Last year, we shared the tech stacks behind five different $100M+ brands. And you, our lovely readers, devoured them.

So we’re doing it again.

🚀 Bryan Porter with the 16 tools that support Simple Modern’s +$250M brand.

😋 Derek Lauermann on how bev-brand, Cadence, builds (and sells) community.

📈 Top 5 headlines from consumer (DTC) news with links and executive summaries.

Plus, we’re also doing another epic online event later on Mar 18. This time, all about scaling paid growth.

• Epic speakers? Yep.
• Epic value? Of course.
• Epic resources? Always.
• Epic insights? Naturally.
• Epic without you? No.

Bryan Porter Co-Founder, Simple Modern

Editor’s Note: This is the first of five tech + vendor stacks we’ll release — one for each of the Operators’ brands. Once complete, we’ll compile them all into a single database.

No links have been included, and no recommendation has paid for placement.

 Simple Modern: 16 Tools & Vendors 

For Simple Modern, channel strategy is essential to our website’s identity. We sell most of our units on Amazon and in-store.

Our margins can’t afford heavy marketing, and everyday low price works better in our mass channels.

Put in terms of Aaron Orendorff vibes: Product is the vest (core), marketing is the glasses (essential), and your stack is the hat (non-vital but takes vibes to the next level).

Since then, it’s been growing alongside our understanding of channel strategy and (of course) our annual revenue.

When we decide to partner with a vendor, that’s our 5-star rating. Instead of scoring …

Email: Klaviyo

Annual GMV: $0

Klaviyo is a very easy-to-use tool that continues to get better. It has scaled seamlessly with our business and support is very helpful as well.

Landing Pages: Replo

Annual GMV: <$1M

Replo has changed the game in performance marketing for us. We have full creative freedom in a way that we never did with our traditional Shopify pages.

Where we once were confined within prebuilt grids, we can now truly do whatever we want to best represent our products and our brand. I have loved learning how to use the platform and seeing what is possible.

Customer Support AI: Siena

Annual GMV: $10 million

Siena responds to 52% of our customer interactions, with room to increase. Responses get rated as well as human agents. Its product is industry-leading and getting better every month. Big fan of the founders, Lisa and Andrei.

Reviews: Okendo

Annual GMV: $10 million

Great value for our uses on PDPs and Google search. If you’re below $10M, Judgeme has a great reputation.

Mobile App: Fuego

Annual GMV: $10 million

We switched from Tapcart to Fuego. This gives us more flexibility within the app. Fuego was even able to add our personalization tool in a few days (when I’d been asking Tapcart for months). Also, it’s more affordable.

Warranty Claims: Order Protection

Annual GMV: $10 million

This is a streamlined warranty claim portal. It’s a self-insured model where we cover the cost of each claim first, then Order Protection reimburses us.

Shipping Claims: Parcel Labs

Annual GMV: $10 million

Part of our deal with Order Protection.

SMS: Recart

Annual GMV: $10 million

Recart continues to innovate by creating automated list cleaning tools, one click opt-in, and unique discount codes in the welcome flow. SMS remains a top channel for us with Recart as a dynamic partner.

PP Adjustments: Order Editing

Annual GMV: $10 million

Allows customers to edit their order information post-purchase for one hour, like address or if they want to add another item. We also use it for upsells.

Merchandising: Rebuy

Annual GMV: $10 million

Powers our “You May Also Like” widget. We tend to make a lot of things custom on our dotcom, not this one.

Customer Metrics: Lifetimely

Annual GMV: $50 million

Makes tracking LTVs easy. However, you can get enough answers through Shopify; I’d wait on this until the cost isn’t as material.

Shopify Development: The Vaan Group

Annual GMV: $50 million

Start with a budget Shopify dev solution. It took six years to learn how to scale DTC in our channel mix. With a website identity, Vaan was a perfect partner to rebuild our site two years ago.

Xavier Armand and his team combine performance and branding beautifully — including our custom-built cart with multiple thresholds, cross-sells, and upsells manually merchandised by Excel.

Site Speed: Edgemesh

Annual GMV: $50 million

Edgemesh has provided a significant boost in site speed. Its service caches our content every 15 minutes, increasing page load times. This helps marketing efficiency and makes more sense as traffic scales.

It also made a version of Google Analytics with the most reliable data. Very helpful.

Online-to-Offline: StoreLocators

Annual GMV: $50 million

StoreLocators is a very cool app for omni-channel brands. It pulls exact inventory amounts by SKU for every physical retailer in your area. Its branding gives us legitimacy that major retailers have decided to sell our product.

Our retail partners appreciate this feature.

ERP: NetSuite

Annual GMV: $100 million

NetSuite was incredibly painful to integrate. We took steps back on our ability to sell because of it. However, being a large omni-channel business, it had to be done.

Bryan Porter is a co-founder of Simple Modern and the president of Simple Ventures. He also has a very groovy mustache (not pictured in the above headshot).

If you have questions about any of the tools, hit reply … or reach out to Bryan on Twitter (X) or LinkedIn.

Derek Lauermann Director of Paid Media, Grüns

Ad Snack 🍬 How Cadence Converts Through Community

I’m training for a Marathon right now and I gotta say, Cadence is the first hydration brand I’ve tried that genuinely feels made for runners.

“But why,” my marketer brain asks, “do I feel that way?”

Clearly, I’m not the only one; launched in mid-2024 by founders Ross Mackay (ex-Daring Foods) and George Heaton, it quickly gained popularity among runners.

Just 18 months later, Cadence is the number one RTD (ready-to-drink) hydration bev at GNC + Vitamin Shoppe, ~305 active Meta ads, and it’s expanding into Amazon, Raley’s, and UAE.

How?

Through my lens as a media operator, I notice five things. And I’ve added “snack” 🍬 (takeaway) to apply each one.

 1. IRL Events as ToF 

Recently, hundreds of people showed up for a 10-mile run hosted by Cadence and 247.

This is only one of many such runs they’ve sponsored.

An IRL event might feel like high-hanging fruit to generate demand, but each one also captures creative:

• Founder content
• Athlete UGC
• Crowd social proof
• Product-in-use footage

More importantly, it creates a cultural moment for your dream customers to gather and connect … with the brand at the center.

Snack 🍬

IRL gatherings are the highest-trust ToF you can buy. Document it right, and it also feeds your content engine.

 2. Image-Heavy Ad Mix 

Most beverage brands prioritize video-heavy creative.

Cadence leans static.

Across ~305 active ads:

• 72% Image
• 28% Video
• 0% Carousel

In fact, the ad on the left is the one that got me.

The brand culture they’re creating is so strong that they can sell from static ads. Not a small feat.

Snack 🍬

When brand and community have primed the market, static ads become scalable. Half the reason I bought was because my friends in the running community wouldn’t stop talking about it.

 3. Product Education 

Cadence hasn’t just created a movement, they’ve used creative canvas to educate their market about:

• Why water isn’t enough
• What electrolytes actually do
• How other drinks are formulated

They show … and they tell. According to Motion’s reporting, their creative format mix breaks down like this:

• Demo: 18%
• Headline: 16%
• Testimonial: 10%
• Expert Explainer 7%
• Listicle: 7%

Snack 🍬

Don’t expect the market to understand why your product is better on their own. Show them, educate them, and give them proof + comparisons.

 4. Stacked Hero Landers 

Accounting for the US and UK sites, about 47% of Cadence’s traffic goes to either the Sachet Stack Variety Pack …

… or The Starter Hydration System.

Their hero SKU isn’t a single sachet. It’s a stack or a system.

Snack 🍬

Bundled variety packs increase AOV, encourage cross-SKU trials, and kick-off habit formation. In my case, trying them all and picking my favorites made me come back for more (over and over again).

 5. Founder POV 

Ross Mackay opened one of his latest LinkedIn posts with:

“Community can’t be forced, faked, hacked, or built by AI.”

He’s out there in the real world (and online), leading from the front. This sort of founder belief creates narrative consistency for the brand.

• IRL proof validates it.
• Paid distribution scales it.

It’s a flywheel. Maybe the best example is that last week Ross appeared on the Open Residency podcast. And that content is already in Cadence’s ad account.

Snack 🍬

When the founder lives and breathes your brand’s values, trust compounds (I follow Ross on my socials and I’m a believer).

 TL;DR 

Here’s your snack pack for the week:

• Host culture. Film everything
• Strong brand scales BOF statics
• Educate your market with “vs”
• Push bundled stack offers
• Let the founder lead with conviction

In the words of Ross, “We’re not just building a community. We’re selling a community.”

Their ad account reflects that (and I bought because of it).

THE FEED

​AG1’s CEO Kat Cole on Why Product Beats Marketing​

​Who’s Winning the AI Shopping Wars? And What to Do​

​Episode 100! Our Big Rocks for 2026 Growth​

The Trends

Curated by the editor of CPG Wire, the five top stories in commerce and DTC.

1. Kim Kardashian Joins Update: Wellworthy​

Kim Kardashian just joined Update, an alternative, paraxanthine-powered energy drink brand, as co-founder. Daniel Solomons originally launched Update in 2022 with support from the Hess Family. The beverage brand is now relaunching with refreshed branding, a reformulated product, and a commitment from Walmart for 4,000 doors.

The question is will paraxanthine go mainstream like creatine did a few years ago, or will it remain a niche performance ingredient?

2. Cutting Horse Raises $75M For Fund I: Business Wire​

Cutting Horse, a consumer-focused growth equity firm, secured $75 million in capital commitments for its debut fund.

The firm was founded by Michael Wystrach, who sold Freshly to Nestle for $1.5 billion in 2020, and longtime private equity executive Chris Protasewich. Cutting Horse has already made several investments, including SuperTeeth, Feel Goods, BetterWild, and others.

3. Celsius Shares Pop on FY Results: Twitter​

Celsius reported impressive FY results on Thursday as revenue surged 86% to just over $2.5B. The company’s ambitious acquisition of Alani Nu for $1.8B in early 2025 continues to pay dividends as well.

In the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2025, Alani Nu generated over $1 billion in revenue. Celsius, on the other hand, delivered modest growth with revenue rising 7.5% to $1.4 billion.

4. Second Sight Ventures Raises $75M Fund: LinkedIn​

Second Sight Ventures raised $75M for its inaugural fund. Founded by Patrick Finnegan, Chris Hollod, and Jackson Eisenpresser, Second Sight Ventures has backed Poppi, Lemme, Lucky Energy, Orion, Loyalist, and other consumer startups.

In early February, Second Sight invested alongside Left Lane Capital in a $15M Series A round for Willie’s Remedy+, the fast-growing THC beverage brand.

5. Contour Ridge Acquires Just Date: Business Wire​

Contour Ridge, a San Antonio-based private equity firm, announced a strategic partnership with Just Date, a purveyor of date-based products like syrups, chocolate chips, and sugar. Dr. Sylvie Charles Royston launched Just Date in 2016 to replace refined sugars with natural, date-based sweetness.

The company’s products retail at Kroger, Sprouts, H-E-B, and Natural Grocers.

 Epic? Not Without You 

I wasn’t joking at the top. You’re the one thing missing from our next online event to make it undeniably epic.

• Mar 18 from 2–4pm ET
• Over 25 ecommerce leaders
• Keynotes, panels, and giveaways

Join the Operators Paid Growth Masterclass!

Until next week!

With thanks and anticipation,
Aaron Orendorff 🤓 Executive Editor

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