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  🙏🏻

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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.

When I found out I was going to be a dad, I started looking at my days differently.

Not in some profound way. I just wanted to understand where my time was actually going. So I tracked it for a week.

What I found made me uncomfortable. 

I'd end each day exhausted, feeling like I'd been productive. But when I looked at what I'd actually accomplished? Almost nothing I could point to. 

Hours lost in Slack. 

Meetings that didn't need to happen. 

And this massive to-do list I kept rewriting every morning without ever finishing.

The problem wasn't that I was lazy. It was that I kept lying to myself about what I'd get done. 

I'd look at my to-do list with 15 things on it and think "yeah, I can do all this today." Then I'd get through maybe 3, cross them off, rewrite the rest for tomorrow, and repeat the cycle.

So I killed the to-do list entirely. 

Now everything lives on my calendar in time blocks:

- 8-9am is content

- 12-1pm is learning while I eat lunch

- 2-3pm is retention

- 5-6pm is MentorPass calls 

- Even feeding my son is blocked off. 

If it needs to get done, it gets a time slot.

With a to-do list, you can always say "I'll do it tomorrow." With a calendar, you're forced to be honest. 

You either have time for something or you don't. And when you see your day actually laid out in front of you, you stop pretending you can fit 15 hours of work into 8 hours.

Since my son was born, I've become ruthless about this. And it has changed everything for me.

If something doesn't help me grow, build something meaningful, or make me better at what I do, I don't make room for it. 

Kill your to-do list for one week. See what happens when you stop lying to yourself about your time.

Talks about #cpg, #ecommerce, #marketing, #healthandwellness, and #digitaladvertising

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

Your retention rate is 35%. Congratulations. But where did the other 65% go?

We celebrate retention metrics all the time. "We're at 30%!" "We hit 40%!" Great. But we spend almost zero time talking about why 60-70% of people didn't come back.

Same thing with churn. Brands brag about their churn rates but never dig into the actual reason people are leaving.

That’s why we stopped shrugging at the numbers and started giving those 65% a real platform to tell us what went wrong: Surveys, post-purchase feedback, and our Facebook community where people can be brutally honest.

And what we found surprised us.

The customers who complain loudest aren't your problem. They're often your most valuable customers. Because they actually want the product to work.

They just want to know two things:

1) Am I alone in this issue?

2) Did someone else find a solution?

When you give them that space, something interesting happens.

We've watched thousands of community members jump in to help someone who posted a complaint. They share what worked for them. They troubleshoot together. And the person who almost churned becomes an advocate because they got the answer they needed.

That feedback also tells you exactly where to focus. For us, it shaped which products we launched next, how we adjusted formulations, and what education we needed to build into our flows.

You can't get that from a retention dashboard.

The worst customer isn't someone who hates your product and tells you. It's someone who quietly churns and you never find out why.

So stop celebrating retention percentages in a vacuum. The real work is understanding why people leave and actually doing something about it.

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

You can have great margins and still run out of cash.

I see it all the time with brands I mentor.

Here are 3 financial landmines I see all the time that catch founders as they scale from 7 to 8 figs:

THE BASELINE: Tracking gross and contribution margin is good, but it's just the starting point. But knowing your margins is only the first step in terms of having good DTC financial hygiene.

LANDMINE #1: YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR TRUE LANDED COST

Most founders think landed cost = product cost + freight to 3PL. Wrong.

Your true landed cost includes: 

- Product costs

- Freight to your 3PL 

- Inbound fees (receiving, counting, inspection) 

- Packaging costs (inner boxes, outer boxes, kitting) 

- Pallet storage fees (if turn rate is 60+ days)

The gap between "manufacturer price + shipping" and true landed cost can be +15%. That can be the difference between a profitable and an unprofitable margin. 

The fix: Break down every cost between "manufacturer ships" and "product reaches customer." Update quarterly as fees change.

LANDMINE #2: YOU'RE CALCULATING RETURNS, DISCOUNTS, AND CHARGEBACKS WRONG

Most founders do quick napkin math and assume something like 17-20% off gross sales for returns, discounts, and chargebacks. 

2 problems:

Problem 1: You're calculating off gross instead of net. Returns and chargebacks should come off NET sales (after discounts). Calculating off gross inflates your margins.

Problem 2: You're ignoring seasonality. Q4 discount rates spike. January returns spike. Chargebacks increase. Using an annual average sets you up for Q4 cash crunches.

The fix: Calculate off net sales. Track monthly. Adjust forecasts for seasonal patterns (don't use annual averages).

LANDMINE #3: SALES TAX COMPLIANCE ISN'T ON YOUR RADAR

Unless you're tracking every sale by jurisdiction, you don't know when you're in nexus or what you owe.

For high growth brands, this could easily become six figures in costs.

The stupidest money you can spend is paying penalties on taxes you were always going to owe.

The fix: Automate it. Tools like Kintsugi handle real-time nexus monitoring, automatic registration, and automated filing. 

They have a free tier for monitoring and alerts if you want to find out where you’re at.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

If you're in a growth/scale phase, you need more than margin tracking to stay financially healthy.

You need: 

✓ Accurate landed cost calculations (updated quarterly) 

✓ Returns/discounts calculated off net sales with seasonal adjustments 

✓ Accurate sales tax compliance

These seem like small details until they cost you tens of thousands in penalties, surprise losses, or cash flow crunches.

Get your financial hygiene right early. It's way cheaper than fixing it later.

#Kintsugipartner

Learn more about Kintsugi here: https://lnkd.in/eaq-YkFb

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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