Episode Description

SMS has a 98% open rate but an open isn't a sale.

In this episode of The No-Code Founder Pod, we will move past the hype and build an SMS program that drives incremental revenue without getting filtered, fined, or burning your list.

You'll learn:

• The 70/30 rule (why 70% of revenue should come from flows, not blasts)
• The "Double-Tap Capture" strategy (email first, then SMS, so you never lose both)
• The Emoji Tax (how one emoji can double your message cost)
• 10DLC registration (what it is, why it matters, how long it takes)
• TCPA compliance (the exact disclosure language to avoid $500–$1,500 per message fines)
• The SHAFT rule (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, don't go near these)
• Attribution truth (why 30-day windows lie, how to measure real incremental lift with holdouts)
• The 90-day rollout (foundations → efficiency → optimization)

By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap to build a compliant, profitable SMS channel that respects your customers and your margins.

Key Topics

• The 70/30 rule (flows vs. campaigns revenue mix)
• Double-Tap Capture (email first, then SMS)
• High-intent opt-in triggers (waitlists, back-in-stock, VIP access vs. discounts)
• The Emoji Tax (GSM-7 vs. Unicode encoding, 160 vs. 70 characters)
• 10DLC registration (brand and campaign vetting, throughput, trust scores)
• TCPA compliance (prior express written consent, quiet hours, disclosure language)
• The SHAFT rule (prohibited content categories)
• Attribution windows (30-day vs. 24-hour, holdout testing for incrementality)
• SMS vs. MMS (cost vs. CTR, when to use which)
• Two-way SMS (conversation vs. broadcast)

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? Let us help you >>> ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Target Audience: Small–mid D2C founders & operators

Show Description: Turning Returns into Revenue

Returns are the "silent killer" of D2C margins, often ending in liquidation for pennies. In this episode of The No-Code Founder Pod, we explain how to transform reverse logistics from a cost center into a high-margin Profit Center through Re-Commerce.

What We Cover:

• The "Touch-It-Once" Rule: Using digital triage to route inventory instantly and eliminate operational bloat.
• The A/B/C Grading Framework: How to categorize items from "Open Box" (Grade A) to "Refurbished/Outlet" (Grade B) or "Functional Repair" (Grade C).
• Channel Strategy: Why an on-site brand outlet beats third-party marketplaces for SEO and customer data retention.
• The Cannibalization Myth: Why refurbished goods steal market share from competitors, not your own flagship sales.
• The Math of Recovery: A breakdown of how one returned unit can swing from a $60 loss to a $62 profit.

Key Terms:

• Reverse Logistics: Moving goods from the customer back to the seller to recapture value.
• Net Recovery Rate: Final resale cash minus shipping, labor, and packaging costs.
• Re-Commerce: The process of reselling previously owned or "open box" items.
• RMA & 3PL: The digital tracking (Return Merchandise Authorization) and the partner (Third-Party Logistics) managing the physical flow.

Connect with Leo:

X: Leo Sadeq | LinkedIn: Leo Sadeq

Scale Your ROI The Right Way: Ascend AI

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? Let us help you >>> ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Target Audience: Small–mid D2C founders & operators.

Episode Description:

When your CAC is climbing and your ROAS is stalling, the answer usually isn’t “better targeting”, it’s better creative.

In this episode of The No-Code Founder Podcast, you’ll learn how to build a simple Creative Operating System for your D2C brand so you can produce profitable ads on repeat without burning out your audience or your team.​

What to Expect:

1. We’ll unpack a practical, ROI‑first framework made for non‑techie founders and operators.
2. You’ll see how to turn customer language into concepts, concepts into briefs, and briefs into modular UGC and founder‑led ads that keep thumb‑stop rates and CTR healthy while holding CPA in check. Instead of chasing “magic ads,”
3. you’ll install a weekly rhythm for testing hooks, reading fatigue, and refreshing winners before performance falls off a cliff.​
4. We’ll cover the key roles (even if they’re all you), the minimum tool stack, and a research engine that mines reviews, comments, and surveys for real objections and benefits you can build creative around.
5. You’ll learn a simple taxonomy of proven concepts, problem/solution, demos, testimonials, founder POV, comparisons, challenges, and offer‑led creatives, and how to brief creators so they deliver usable footage the first time. There’s clear guidance on sourcing micro‑creators, structuring contracts and usage rights, staying brand‑safe on Meta, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, and using AI for the grunt work without letting it invent claims.​

Then we get into the money mechanics: how to name ads and set UTMs so every hook and creator is traceable, how to structure clean A/B tests that prove true lift, and which metrics actually matter—thumb‑stop, CTR, CVR, CPA, CAC payback, MER, and profit ROAS. You’ll learn to spot real creative fatigue (rising frequency, falling CTR, stable or rising CPM) and what to do next: reskin winners, rotate hooks, and adapt formats per platform instead of starting from scratch.​

Finally, you’ll walk through a 30/60/90‑day rollout plan to stand up your Creative OS, scale what works, and avoid common traps like clickbait hooks, copy‑paste competitor claims, and overreacting to day‑one data.

By the end, you’ll have a concrete playbook to turn creative from a random win into a reliable profit lever so you can scale content without torching your margins.

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? Let us help you >>> ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Target Audience: Small–mid D2C founders & operators.

Episode Promise: Turn your PDPs into high-converting, low-return sales reps using AI to mine reviews/support tickets for real objections, rebuild PDPs with objection-crushing modules, and track profit (not just clicks).

The Problem: Your PDP is your primary salesperson. Bad PDPs kill conversion and spike returns. Solution: "PDP Rehab" using AI to mine Voice of Customer data.

1. The Scoreboard (KPIs)
   • PDP → ATC Rate
   • Return Rate by PDP Variant
   • Refund Reasons & ATC → Checkout Drop-off Golden Rule: 2–4 week baseline before changes.
2. AI-Assisted Mining Build an "Objection Library" per SKU from 1–3 star reviews, 5 star reviews, support tickets, and return reasons. Prompt: "Cluster and Rank Objections by Frequency and Severity."
3. Mapping Objections to Modules
   • Fit/Size → Precision Block: Size badges, model specs, brand comparisons
   • Material/Quality → Sensory Block: Translate specs to feel, care instructions
   • Value/Price → Comparison Block: Good/better/best, cost per wear
4. Mobile-First PDP Template
   • Above Fold: Gallery, title, price, ratings, trust snippets, sticky ATC
   • Body: 3 benefit bullets, sizing/specs, materials
   • Validation: Shoppable reviews, UGC gallery
   • Cross-Sell: Bundle suggestions
5. Advanced Modules
   • Zero-Party Quiz: 3 questions to direct to correct variant
   • Q&A Search: Searchable past questions
6. Production Pipeline AI: FAQs, benefit bullets, localization Humans: Compliance, accuracy verification Performance: LCP under 2.5s
7. Testing Plan (30/60/90 Rollout)
   • Days 1–30: Mine data, build Library, baselines
   • Days 31–60: Rehab top 3 SKUs, A/B test
   • Days 61–90: Scale to top 20 SKUs Success Metric: Profit Per Visit (Conversion + AOV - Returns)

Episode Description:

The shopper using your website's search bar is your highest-intent visitor, yet for most D2C brands, the on-site search is a revenue leak, not a reliable salesperson.

Research shows a majority of e-commerce sites fail these ready-to-buy customers with dead ends and irrelevant results.

In this explosive episode of The No-Code Founder Podcast, we hand you a practical, data-backed blueprint to transform your site search from a cost center into a conversion engine.

We go deep to expose the hidden pitfalls and lay out the exact 90-day plan to fix your discovery layer.

What You Will Learn:

• The 5 Core KPIs: Stop tracking vanity metrics. Learn the specific, revenue-predictive metrics (like Revenue per Search Session and Zero-Results Rate) that signal whether your search is winning or losing.
• The Autocomplete Advantage: Why the drop-down menu is your most valuable real estate, and how to implement Visual Type-Ahead to capture 80% of searches before they hit the results page.
• Hybrid Search Secrets: Understand the mandatory technical distinction between Keyword Search (for precision) and Vector Search (AI) (for complex intent) and why you must run a Hybrid Model to avoid disastrously wrong results.
• Profit-Aware Ranking: The delicate, non-negotiable formula for ranking products that balances core relevance (what the customer wants) with Velocity, Inventory, and a gentle Margin Nudge (what's good for the business).
• The 90-Day Blueprint: A phased, actionable plan for lean teams to clean up data hygiene, implement business logic, and pilot AI enhancements in one quarter.

This is the ultimate masterclass on fixing the most critical conversion bottleneck in D2C.

Never show a blank page again.

Resources Mentioned:

• Synonym Template for quick-win deployment.
• KPI Tracking Worksheet.

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? Let us help you >>> ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Audience: Small-mid D2C founders/operators

Overview: Stop training customers to wait for discounts. Build a pricing system that protects contribution margin while lifting AOV and repeat rate using AI strategically and tests your finance lead will trust.

Diagnose Before Discount

• Pull: product margins (incl. returns/fulfillment/fees),
• SKU velocity/inventory, return rates, cohort health (first-time vs repeat,
• LTV:CAC).
• Respect MAP policies and channel parity.

Smart Pricing System (4 Building Blocks)

1. Floors: minimum margin thresholds by SKU/category
2. Fences: who qualifies (VIP tier, channel, geo, first-time, subscription)
3. Bundles: raise effective margin without cutting list price
4. Tests: A/B/n with guardrails and holdouts

Where AI Helps

• Basket affinity analysis for bundle suggestions
• RFM segment scoring for offer timing
• Elasticity estimation from past tests
• Profit-aware optimization (maximize margin, not clicks) Limits: MAP compliance, fairness, human approval, audit logs

Offer Types That Protect Margin

• Bundles: mix hero SKU with high-margin accessories; "build your kit" with tiered savings
• Thresholds: free shipping/gift above AOV-plus threshold
• Non-price: loyalty points, early access, extended warranty
• Subscription.

Bundling Playbook

• Start with top 20 baskets and co-purchase pairs.
• Show clear "compare separately" value.
• Pair overstock with high-demand items.
• Surface "You're $X away from free shipping" in cart.

Testing Framework

• A/B/n or bandit tests; measure profit per session.
• Run to stable reads; track refund rate, CSAT, support tickets, coupon leakage,
• MAP violations. Keep control groups; measure 60-day repeat impact.

Prevent Promo Addiction

• Key notes to do.

Channel & Compliance

• Distinct SKUs/bundles on marketplaces vs D2C.
• Document MAP constraints; "compare at" prices must be truthful.
• Mind tax treatment and subscription notice requirements.

KPIs

• Contribution margin per order/session, AOV, attach rate,
• LTV:CAC by cohort, repeat rate, refund rate, VIP mix.

______________________

Connect with Us:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? ⁠Ascend AI⁠

Episode Description

Fraud and abuse are quietly eating into your margins and most founders don't realize how bad it is until it costs them tens of $.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Where D2C brands actually lose money
• How to control promo and loyalty abuse without alienating good customers
• Returns prevention, detection, and recovery tactics (before and after the sale)
• Payment fraud baselines (AVS, CVV, 3DS, CE3.0, and risk tiers)
• A 30/60/90-day action plan
• KPIs and dashboards to prove it's working

By the end, you'll know exactly where to start, what to measure, and how to protect your margin while keeping great customers happy.

Key Topics

• Fraud costs $13.70/$100 returns, $3.75/$1 fraud.
• Types: promo abuse (leaks, stacking),
• loyalty fraud (ATO, points farming),
• returns abuse (wardrobing, empty-box),
• payment fraud (card testing, friendly fraud).
• Risk tiers: VIP (frictionless), medium (light step-up), high (3DS).
• Chargeback defense: reason codes, CE3.0, dispute win rates.
• 30/60/90-day implementation.

Sources Mentioned

• National Retail Federation + Appriss Retail, "Consumer Returns in the Retail Industry" (2023): Return rate ~14.5%; $13.70 fraud loss per $100 of returns
• LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Each $1 of fraud costs retail/ecom ~$3.75 all-in
• Visa/Mastercard chargeback monitoring programs.
• PSD2 and 3-D Secure 2 guidance.

Key Definitions (For Listener Reference + Adjacent Terms to Know)

• ATO (Account Takeover): Fraudster gains control of a customer account
• AVS (Address Verification Service): Checks if billing address matches card issuer records
• BIN/IIN: First 6-8 digits of a card number that identify the issuer
• BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later): Financing services like Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay
• CE3.0 (Compelling Evidence 3.0): Visa program to dispute friendly fraud with proof of legitimate transactions
• CVV (Card Verification Value): 3-4 digit security code on card
• OTP (One-Time Password): Temporary code sent via email/SMS for verification
• PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2): EU regulation requiring Strong Customer Authentication

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• Want to 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days? Let us help you >>> ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Until next time :)

Episode Promise:

Cookies are fading, privacy rules are tightening, and CAC keeps climbing.

This episode gives you a concrete, first‑party/zero‑party data playbook to collect better signals, unify them without a big data team, activate profitable segments across email/SMS/paid, and measure real lift while staying compliant and protecting deliverability.

Topics Discussed:

Definitions that matter

The 4-stage growth framework: Collect, Unify, Activate, Measure

• Collect: High-quality first/zero-party data without tanking conversion
• Unify: Minimum viable data layer
• Activate: Lifecycle segmentation and paid media powered by first-party data
• Measure: Post-cookie attribution that leadership trusts

Quick game plan within the nwxt 30 days.

Risk controls and compliance

Red flags and quick fixes and other information for your D2C growth with AI.

____________________

Connect with Leo:

• X: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Leo Sadeq⁠
• 2X-5X your ROI in 90 days with our AI automation agency. ⁠Ascend AI⁠
• DM me for any resources or checklists mentioned in the episode and Ill forward them your way.

Until next time :)