Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth

What does a CTC Profit Engineer actually do all day? Brian Sakansky, Profit Engineer Manager at CTC, breaks down the exact daily, weekly, and monthly cadence behind managing 7, 8, and 9-figure eCommerce brands. From Monday's plan reset to Friday's close-the-loop review, this is the operating system behind the Profit Engine.
In this episode:
The weekly rhythm: reset, diagnose, align, ship, close the loop

How execution and strategy split 50/50 (and when that flexes)

Why daily action beats waiting for a weekly call

The scientific method applied to eCommerce growth

Contingency planning that saved Black Friday

How Statlas and AI tools accelerate diagnosis

What makes a Profit Engineer different from an account manager

6:45 AM to 4:30 PM: A Day in the Life of a Profit Engineer: https://commonthreadco.com/blogs/coachs-corner/6-45-am-to-4-30-pm-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-profit-engineer

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

Randall Thompson built an ecommerce brand from scratch, scaled it to eight figures, and sold it. Along the way, he learned that the goals he set had almost nothing to do with what his business could actually deliver.
In this episode, Randall joins Richard to break down what it means to understand your business's DNA, the non-negotiable metrics (COGS, repeat rate, margins) that determine what's actually possible, and how to align your goals to reality instead of fantasy.
They cover the three goal buckets every founder should be thinking about, why all roads lead to profit regardless of your endgame, and how CTC's Prophit System functions as a data-driven reality check for your brand.
In This Episode:
Why every business has a "DNA" that determines its ceiling

Three goal categories: build to sell, raise capital, or optimize for lifestyle

How to connect daily execution metrics to long-term outcomes

Why money may be flowing back into eCommerce

Personal brand as a key element of business DNA

How CTC's Prophit System gives you a second opinion rooted in data

Show Notes:
Go to https://bit.ly/4aiEz79 to start your free plan today

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

Growth Mastermind
What if you could get weekly strategy sessions with a senior CTC profit engineer, full Statlas access, and a private cohort of brands at your stage, all for $500/month?That's the Next Level Growth Mastermind.Richard breaks down exactly what's inside, who it's built for, and five real insights that came out of our pilot cohort sessions, including why offer-market fit matters more than CRO, the exact launch sequence for marketing moments, and a Post-It note ad tactic that's outperforming studio creative.What you get with the Growth Mastermind:
Weekly live calls with senior CTC leadership
Small cohorts of 10 brands matched by revenue stage
Full Statlas subscription ($750/mo value included)
All your data ingested for a complete 360 view of your business
Dedicated cohort Slack channel
Full access to CTC's methodology archive (Meta, Google, email, TikTok, AppLovin)
30-day money-back guarantee
Whether you're a 6-figure brand looking for a second opinion, a 7-figure operator who wants to connect with founders in a similar stage, or an 8-figure brand that wants senior strategic guidance on a weekly basis, this is built for you.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

CTC's AppLovin specialist Connaugh is back four months after our first episode on the platform to break down what's actually working. Discovery campaigns are averaging 284% incrementality, 45-60 second video creative is where the spend goes, and the tactical playbook is starting to take shape.
If you're running an 8-figure ecommerce brand and haven't tested AppLovin yet, this episode makes the case for why you should.
Topics covered:
AppLovin's new Discovery campaign type and how it differs from Prospecting

Incrementality test results: 284% average on Discovery vs. 141-150% on Prospecting

Why 45-60 second video creative gets 44% of total AppLovin spend

The creative set hack for granular reporting

How to drip new creative without tanking performance

Product catalog segmentation by campaign

CTC's $5K spend match partnership with AppLovin

Key stat: Discovery campaigns are driving 85-90% completely new visitor traffic with 190% incrementality (excluding outliers).
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

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

In this episode, Steve Rekuc breaks down the latest DTC Index findings showing 14.5% revenue growth year-over-year, even as brands face margin pressure. We dive into Mother's Day performance data and what it signals for Memorial Day and Father's Day spending patterns.
Topics Covered:
14.5% revenue increase with only 2% AMER decline  

Mother's Day performance and Memorial Day predictions  

Why discounting is down year-over-year  

Amazon cannibalization testing methodology  

TikTok Shops incrementality analysis  

Macro trends affecting consumer confidence  

Oil prices and their impact on DTC margins  

Key Insight: Brands increased ad spend 18% while maintaining near-flat acquisition efficiency - showing significantly improved spending power in the current market.
Show Notes:
Go to http://outersignal.com/thread to get 50% off your first two months

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