Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope 2025 was a “successful” year for you.

Of course, success is subjective. It’s a mindset, really.

I hope you’re heading into 2026 feeling optimistic and positive - both personally and professionally.

Earlier this month, I sat on stage at eCom North’s Miami Summit with Kevin Gould, cofounder of Glamnetic, a high 8-figure beauty brand.

Want to hear something crazy? Kevin took Glamnetic from $1M to $40M in just one year a few years ago.

Needless to say, Kevin knows how to launch and scale an eCommerce brand.

So I asked for permission to share what we spoke about on stage; which was mostly geared towards what he’d do if he were launching a brand heading into 2026.

Below are five key insights heading into 2026 from a founder who scaled to nine figures, pivoted his entire business model, and learned the hard way what actually matters when growth flatlines.

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1. Trust your instincts, then layer in data as you scale.

Kevin built Glamnetic purely on gut feel in 2019. Founders in 2026 will have an unfair advantage: AI.

If Keven were launching a brand heading in 2026, he’d be leveraging an LLM like Claude or ChatGPT heavily; to map competitive sets, market size, and buyer profiles before committing resources.

The key message: instinct gets you started, but data should accelerate you forward.

2. Where you’ll start is not where you’ll finish—and that's a good thing.

Glamnetic launched as a eyelash business. But two years in, Kevin and team realized press-on nails had a larger TAM and better tailwinds - so he pivoted.

The lesson? Successful founders in 2026 shouldn’t fall in love with their original idea. Instead, fall in love with solving real customer problems - even if it means abandoning their original idea.

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3. Influencer marketing is dead.

Three years ago, Kevin's influencer strategy was a 360 influencer mix: gifting, paid partnerships, affiliate deals. In 2025? He didn’t pay a single influencer. The ROI just isn't there anymore.

Heading into 2026, brand owners and operators should abandon influencer budgets, and reallocate.

4. Slow and steady will win the race.

Gould’s Glamnetic went from$1M to $40M in one year. It sounds incredible until reality hits: supply chain chaos, impossible demand forecasting, and psychological stress. When growth stalled, the pain was compounded by overextended infrastructure.

Kevin’s advice moving into 2026? Hyper-growth is exciting but a huge headache, and hard to maintain. Sustainable, predictable growth that your team and supply chain can manage will be worth more than a viral moment that leaves you scrambling.

5. Cut your losses before it’s too late

While managing Glamnetic and INH, Kevin started Wakeheart, a fragrance brand, in partnership with the Dolan twins. When the twins stopped doing YouTube, the brand crumbled. But Kevin kept it running for an extra year out of "delusional" optimism, losing $400K before shutting it down.

Remember: Market signals don't lie. The faster you make the closure decision when co-founders pivot or categories cool, the less capital you’ll bleed.

Which one of the takeaways above hit home the most?

Shoot me an email ([email protected]) and let’s chat about it.

See you next week ✌️