Podcast Summary: Limited Supply S11 E12 - Unlocking Revenue and Scaling a Startup (with Liam Millward, CEO + Co-founder at Instant)

Host: Nik Sharma
Guest: Liam Millward, CEO & Co-founder at Instant
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Duration: Approx. 40 minutes

1. Introduction

Nik Sharma welcomes listeners to Season 11 of Limited Supply, introducing the episode's focus on scaling startups and unlocking revenue with special guest Liam Millward, CEO and Co-founder of Instant. Liam, a young and dynamic entrepreneur, shares his journey from running a travel magazine to building one of Australia’s fastest-growing startups.

2. Liam Millward's Background and Founding Instant (02:04)

Liam recounts his entrepreneurial beginnings at 16, launching an online travel magazine, Navigate Australia, which quickly amassed 50,000 readers in 12 months by creating relatable content and partnering with numerous councils and tourism brands. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the magazine to shut down, pivoting Liam toward e-commerce and eventually leading to the creation of Instant.

Notable Quote:

“We created very relatable content both on social and in the magazine. People started to naturally or organically share it amongst each other and it just went from there.” (02:29)

3. Evolution from Quick Checkout to Retention Marketing (04:19)

After experimenting with e-commerce projects during university, Liam identified low conversion rates due to anonymous site traffic. This insight led to the development of Quick Checkout, which evolved into Instant Checkout. Facing stiff competition from Shopify’s own payment solutions like Shop Pay, Liam pivoted Instant’s focus from payment to retention marketing, leveraging their technology to enhance audience engagement and retention.

Notable Quote:

“Instant gives you another chance to convert these visitors into buyers using their retention marketing platform.” (00:12)

4. Instant's Audience Product (07:32)

Liam explains the core functionality of Instant’s Audiences product, which matches website visitors with their email addresses for effective retargeting. Unlike platforms like Facebook or Klaviyo that offer short-term memory of visitors, Instant remembers opted-in shoppers indefinitely, thereby opening new revenue channels for brands.

Notable Quote:

“Instant remembers your opted-in shoppers forever, allowing you to bring them back to convert after they've left your website.” (07:32)

5. Privacy and Ethical Considerations (10:22)

Addressing concerns about tracking and privacy, Liam emphasizes that Instant only remembers shoppers who have explicitly opted in, adhering to stringent global privacy laws. The company prioritizes consent and transparency, ensuring that shoppers can unsubscribe at any time, thereby maintaining ethical standards in data handling.

Notable Quote:

“We're not just tracking anyone and everyone. Every single shopper is opted in somewhere.” (09:37)

6. Features and Use Cases in Instant (12:33)

Liam details various features of the Instant platform, including:

• Predictive Opt-In: Uses behavioral signals to display pop-ups at optimal times, increasing the likelihood of email subscriptions.
• Express Checkout Identification: Captures shopper information even when using express checkout options like Apple Pay.
• Flow Optimization: Analyzes and recommends improvements for email flows to enhance conversion rates.

Brands like Selfie Leslie and Toys R Us have successfully doubled their email revenue and significantly increased overall revenue by leveraging these features.

Notable Quote:

“We use behavioral signals from a shopper to display a pop-up at the right time, increasing the likelihood of entering their email address.” (13:54)

7. Best Practices in Retention Marketing (14:07)

Liam discusses best practices for designing high-converting pop-ups, emphasizing the importance of compelling offers (e.g., free shipping, discounts) and timing the pop-up display based on shopper behavior rather than immediate page entry. Proper timing can significantly boost opt-in rates and overall conversions.

Notable Quote:

“Displaying the pop-up at the right time is huge.” (15:25)

8. The Role of AI in E-commerce Retention (17:15)

Exploring the integration of AI, Liam outlines Instant’s vision to develop an AI-powered marketing manager that generates personalized emails tailored to individual shopper behaviors and preferences. This innovation aims to automate and optimize retention marketing, allowing brands to focus on more strategic tasks.

Notable Quote:

“We can use AI to generate shopper-by-shopper based emails that are hyper-personalized.” (17:15)

9. Future Developments and Features (35:57)

Liam shares upcoming features, notably the AI Email Generator, which automates the creation of personalized email flows by analyzing a brand’s website content, branding elements, and shopper behavior. Other enhancements include the Shopper Timeline for comprehensive attribution and improved channel performance insights.

Notable Quote:

“Building the first AI-powered retention marketing manager for an E-commerce brand is going to be huge.” (35:57)

10. Case Studies and Success Stories (28:59)

Liam highlights success stories from brands like Oodie and The Collagen Company, which have seen substantial ROI by integrating Instant. These brands experienced seamless setup, significant revenue increases, and enhanced retargeting efficacy through Instant’s platform.

Notable Quote:

“They see over like 30, 40 times ROI with Instant.” (29:58)

11. Actionable Retention Marketing Tips (37:56)

For immediate application, Liam advises brands to start remembering shoppers throughout the year to capitalize during peak sales periods like Q4. Investing in retention tools early builds a robust database, enabling more effective marketing strategies during crucial times.

Notable Quote:

“Invest in it now so you reap the rewards later.” (38:10)

12. Conclusion and Where to Connect (39:10)

Nik and Liam wrap up the episode, encouraging listeners to connect with Liam via LinkedIn, the Instant website, or through ecommerce events. Liam announces Instant’s expansion into the U.S. market, inviting brands to join their growing ecosystem.

Notable Quote:

“We're expanding into New York now. People can connect with me on LinkedIn or visit our website.” (39:10)

Final Thoughts

This episode of Limited Supply offers a deep dive into the strategies and innovations that drive revenue growth and scalability for e-commerce startups. Liam Millward’s insights into audience retention, ethical data practices, and the future of AI in marketing provide valuable guidance for brands aiming to enhance their retention marketing efforts and overall business performance.

Connect with Liam Millward:

• LinkedIn: Liam Millward
• Website: Instant
• Email: liam@instant.com

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