New look, new vibe, new... news! The latest from me and my team.

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Fellow entrepreneurs probably get this better than most, but I thrive when I have a lot going on. I thrive even more when all the parts of the disparate machines I’ve been building start to whir together in harmony—it’s what made it possible to run a consumer goods brand, an industrial design agency, and a 3PL and fulfillment business all at once.

When things work smoothly together, I’m in the zone. And honestly, I’m in the zone hunkering down and trying to make them work smoothly together until they do. Any other founders or creators relate?

This is my semi-overdue update on the machines I’ve been building—and how they’re whirring together these days!

First and foremost, have you noticed a new look? This newsletter got a makeover, a new name, and a new editor! More on that below, but you can find us on Substack and in your inbox now as Commerce is Chaos—a fitting name for the eternally satisfying yet stressful Rubik’s cube that is growing a commerce business these days! Kindly save us as a contact or be sure to fish us from your spam folder next time you see the name? I’d also love it if you shared with a friend who you think might benefit from real talk about what it’s like out there, or who could use a little tactical ops help.

Speaking of—my podcast, formerly known as Best Day Ever, also got the makeover. Have you subscribed yet? Today we’re debuting the new name and the new focus: think honest, tactical, in-the-weeds conversations with the operators who make shit happen. I’m more interested in revisiting your biggest “oh sh*t!” moment—and how you sorted it out—than in the classic founder highlight reel PR spiel. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here.

Kicking off our new season with the inimitable Adam Simone, founder of Smoosh and Leaf Shave… any guests you think I absolutely have to chat with? Shout them out in the comments!

Podcast aside, these days I split my time between Hologram Capital, where I focus on distressed consumer brands and some of our new holdings, and Endless Commerce, where I’m building a full stack CommerceOS for emerging brands.

At Endless, we replace the messy Google Sheet that you have nightmares about and that you also desperately rely on—I’d love to show it to you and get your feedback if you’re curious, or ever want to give it a trial or test. Drop me a line in the comments or hit reply and I’ll hook you up!

We’re gearing up for a big growth year, so we’ve added some new muscle across the teams at Hologram and Endless—introducing you to Azora Zoe Paknad, who will be a familiar face around here! She’s also a former founder with a background in consumer and distressed brands. On the side, she writes a Substack about the ugly, not so great bits of being a founder and identity post-startup, so you can imagine we had plenty to geek out about when we first connected. Zoe’s the GTM/operating arm over at Hologram & Endless and our editor for all things Commerce is Chaos!

While Zoe and I work at building a better operating system for our portfolio brands at Hologram and for all omnichannel brands at Endless, we’ll share the best bits we’ve been learning on the roller coaster ride with you here. I’d love your two cents on a few things while I have you…

• What other newsletters do you love that are actually helpful in the day-to-day of running a consumer business?

• What podcasts are genuinely interesting and informative listens in the ecommerce/retail space?

• What ops head-scratchers can we help you solve?

LFG!

—Sam & Zoe