy. 

AI is coming for all of us. SaaS, ecom, agencies.

But AI can't replicate the organic reach you when you build it.

If your entire model depends on paying for every click, you're f*cked the second costs spike again (and they will lol).

Build channels you own. It’s how the biggest brands are winning.

Spent over 2,000 hours writing Billion Dollar Websites 🤓

And I’m confident it’ll be THE definitive CRO book (not just founder bias talking lol)

I’ve been doing ecom since I was 17. 10+ years in CRO = way more than the 10,000 hours to master a craft.

I’ve run more failed split tests than winning ones. Built more bad landing pages than good ones. Made more mistakes than successes. 

That’s why I know in my bones this will be your greatest ROI on your time (and tiny $20 bucks) all year.

This book is counsel-backed by $5 billion in optimized revenue. Pure data and tactics.

I’m no genius, I just have experience to share.

This isn't a book you read once and put on a shelf. It's a desk manual. The kind you flip open to a random chapter during your workday, read a page, and immediately apply something.

I invented new frameworks on UX, copywriting, and consumer psychology that you’ve never seen before.

To ANY marketer in the world, not just CROs... this book will be your highest ROI investment.

BUY THIS HERE

billiondollarwebsites.com

Billion Dollar Websites

Going from bootstrapped to VC-backed is a complete business model shift. 

I learned this the hard way 🥲 

These are the 9 differences that broke my brain: 

1️⃣ YOUR BANK ACCOUNT ISN'T YOURS ANYMORE

Bootstrapped = every dollar the business makes is yours. 

VC-backed = you own equity in a corporation. The cash belongs to the corporation.

Total mindf*ck at first.

2️⃣ YOU'RE SELLING A DIFFERENT METRIC

Bootstrap exits are based on profit multiples (EBITDA).

SaaS exits are based on revenue multiples.

So bootstrapped Dylan chased margins.

VC Dylan has to chase revenue growth even if we're bleeding cash.

3️⃣ THE ECONOMICS FLIP UPSIDE DOWN

My agency: $11.2K/client/month

Heatmap: $150/user/month

Went from high-touch, high-value to mass market play.

Totally different game.

4️⃣ SPENDING BECOMES YOUR JOB

My board literally said "you're not burning money fast enough"

As someone who's always chased profit, this hurt my soul.

Had to rewire my brain: in the VC world, growth beats profitability until exit or IPO.

5️⃣ THE PRODUCT HAS TO RIP

June 2024, we dropped Web Analytics, and sh*t took off.

People tweeting about us unprompted. Organic buzz everywhere.

That's when it hit me: our product actually rips, and the burn rate makes sense.

6️⃣ TRACKING ROI GETS FUZZY

Ecom: You track every dollar. Facebook ROAS, Google ROAS, all of it.

SaaS: You're looking for "signal" instead of direct attribution.

Like: influencer posts, UTM clicks look weak, but signups spike. That's your signal to pour gas on it.

7️⃣ YOUR DATA TELLS A STORY

The whole SaaS attribution debate. As a numbers guy, dropping single-touch attribution was painful.

My approach: chase signal, not just ad dollars in and out.

Mix your hard numbers with gut feel and take your shots.

8️⃣ BRAND BECOMES THE MOAT

Bootstrap brands chase immediate returns.

VC-backed brands chase reputation.

Better product → better brand → more organic growth → burn makes sense.

9️⃣ IT'S NOT JUST A FUNDING CHOICE

Bootstrapping and VC funding are fundamentally different businesses.

Different scorecards, different strategies, different psychology.

One isn't superior. Just different objectives.

Making the jump was the hardest thing I've ever done in business.

Bootstrapped Vs. Vc Backed. What nobody tells you about switching between them

Please don't take this as a first-world problem because it IS a first-world problem. But I'm also a human, and if you're reading this, you're a human (hopefully you're not a bot lol)

But the brokest I've ever felt in my life was AFTER selling my 8-figure agency.

Sounds absolutely whack, but the keyword is FELT.

Everyone fantasizes about exiting and getting this pot of money.

First off, you're gonna get slapped with 50% taxes on that sh*t. An example of $5 million is really $2.5 million post-tax.

That's reason #1 why it's not a fantasy.

Number two, I was banking a couple of hundred thousand a month. Yes, I'm sitting here with a pot of money. That's cool.

But since I was 21 years old, my bank account has never been lower than the month before. 

Now I'm living on that pot of money that I have. But now I have no cash flow in sight.

My exit wasn't for f*ck you money. My exit was for a really comfortable life money, especially living in NYC.

I'm proud to say post-exit, I did not go for lifestyle creep. I live in the same apartment that I had when I sold (I got a great COVID deal, I’m not letting it go). I drive the same 2016 Volkswagen that I drove when I sold it. I'm still frugal with my money.

I live the same life. I just have a bit more money in my bank account.

After I exited, I actually did take two weeks and sat on the couch, ate ice cream, and watched all of Succession (great show).

Then I started getting the post-exit blues. It's a real thing.

The thing that drove me for Heatmap is “f*ck, if I had this tool, I would have gotten such better results for my clients for years.”

I knew I was solving a problem. A legitimate pain point that other human beings had. And I could be the motherf*cker to solve that problem for other people.

The best way to build a company is to either live life, run a company, find a problem, solve it, and then go make a company out of that.

Not because you need the money.

Because you need the PURPOSE.

The exit is just the end of one chapter.

Exits aren't sunflowers and rainbows. They're complicated, emotional, messy.

But if you find a problem worth solving next, you'll be fine.

Just don't expect the pot of gold to fill the void. 

Aim for the biggest long-term swing of your life

The Post Exit Blues No One Talks About

I had a brand DM me about selling. $5M revenue, $1M EBITDA. 

Sounds solid lol.

But their product was a one-time purchase. 

One-time products have no LTV. You're constantly burning cash to acquire new customers with zero returning buyers.

The game is about acquiring customers at break-even and bringing them back again and again. Taylor Holiday talks about this all the time, I love it. 

My two ecom exits were consumables and supplements. Products people need repeatedly. 

I'd acquire customers at break-even and scale aggressively because I knew more money was coming later.

That's why I got higher multiples when I sold.

Product vs. distribution is the wrong debate for ecom. 

Your product needs to either be embedded in someone's lifestyle or be consumable. Otherwise, you're building a treadmill business.

Distribution doesn't matter if your product can't create LTV.

CEO, Common Thread Collective

Founder: “Our conversion rate is too low. We need to redesign the website.”

Me: “Have you run customer feedback surveys?”

Founder: “No, but our designer says...”

Me: “Stop. Your offer is probably broken, not your site. Run the Billion Dollar Data Funnel first.”

Founder: 😐

🚨 I have access to data from 1,000+ Ecom brands, this will tell you exactly what is/isn't working this BFCM.

It's VERY interesting how this year is different than the past 2-3 years in buyer behavior.

Ecom Team, This is a must-read if you want to optimize your BFCM strategy and stop making emotional decisions over data-driven ones. I needed to send 

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