Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

Taylor sits down with Austin Harrison, founder and CEO of Northbeam, to announce an official partnership between CTC and Northbeam. After years of public debate about attribution, they've found common ground: bringing enterprise-grade measurement to 7-figure DTC brands.
In this episode, Taylor and Austin discuss their history, what's evolved in measurement, and how CTC will deliver Northbeam's deterministic attribution data through Statlas.
Topics covered:
The origin story: from intellectual sparring to partnership

How MTA has evolved with clicks + deterministic views (C+DV)

Why 7-day click windows are insufficient for most brands

First-party data and new vs. returning customer identity resolution

How Northbeam data integrates directly into Statlas

Why service models can serve SMBs where software pricing can't

Incrementality testing and the path to get there

The mission: enterprise-grade tools for 7-figure brand

Key stat: Meta's longest DTC attribution window (7-day click) is structurally insufficient for brands with long consideration cycles or high AOVs.
Show Notes:
Go to https://www.chargeflow.io/ and use CF30 to recover chargebacks free for 30 days.

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

What happens when a home flipper and an aspiring doctor decide to start selling lights during a pandemic? You get Lighthouse Co a curated lighting and home goods brand with 20,000+ SKUs, serving designers and homeowners across Canada and the US.
In this episode, Brian Sakansky sits down with Lighthouse Co co-founders Sarah and Jason at CTC HQ in Southern California. They break down the real story behind building multiple businesses from scratch, from custom cabinetry to curated ecommerce to building their own ERP software (ManuLink, all without formal training in any of it.
What you'll learn:
How Lean methodology transformed a small cabinetry shop into a scalable operation

Why Lighthouse Co gives every employee 30 minutes of paid time daily to improve one process

The customer service principles that built their reputation (and why they fire vendors who don't match them)

How they're navigating tariffs, economic uncertainty, and cross-border commerce in Canada and the US

What it's really like running multiple businesses as a married couple

Why their new ERP software was born out of necessity, not a business plan

Show Notes:
See how Attentive helps connect people and the brands they love.: https://bit.ly/4ag8oEJ

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

Steve Rekuc, Director of Data at Common Thread Collective, joins Richard to break down the Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 year-over-year data from the DTC Index.
The headline: Meta spend is up 25% year over year while ROAS only degraded 3%. Google ROAS actually increased 12% despite higher spend. The platforms are getting more elastic.
In this episode:
Total revenue up 13.6% YoY with more coming from returning customers

Meta spend up 25.28% with only 3% ROAS degradation 

Google ROAS up 12% with 3.65% more spend

Why AI-driven ad delivery is making both platforms better

CPMs are up but click-through rates are improving

The DTC Index data set: 200-300 stores, proprietary consumer confidence metrics

Consumer confidence: future purchase sentiment and hope for the economy

How the DTCCI (DTC Consumer Confidence Index) predicts spending elasticity

Show Notes:
Go to https://www.chargeflow.io/ and use CF30 to recover chargebacks free for 30 days.

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

The number one pain point brands bring to us: "My current agency gives me execution, not strategy."
Luke and Richard, break down why that complaint, while valid, doesn't go far enough.
Most brands are stuck in one of two broken relationships:
An agency that only executes (you tell them what to do, they do it)

A consultant that only strategizes (they give you a plan and leave)

Neither owns the outcome. And that's the real problem.
In this episode, Luke and Richard walk through the hierarchy of what actually matters:
Execution is the baseline (necessary but not sufficient)

Strategy is the ascension (backed by data, methodology, and experience)

Outcome is the North Star (predictable results you can hold someone accountable to)

Key insight: If the outcome isn't there, the strategy doesn't matter. If the strategy isn't there, the execution is just busy work. The Prophit Engine is built to own all three.
3% forecast accuracy across billions in managed revenue. That's outcome ownership.
Show Notes:
Axon is offering $5K ad credit when you spend $5K. Go to https://axon.ai/en/ctc to set up your first campaign.

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have

Taylor and Luke, walk through exactly how the Prophit Engine system enables one person to deliver the work and outcome of three.
This isn't about replacing people with AI. It's about what happens when you combine 12 years of methodology, a purpose-built data infrastructure, and an operator empowered by enterprise-grade tooling.
In this roundtable replay, Taylor demos:
How data infrastructure creates the foundation for fast decisions

The planning process: marketing calendar → financial forecast → daily targets

Statlas dashboard: from contribution margin to campaign-level actions

The Hierarchy of Metrics: diagnosing problems top to bottom

Creative demand planning: how many ads, what products, which moments

Outlier engine: why 3.5% of ads drive 66% of spend

How AI context layers are making Prophit Engineers move 10x faster

Luke walks through:
Creative analytics: spending power, outlier rates, activation economics

How to turn creative production from gambling into math

Key stat: 3% forecast-to-target accuracy across $3B+ in managed revenue.
Show Notes:
Go to https://www.chargeflow.io/ and use CF30 to recover chargebacks free for 30 days.

Explore the Prophit Engine: https://commonthreadco.com/pages/prophit-engine

The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at [email protected] to ask us any questions you might have