your partner on the road
to real ecommerce growth

THE trusted advisor FOUNDERS, investors & CEOS HIRE TO Help unlock the true potential of THEIR Ecommerce business

1-2-1 Ecommerce Mentoring
For Business Leaders

Grow lean. Grow smart. Build for the long haul.

Most Ecommerce Brands Aren’t Short on Tactics. They’re Short on Filters.

In today's ecommerce landscape, there's no shortage of:

  • Agencies promising 3x ROAS with rocket-ship emojis (you know the type 🚀🚀🚀)

  • Tools claiming to fix your retention

  • Gurus pushing the latest ad hack

But growth doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from doing what actually matters... at the right time, in the right order and with the right resources.

As a founder, your job isn’t to chase every opportunity, it’s to choose the right ones.

I act as the strategic filter between your brand and the noise of ecommerce. Whether you're leading a £1M DTC brand or preparing a £10M exit, I help you:

✅ Identify what's actually holding you back
✅ Prioritise your next three moves (not thirty)
✅ Align your time, team, and budget toward growth that compounds

The 3 Signs You’re Operating Without a Filter:

  1. You’re spending more (but not growing faster)
    You're increasing ad spend, testing new tools, but conversion rate, LTV and profit aren't improving.

  2. You, your team or agency are always 'busy' (but unfocused)
    Execution is happening, but there’s no clear strategic roadmap guiding the work.

  3. You feel stuck making high-stakes decisions in the dark
    Whether it's launching new SKUs, entering a new market, or creating new acquisition channels you're guessing, not planning.

Imagine Having a Filter for Every Key Decision:

  • Is this channel actually profitable?

  • Are we margin-healthy at scale?

  • Should we build retention, ops, or acquisition next?

  • Are we investor-ready, or just revenue-rich and valuation-poor?

These are the kinds of decisions I help you get right before you spend the money, hire the agency, or take the next big risk.

I've been called an 'ecommerce therapist' by many of the founders I work with. Sure, I'm there to listen and provide advice from the 25 years of expertise I've built from growing ecommerce brands. I'm also there to question. To help bring clarity to your approach to growing your ecommerce business. To do the work with more focus, more confidence and less hesitancy.

I’ve been there too. I built my ecommerce brand from scratch (the supply issues... the warehouse... the staff... the continual growth conundrum). I’ve also advised 250+ ecommerce founders over the past 15 years across an ever-widening array of challenges they face. I get it. You don’t get it until you’ve done it. I'm here to help each step of the way.

Ecommerce Coaching Programme

IAN RHODES
Ecommerce Growth Coach

Ecommerce Mentor

“Working with Ian is probably the best thing that has happened to us in the last 6 years.
Ian has managed to help us turn a corner by training up our team immensely."
Rivki @ Private White VC

Ecommerce Growth Coaching

Are We A Good Match?

I advise and mentor founder teams at ecommerce stores (startups to 8 figure established brands) that are serious about building for the long haul.

You'll learn how to build and systemise your growth strategy across paid and organic channels.

You'll build lean, making best selection and use of the technology available to you.

Markets? My clients are a diverse bunch. In a good way. From startups to 8 figure brand owners and pretty much everything in between. Put simply, I'm hired by people that know there are better, smarter ways to grow their ecommerce business, they need expertise to show them how and to guide them on that journey.

Platform? Mostly Shopify, Shopify Plus, sometimes Magento2 / Adobe Commerce and on the odd occasion WooCommerce

Countries? Here in the UK & Europe and once in a while US/Canada.

My coaching and the guidance you receive is tailored to you. No playbook. No 10x growth plans that guarantee success. This is the real work.

“He truly has become an essential part of the business and continues to exceed my high expectations in every way.
Ian's also very fun to work with which is an added bonus!"
Keri-Ann :: Founder ::  Women's Luxury Fashion Retailer

Ecommerce Growth Coaching

Who won't my ecommerce coaching suit?

Dropshippers, general retailers, Amazon sellers, eBay stores or those with the desire to get rich quick. If you’re looking for the easy route?

a) it doesn’t exist
b) we’re not a good match

Ecommerce Growth Coaching & Mentoring

Day to day, how will this work?

Where do we start? With a big old chat through where you’re at right now, how you got there and where you want to head. Our remit is wide. The who, the what, the why’s and the when’s. Our first meaningful task it to prioritise the work.

I’m here as your trusted advisor across all aspects of Ecommerce Growth. I’m also a practitioner. I get this stuff. We get granular learning the data. I'm not going to tell you to spend more. This is about customer-led ecommerce growth - you'll learn how to drive organic growth. We get slightly nerdy adopting the tech. We get creative working on ideas across your product pages, email sequences and comms. We work through how you make what you make matter (to those that matter most).

Most important of all. I'll give you access to customer insight direct from your customers. You'll discover how to use Voice of the Customer data and customer insights to prioritise your work and focus in on the areas where growth opportunity exists.

I work with a select few brands. Founder-led brands. People that I can get on with and people that I believe in. It has to be a two-way relationship. You’re putting your trust in me and that means an awful lot. I never take it for granted.

You’ll have questions.  A lot of questions. I’d be naïve to say I have all the answers, but this is an ongoing process. I’m there in your corner to find solutions and to give you real confidence in the decisions you make and the priorities you maintain.

On the performance side

  • The financials... how do I know which numbers matter? How do I track those numbers?
  • Do I focus on customer acquisition or retention?
  • Do I hire? Do I outsource? What numbers do we need to be hitting to recruit? And what role?
  • Data. How do I make best use of all this data?
  • ChatGPT. How do we make best use of AI to streamline processes?
  • ... same question for technology generally! What tech should you be using? How do you justify new tech? Will it scale?
  • What channels (should) work best for us? Do I focus on paid search? can I really grow organically?
  • How do we get more customers to shop again? I need even need to focus on repeat business right now?
  • What pricing strategy suits us? 2x, 3x, 5x my cost of goods? What about shipping costs? Do I discount?
  • How can I improve inventory management, order processing and dispatch?
  • How can we launch new products with impact?
  • What strategies am I missing? Where do I need to invest our time?
  • I love the idea of building community. What are the steps to take?
  • What does data tell me I don't already know? What actions do I now need to take?

On the brand side

  • I know people will love my products, how do I get them to buy into what my brand is all about?
  • We're building on sustainable foundations, but how can I prove that we're genuinely a planet-first brand
  • There are a few players in my market with similar products, how do I differentiate my brand from the rest?
  • How quickly should we start with FB ads and how much budget should I be allocating?
  • Do I even need to be running FB ads?
  • I really want to build my business organically, is this even possible?
  • Brand work doesn't seem to move the needle, should I just focus on ads?
  • What's my approach to video? I'm uncomfortable talking to camera, what else could I be doing?
  • I really want to build a storytelling brand - is this the right approach?
  • What about YouTube? Should I be creating shorts? How do I make sure it doesn't get too monotonous?

On the practical side

  • How do we understand and measure our customer lifetime value?
  • What Klaviyo email flows should we build? what segments should we focus on?
  • How do I know what content I need to be creating?
  • How do we capture more relevant customer data as we grow our list?
  • I need more data.... I think. What data do I need?
  • Copywriting is a struggle, what tone best suits our brand?
  • How do we get more customer reviews? Quality as well as quantity?
  • How can we develop our loyalty programme?
  • How do we make the most of the post-purchase experience?
  • What apps should we be looking to use? What budget works for our tech stack?
  • I love the idea of creating articles and new landing pages, but what should we be writing about?

Ecommerce Coaching Programme

What will the schedule look like?

AKA What do you get for your money?

We have scheduled weekly, fortnightly or monthly calls. Your time. Your decision. Usually around 30mins to an hour. Zoom, phone, screenshares, whatever we need to do. Each call we review and then focus on the work that’s taking place, discuss challenges and plan for the week ahead.

We use Slack. We use email. We use WhatsApp. ’m here to answer questions and provide all the insight I can throughout our work together. My job is to provide value. An ROI-based value? It’s difficult to attribute, but I’d sure hope you see worth behind our work together.

In the background I'm discovering and sharing customer insights from within your business. I’m sharing advice on how to make best use of that data to prioritise your work. Not generic motivational bullshit (you’ll get enough of that on LinkedIn). Real, practical advice. Your time is precious, we’ll keep this as productive and as succinct as we can. More time for you to lead and do the doing. The reality of building an ecommerce brand.

You’re not stuck in a long-term contract. Again, my objective is to provide value beyond a contract for work. This is all I do now. I learn. I coach. I teach. If it’s not working for you then we part ways. I’ll do my darnedest to make sure that doesn’t happen, but you never know for sure.

So, I’m here to share 25 years in the trenches of ecommerce. Seeing what works, what doesn’t work, what should work and what never will. It’s never been a more exciting time to run an ecommerce business. As I said earlier, it’s an adventure. I’m here to deliver you guidance each step of your ecommerce growth journey.

“If you’re serious about building something that stands the test of time and is future-proofed against the inevitable rise in ad costs, Ian is the mentor you want in your corner.

His guidance is strategic, actionable, and always rooted in long-term success.
I’m incredibly grateful for his mentorship.."
Anton - Founder of LutherBennett.com

Your initial questions answered

Ready to grow a thriving ecommerce business?

Use the form below (or email me at ian@ecommercegrowth.com) and I'll be in touch to answer your questions, learn more about your brand and to discuss how I may help grow your ecommerce business.

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"I have no hesitation in recommending Ian to any start up business owner no matter how small your niche, he is truly outstanding"
- Sharon Demmery - Founder of Demmerys.com