the 1800DTC NYC takeover

Two weeks. Two conferences. One trade show floor (walked twice). A panel, a boxing workout, a handful of coffee meetups, and our own happy hour. The 1800DTC team just wrapped our NYC takeover, and this is the full recap.

WEEK ONE: CONFERENCE MODE

The team got into town Monday and got straight to it: a big team sync to align on H2 and the back half of the year, capped off with a team dinner.

Tuesday and Wednesday were CommerceNext, and Tuesday night we hosted a panel at Shopify’s SoHo location. It crushed.

On the panel: Ben Sharf, co-founder of Platter. Taylor Prokes, co-founder of The Big A## Calendar (Jesse Itzler’s holding co). And Arda Bulak, Director of Retention at Create Wellness.

Check out the linkedin Post →

The conversation was fantastic. Three things stood out:

1. Don’t get lost in the AI sauce. AI can’t just be a shiny object. Implement systems that actually make sense for your business, not tools for the sake of tools. At the same time, the panel went deep on autonomous workflows and the massive unlock they represent when done right.

2. Analog is coming back. People want connection. They want off their phones. In a world where new AI tools drop daily, in-person and analog experiences are becoming a brand’s best defense and differentiator.

3. Tool talk. Two shoutouts from the panel worth noting: everyone on stage was a huge fan of OuterSignal, and Arda specifically called out Zaymo and how Create has used their email integration to reduce churn and convert more subscribers. We always love hearing what’s actually working inside real tech stacks.

Thursday, we hopped over to the Ecom AI Summit put on by Nik Sharma and gang. Super valuable insights all around.

Friday, most of the team headed home. But we weren’t done.

WEEK TWO: FANCY FOOD

Sunday kicked off the day before the Summer Fancy Food Show with a boxing workout in partnership with Vidovo, Superfiliate, and Skio. Great sweat, great people.

Then Julia and I walked the floor Sunday, and later that night ended up at the Snaxshots party with Kyle Cook DJing, which was a blast. Shout out to Isabelle and the Laurels team for making that happen.

Check out the linkedin post →

Monday: a handful of coffee meetups before the day got going, then back on the floor. That night we hosted our own happy hour, and honestly, it was my highlight of the entire trip. So many good people and so many good brands in one room.

Tuesday, we co-hosted a coffee meetup with our friends over at Patrol, then headed home.

THE TAKEAWAY

It’s been quite the two weeks. Seeing so many partners and friends in person, catching up, and talking shop is what this community is all about. There’s always a great energy in New York.

Shout out to the partners, and shout out to everyone who was there and made this such a great trip. New York is truly one of a kind.

UP NEXT: TORONTO

We’re not slowing down. Later this month, Julia and I will be at Shopify DotDev in Toronto (July 21-22). Very much looking forward to it, and very excited to connect with even more of you. If you’ll be there, reach out.

Happy Fourth of July. See you at the next one.

— Zach and the 1800DTC Team