This week I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at Ecom North in Toronto at Meridian Hall.

Great to see the Canadian DTC ecosystem show up strong, with energy, focus, and (refreshingly) real conversations.

Three things I noticed:

1. Less fluff, more substance. Brands are facing pressure, from tariffs to CAC, and the focus is shifting to strategic, sustainable growth.

2. BFCM came up in almost every conversation. The best operators are planning early, not reacting late.

3. AI was everywhere, but the smartest voices talked about workflow impact…not just shiny tools.

Appreciated the insights from Ezra Firestone , Jake Karls, Michele Romanow, Andrew D’Souza , Aaron Spivak, Ali Babul, Jamil Bhuya, Ghassan Halazon, Mike Fata and more.

Real operators sharing real playbooks.

It was fantastic to reconnect with old friends and build new relationships. A big thank you to our Acceler8 Labs GTM team for pulling together the presentation, assets, and prep in record time.

Excited for the next one. Q4.

Acceler8 Labs Uzair Chutani Sean Hutchison Jeremy Cain Nishal Kumar Yoni Levy Bobby Hennessey George Phu Sheryl S. Eric Dyck Kyle Hitchcox Adam Pivko, MBA Sarvy Khangura Sharif Virani Steve Andrade Gurdeep Sahota Helen Smith (Abbas) Arthur Brown Kevin Bache Mike Gettis Richard D’Souza