My ecom journey building NovaaLab: 2020: $234K 2021: $1M 2022: $4M 2023: $7M 2024: $10M 2025: $14M (total) On pace for $20M in 2026.

As a CEO that's what I love to see. Less ad spend, +50% revenue yoy. And it's not random or luck, it was designed in Sep 2025. 12 months later the strategy pays. A lot. What did we do ? - widen our marketing mix beyond paid ads - add more owned content, SEO - add more PR - add athletes sponsorships - add B2B professionals distribution (= free ads to their patients) - have a store more AI-ready to get more quotes - improve our retention game it makes paid ads easier. and we're less dependent on Meta variance.

In 4 months, we went from 8% EBITDA, to 20%. How did we do it? 1. Build an accounting dahboard and analyze it every end of month. In there get every cost, discount%, MER%. 2. Decrease your MER%. If your EBITDA% is low, it generaly means that your MER is to high. 3. Invest in your brand, not only paid ads. 4. Decrease your discounts%. We aim for 12% in average each month. It sounds easy. But if you don't execute these simple steps, your marketing engine may be wasting a lot of money.

That's the Google Trend for Novaalab search term. Building a brand nama takes years. It takes more than paid ads. You got to be present in many different places over the internet. It builds trust, name recognition, it lowers your CAC. Invest in your brand, don't just spam ads.

Weird pricing truth from Monetizing Innovation: Customers don't buy the best product. They buy the best perceived value at a price that feels fair. "Feels" is the entire game. A $149 device with a clear story beats a $79 device with none. We prove it daily.

Products don't fail one way. They fail exactly four ways: Feature shock: too much stuffed in, price nobody accepts Minivation: good product, priced too timid, money left on table Hidden gem: gold you never bothered to monetize Undead: nobody wanted it, you shipped anyway I've built all four. The book Monetizing Innovation names them. I've learnt that 6 years too late.

The most counterintuitive product lesson I ever applied: Ask about price BEFORE building the product. Not after. 72% of new products fail on monetization. Not on quality. Teams build for 18 months, then "figure out pricing later". Later is too late. If nobody will pay, don't build it.

What I'm proud of lately? Increasing of Returning Customers Sales by +132% yoy. My tip? You need to give them value, and they will respond. Don't send them the same offers as the non-customers in your list. Show them "VIP" offers just for them. And even bigger discount by tiers.

Hired 3 "senior experts" over the years. All disappointed. Hired 4 hungry juniors with zero ecom experience. 3 became my best people. After 6-12 months of training. Experience tells you what worked in someone else's context. Hunger figures out what works in yours.

2021. Our manufacturer raised prices 18% overnight. "Raw materials", they said. I flew to meet them. Toured the factory. Had dinner with the owner. Asked about his kids. New price: +6%. $200k saved over 2 years because I showed up in person. There's always room to negotiate.

Analyzed 90 days of our customer support tickets. 61% could have been avoided by a better product page. "How do I use it?" "When will I see results?" "Which model for me?" Your support inbox is a list of everything your website fails to say. Read it monthly.

Last 90 days, AI Recommendations represent 8,5% of our sales. Free CAC sales! We've invested in GEO, making sure every aspect of our shop is optimized, with a dedicated agency. It didn't cost a lot, but the ROI is really high.