He Quit Superyachts to Sell Kilns on Shopify

"This is the largest purchase they make after a car and a house." Matt Davy spent his twenties fixing engines on 450-foot superyachts, earning six figures tax free. He ran a high-ticket dropshipping store from the engine room, picked pottery because his partner is a potter, then switched to selling his own pottery wheels. Kiln Crafts hit its first £1M in about 900 days. The second million took seven months. Matt explains why his customers want a phone call, how draft orders became his best-converting Klaviyo flow, and what changed the month he moved his business into Claude Cowork. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Promo Party Pro - Free gifts that drive bigger orders apps.shopify.com/promo-party-fgwp Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/BFCM What you'll learn: Why a superyacht engineer earning six figures tax free walked away, and how he ran a store from the engine room High-ticket dropshipping for 14 months at £2,000 to £2,500 profit a month, then the move to his own pottery wheels Shipping 100 lb wheels and 500 lb kilns in the UK for £50 to £60, and baking it into the price Who buys: women aged 55 to 75 who want a phone call before the biggest purchase after a car and a house The phone team, the scripts that took a year and a half, and why they ask about the dog barking in the background Draft orders sent to a 10-email Klaviyo flow, the store's best-converting flow, with a call-back task in a week A custom CRM that records, transcribes, and scores every sales call The month he moved the business into Claude Cowork, and why every employee takes the Anthropic courses Why Meta stays mostly out of cold traffic when the buying cycle runs for months Running short on a redesigned best seller going into Q4 Next: £300 to £400 add-on products, a Netherlands 3PL for the EU, and US certification for 110 volts Guest: Matt Davy, co-founder of Kiln Crafts. Kiln Crafts is based in the UK. LINKS Kiln Crafts: https://kilncrafts.co.uk Kiln Crafts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiln.crafts Kiln Crafts on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kilncrafts WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.