What does it take to grow an Ecommerce brand past $9 million? Explore TikTok Shop strategies, founder videos, AI workflows, and the decision to sell one business to focus on growing another.

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What happens when the biggest opportunity for your business requires letting go of another? In this episode of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley Sutton sits down with Ryan Maya, founder of Beyond Braid and Professor Pickleball, to explore his journey from college dropshipping experiments to building multimillion-dollar ecommerce brands. Ryan explains how his lifelong interest in fishing helped him create marketing that connected with customers after roughly a dozen other stores failed. That foundation eventually became Beyond Braid, which generated $9.1 million last year and is targeting more than $10 million this year across Amazon, Shopify, and TikTok Shop. Ryan breaks down how each channel supports the business, with Amazon now accounting for the largest share of revenue. He also shares a candid perspective on TikTok Shop, where advertising costs, affiliate commissions, and fulfillment expenses make profitability challenging. For his business, breaking even can still provide value when it generates millions of product impressions and encourages shoppers to discover the brand elsewhere. Rather than relying exclusively on affiliates, Ryan creates founder content himself, including videos he says have attracted millions of views. He explains why he became an affiliate for his own brands and how he is testing a shift from mass sampling toward deeper investments in proven creators. The conversation also explores how Ryan is using AI to reduce production work and improve efficiency. He describes a Claude Code workflow designed to edit short-form videos, write captions, schedule posts, and tag products after he records the footage. Beyond content, his team is exploring AI applications for email marketing, advertising, and graphic design. Ryan also explains why strong branding matters in established categories, how personal relationships help retain productive affiliates, and why a Shopify business needs optimized landing pages, email flows, and a coordinated marketing strategy. With a majority-stake sale of Professor Pickleball in progress, Ryan plans to concentrate on Beyond Braid’s next chapter. His priorities include expanding the product catalog, exploring international markets, and using a dashboard that tracks profitability by product and channel to guide advertising decisions. His story offers a practical reminder for ecommerce sellers: more activity does not automatically create a stronger business. Understand your customers, know your numbers, and give your best opportunity the focus it needs to grow.

In episode 771 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Ryan discuss:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 01:20 - From College Baseball to Dropshipping
• 05:00 - Turning Fishing Knowledge Into a Brand
• 06:02 - Growing Beyond Shopify With Amazon FBA
• 08:30 - Building and Selling Professor Pickleball
• 11:11 - TikTok Shop Profitability and Brand Exposure
• 14:19 - What Selling on Shopify Requires
• 15:57 - Founder Videos and Affiliate Sampling Strategies
• 20:24 - Becoming an Affiliate for Your Own Brand
• 22:13 - AI Video Workflows and Helium 10 Tools
• 24:43 - Creator Relationships and Branding That Connects
• 29:12 - Email Marketing, AI, and Future Growth