Hey hey.

I hope your morning is as good as mine! My New York Knicks the other night and we are one step closer to making the first championship in my 32 years on this beautiful Earth.

But let’s face it. Not all mornings will be like this. Sometimes you check your phone and receive an absolute gut punch. If you haven’t had this feeling yet in business, it’s coming. I promise.

Today’s newsletter is going to cover exactly that.

For me it was going onto Amazon one summer morning back in 2021 and seeing dozens of knock offs of CROSSNET. I still remember this gut punch moment like it was yesterday.

You need to prepare for this because at some point in your journey, your competition is going to win.

They’re going to close the deal you wanted, get the retailer you wanted, knock you off or raise a round. 

They might even go viral swiping one of your brands’ videos, or launch the product you were working on for months-on-end.

And when they do? It’s going to sting. Even if you pretend it doesn’t. I’ve been there. And if you’re playing the founder game long enough, you will be too. So here’s what I’ve learned the hard way:

You can’t let your ego run the company.

PS: Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Shopify.

I can’t put into words what that truly means to me. Shopify is the one company that legit changed my life. It gave me the freedom to quit my job, get out of the cubicle life and sell things on the internet. Without Shopify I would not be on year three of writing this newsletter, and I’d still be on the 40 hour a week rat race, coming home miserable and living for the weekends.

Regardless if you read another word of this week's newsletter, if you are serious about running an online business or finally ready to launch your dream project you need to build your site on Shopify.

The Moment That Broke Me

Outside of that one terrible day on Amazon, there was another moment I’ll never forget in the early days of scaling CROSSNET at retail.

We were up late trying to get a new retail deal across the finish line, something that would’ve been huge for the brand. I’m talking doors in every major store, front-of-aisle placement, a true game-changer. We were going back and forth with the buyer, negotiation what in hindsight was stupid points.

We thought we had it. And then, boom. An email back saying tough luck. Somebody else took the spot.

They weren’t even a direct knock-off which made it worse. Just another product in our category. But they beat us to the punch.

I was crushed. I started asking myself question-after-question:

“What did they do that we didn’t?”
“Did we price wrong?”
“Do their founders have better connections?”
“Is our product not as good as I thought?”

That single loss messed with my confidence for weeks. I started questioning every decision. Was I the best one to lead the team? How could I get us to where we want to go when I couldn’t even respond back to a simple email properly and land us the big deal.

Looking back? None of the self doubt helped.

All I did was let my ego throw the entire company off course.

Ego is Loud. Wisdom is Quiet.

The worst part about letting your ego run the show? You can’t hear what actually matters.

Ego says:

“We have to beat them, right now.”

Wisdom says:

“What can we learn from this?”

Ego says:

“They copied us.”

Wisdom says:

“They executed better.”

Ego says:

“We’re falling behind.”

Wisdom says:

“What’s actually moving the needle for us?”

The founders who let ego take the wheel spend their time reacting. The ones who learn to separate emotion from strategy? They stay focused. They build better. And nine times out of ten, they win in the long run.

Use It, But Don’t Be Used By It

Jealousy can be fuel. But it’s not sustainable. Let that competitive fire light the spark, then move from reaction to intention.

What needs to be built? What are your customers saying?  Where is the white space they’re ignoring?

That’s how you flip the script. And if you’re serious about catching up, or better yet, pulling ahead, your backend better not be duct-taped together.

One of the best moves we made early on was building on Shopify.

When the pressure was on, our old website didn’t crack it. Believe it or not, we first started selling on Wordpress, Ebay and a bunch of other ridiculous platforms. In hindsight it was ridiculous.

We needed something that could allow us to launch fast, pivot faster, and scale without blowing everything up. A clean, powerful backend isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s the foundation for your business.

If 2025 is the year that you finally go for it and launch that business. Or you’re finally realizing you need to level up your website. Shopify is the platform to do it. Period.

I could write Harry Potter length novels on how Shopify truly changed this farm boy from Connecticut’s life, but I’ll leave you with if you’re not using it you’re simply making a mistake. 

Its beyond an honor, but they are giving all my readers 3 days for free (you can build a site in legit an hour) and then the next 3 months for $1/month.

Learn more about what is Shopify and how it works here.

What to Do When They’re Winning

So let’s say it’s happening right now, you’re watching a competitor rack up wins. You’re seeing the posts, the press, and the clout.

Here’s how to handle it:

Zoom Out

Social media is a highlight reel. Press releases are spinning. Nobody is posting about their backend nightmares, their return rate, or the fact that they can’t sleep at night.

You’re comparing your reality to their projection. Dangerous game.

Instead of spiraling, ask:

What are they doing well?
What can we study, not copy?
Is this even our customer?

Half the time, we’re jealous of wins that don’t even apply to our business model.

Run Your Playbook

Founders lose when they abandon their playbook just to keep up. You were doing well. You were in your zone. And then suddenly, because someone else launched something flashy, you feel like you need to pivot.

Don’t.

Refocus. Recalibrate. But don’t pivot just to feel like you’re doing something. Remember: Momentum doesn’t always mean direction. Some people are sprinting in circles.

Use It, But Don’t Be Used By It

Jealousy can be fuel. But it’s not sustainable. Let that competitive fire light the spark. Then move from reaction to intention.

What needs to be built? What are your customers saying? Where is the white space they’re ignoring? That’s how you flip the script.

Talk to Other Founders

I can’t stress this enough: When you’re in your head, talk to someone who’s in the game. That’s literally why we built The Founders Club. To have these conversations, the ones you can’t have with your agency, or your friends, or your in-laws who still don’t get what Shopify is.

Inside the club, I’ve seen members talk openly about:

Copycats stealing designs
Getting undercut on Amazon
Feeling irrelevant after a competitor’s $20M raise

And guess what? They didn’t wallow, they executed. Not alone, but together.

A Quick Story That Changed Me

I remember this one competitor we used to obsess over. Every move they made, we felt like we had to respond. It was exhausting. Distracting. And totally unproductive.

Then one day, I got on a call with their founder. And you know what he said?

“Man, we’ve been watching you guys and trying to keep up.”

I laughed. And then I sat there stunned. We’d both been operating from ego, chasing each other, rather than focusing on what made our own brands great. Lesson learned.

The Only Metric That Matters

It’s easy to get caught in the scoreboard. Their numbers. Their headlines. Their growth.

But here’s what matters more:

Are your customers happy?
Are your margins healthy?
Are your systems scalable?
Are you proud of what you’re building?

If the answer is yes, you’re not behind. You’re right where you need to be.

Final Thought

Business isn’t war. It’s not a zero-sum game. There’s plenty of room for everyone to win, if you stop trying to win someone else’s race.

Your job isn’t to chase their momentum. It’s to create your own. And trust me, when you do that long enough, the same competitors you once looked up to?

They’ll start looking over their shoulder.

Keep building,
Chris