High Voltage Business Builders Podcast

Everyone loves Cyber Week numbers. Big charts. Big screenshots. Big claims.

But Cyber Week data lies….

When demand is compressed into five days, behavior gets distorted. And if you build your next 90-day strategy on distorted data, you scale the wrong lesson.

In this Week in Review, Neil breaks down what the post–Cyber Week data actually reveals, why traffic and revenue spikes mislead sellers every December, and how real operators read the scoreboard differently heading into January and 2026.

🚀 What should I sell next? Visit: gpt.caimandata.com to generate data-driven product ideas powered by Caiman Data’s AI engine.

TL;DR

✅ Cyber Week spikes distort behavior. Post-event data tells the truth.

✅ Traffic growth does not equal buyer intent. Clicks fooled many sellers.

✅ BNPL inflated AOV but increased refund and cash-flow risk.

✅ Conversion quality flattened even as sessions rose.

✅ Operators wait for normalization data before making scaling decisions.

✅ December rewards control. January exposes poor interpretation.

📍 Chapters

00:00 Why Cyber Week data is structurally misleading

01:35 What Adobe and Salesforce data actually shows

02:14 Traffic growth versus real buyer intent

02:52 AOV, Buy Now Pay Later, and hidden cash-flow risk

03:51 Why traffic was cheap but conversion quality was not

04:29 What smart brands are watching heading into mid-December

05:08 Why stabilization beats noise at year-end

05:29 The operator advantage going into 2026

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The biggest killer of businesses isn’t money, competition, or bad timing. It’s ego.

In this episode of High Voltage Business Builders, Neil Twa sits down with serial entrepreneur Sean Steimer to break down how ego destroys partnerships, blinds founders, and turns promising ventures into unnecessary failures. 

Sean went from cleaning tables in Scottsdale restaurants to managing multimillion-dollar operations, running a real estate team, opening restaurants, and scaling a patented golf product that nearly died when his original partner walked away. Sean reveals how he rebuilt from that moment and how self-awareness and humility determine whether your business thrives or collapses. 

If you’ve ever struggled with partnerships, conflict, burnout, or the temptation to give up, this episode will hit home. 

In This Episode, We Cover:

✅ Why ego ruins more businesses than money ever will

✅ The red flags that reveal a bad partner long before the paperwork

✅ The real impact entrepreneurship has on marriage and family

✅ Why “nothing fails until you quit” is the most underrated mindset

✅ The discipline of managing priorities, time, and expectations

📍 Chapters

04:40 Growing up in real estate and developing resilience

07:00 How ego kills deals, partnerships, and businesses

09:20 Communication as the #1 predictor of partner success

11:45 Time management, priorities, and “controlling the controllables”

14:10 Marriage, support systems, and life behind the grind

18:10 The Swingy story: patent win, partner exit, rebuilding alone

21:30 Scaling an ecommerce product to thousands of units

23:40 Failure, persistence, and why quitting is the only real loss

Guest: Sean Steimer

Entrepreneur, Real Estate Operator, Co-Founder of Swingy

Shopify went dark on Cyber Monday. Amazon glitched and wiped deal badges across Black Friday and Cyber Week. Sellers relying on one platform got crushed. But diversified brands kept growing because TikTok, Shopify, Amazon, and email all picked up the slack.

Factories across China and Vietnam are now slowing down early ahead of Lunar New Year, which means your Q2 inventory window is already shrinking. TikTok Shop continues its retail takeover, and AI is rewriting the rules for product discovery, listing visibility, and who gets recommended.

In today’s Week in Review, you’ll hear what actually happened inside Shopify and Amazon during the meltdown, how operators protected their revenue, what you must do before January hits, and why 2026 will reward brands who diversify and think like CEOs, not dabblers.

✅ Do not wait on inventory. China and Vietnam are already winding down for Lunar New Year. If you don’t finalize orders soon, your production moves into April or May.

✅ Shopify crashed and Amazon glitched deals. Operators with omnichannel setups absorbed the hit. Single-channel sellers got wrecked.

✅ Maximize profits in December instead of scaling losers. Double down on your highest-converting SKUs, best reviews, and fastest shipping.

✅ TikTok to Amazon is the new performance pipeline. UGC targeting Amazon searches drove major lifts last week.

✅ AI is the new e-commerce gatekeeper. AI agents are scraping, rewriting, and interpreting your listings. Machine-friendly listings now determine visibility.

📍 Chapters

00:59 Shopify Cyber Monday outage and platform instability

02:03 Why single-channel dependence is dangerous

03:24 Amazon deal badge glitch suppressing Black Friday + Cyber Week offers

07:42 January returns spike, lower conversions, and planning Q1 strategy

08:15 Real-world Voltage brand results during outages

09:00 TikTok UGC targeting Amazon search and the “halo effect”

10:45 How to structure listings to be chosen by AI

11:46 Why 2026 belongs to omnichannel operators

13:19 Your operator mindset for 2026

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Your biggest advantage in e-commerce is being a founder who refuses to get knocked out.

In this episode of High Voltage Business Builders, Neil Twa sits down with Dan Demsky, CEO and co-founder of Unbound Merino, an 8-figure DTC apparel brand built on nearly a decade of grit, adaptation, and relentless reinvention.

Dan opens up about the real challenges DTC operators are facing today: tariffs slashing margins overnight, supply chain volatility, rising acquisition costs, and the pressure to stay profitable while scaling. He explains how his team survived by tightening cash flow, cutting waste, and becoming sharper operators instead of panicking or raising prices too quickly.

If you’re building in ecommerce and want to understand what’s actually happening on the ground, how high-AOV brands survive acquisition costs, or what retail expansion really looks like this episode is a masterclass in real-world leadership and long-term DTC growth.

In This Episode, We Cover:

✅ Why survival comes down to “don’t get knocked out” and strong cash-flow discipline

✅ How to audit spending, tighten costs, and become a sharper operator

✅ Why high AOV is critical when acquisition costs hit $50+ per customer

✅ Surviving COVID, freight spikes, and now tariffs as a long-term founder

✅ What retail expansion actually requires: timelines, risk, buybacks, and buyers

📍 Chapters

02:12 What tariffs actually do to margins and operations

04:24 Cutting costs, tightening cash flow, and becoming a better operator

08:44 The founder mindset: “just don’t die” and keep surviving

13:00 High AOV, acquisition costs, and the profitability game

17:50 Preparing for Black Friday and Q4 uncertainty

19:45 Why profitability beats revenue vanity every time

23:10 Using AI for leadership, planning, and business coaching

30:10 What retail really requires: inventory, buybacks, timelines, and patience

Guest: Dan Demsky

CEO & Co-Founder, Unbound Merino

Amazon launched a Temu killer, started selling certified used cars, and began rewriting product listings for AI bots…

Factories across China and Vietnam are signaling early Lunar New Year shutdowns, and TikTok Shop had one of the biggest quarterly numbers in platform history. 

In today’s Week in Review, you’ll learn what’s shaking global supply chains, how AI is becoming the new gatekeeper for ecommerce, what Amazon’s new moves mean for sellers, and why 2026 will be the year operators pull away from dabblers.

🚀 What should I sell next? Visit: gpt.caimandata.com to generate data-driven product ideas powered by Caiman Data’s AI engine.

TLDR: 

✅ Order your inventory NOW. China and Vietnam are winding down for Lunar New Year. Your Q2 inventory window is shrinking so plan now or get pushed into April/May production.

✅ Amazon launched Bazaar to fight Temu and started selling certified used cars. Expanded Grade & Resell and rolled out Lightning Replenish AI.

✅ Cheap products are dying. Premium is rising. Bazaar will siphon bargain hunters away from mid-tier listings. If you sell premium or branded products, this is good. If you sell low-margin commodities, pivot before 2026.

✅ TikTok is becoming the top-of-funnel for all retail. $19B last quarter means TikTok now beats Etsy and eBay. 

✅ AI agents are scraping your listings, rewriting your bullets, and deciding what products get recommended. The question is no longer “How do I rank?” It’s “How do I get AI to choose me?”

✅ Winning listings look different now. Clean attributes. One benefit per bullet. Structured specs. Clear problem/solution. Images that match your claims. If your listing isn’t machine-friendly, you’re invisible.

📍 Chapters

00:54 Factories in China + Vietnam begin early slowdowns, Q2 production windows are shrinking fast

02:12 Amazon launches Bazaar to compete with Temu + Shein

03:32 Amazon enters automotive with certified used cars

04:29 Grade & Resell expansion reduces return losses

05:06 Lightning Replenish AI predicts customer reorders

06:00 Voltage selected as Amazon Launchpad Premier Partner

07:12 TikTok Shop reports a $19B quarter

09:27 AI agents scraping and rewriting product listings

10:45 How to optimize your listings to get chosen by AI

12:00 TikTok discovery + Amazon conversion strategy for 2026