Podcast Summary: Shopify Masters
Episode Title: How My Two Brows Grew Into a Life-Changing Brand With 1 Million Sets Shipped
Release Date: March 12, 2026
Host: Serena Smith
Guest: Jason Burndt, Founder of My2Brows

Episode Overview

This episode of Shopify Masters features Jason Burndt, a former Canadian Armed Forces fighter pilot and aeronautical engineer who turned personal adversity into business success. After losing all his hair, including his eyebrows, to alopecia, Jason found existing eyebrow solutions lacking. Drawing on his practical mindset and engineering background, he launched My2Brows in 2021. The brand now boasts over one million sets shipped across 275 unique styles, focusing on helping those with medical eyebrow loss regain confidence and identity. Jason and host Serena Smith discuss solving real problems, niche branding, the emotional impact of brow loss, and how authenticity and customer connection have fueled the company’s growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jason’s Journey from Fighter Pilot to Entrepreneur

• Passion for Aviation and Early Entrepreneurial Spirit:
  • Joined air cadets at 12, attended military college, and became a fighter pilot (01:16).
  • Early interest in entrepreneurship sparked by reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki; invested in real estate to generate passive income before transitioning out of the military (02:22).
• Personal Motivation and Market Gap:
  • Developed alopecia during service, struggled with a lack of eyebrow solutions suitable for men and anyone seeking realism (04:31).
  • Created My2Brows to help others in similar situations "recapture as much of their facial identity as they can" (00:33).

Problem-Solving and Product Development

• Starting with the Customer's Needs:
  • Sent tens of thousands of dollars' worth of free samples to North American customers to build trust and gather feedback (03:34).
  • Extensive research on available products, found current options lacked size, style, and color variety and didn’t serve people with no brows, especially men (09:12).
• Branding for Identity, Not Vanity:
  • Product and brand are not for conventional beauty/fashion use, but for those who have lost brows due to medical issues like alopecia, chemotherapy, or trichotillomania (05:04).
  • Trademarked tagline: “Take Back Your Identity” — restoring confidence and self-expression.

The Power of Niche Focus

• Deliberate Market Positioning:
  • Avoided tempting the mass makeup market to remain focused on those with little to no brows due to medical reasons (07:28).
  • Expanded offerings only within the niche (e.g., stencils, stamps for very sparse brows), not for cosmetic enhancement (08:54).
  • Quote: “If you try to sell to everybody, you’ll sell to no one... Serve a niche that’s an inch wide and a mile deep.” — Jason (07:28)

Trust, Authenticity, and Community

• Personal Branding:
  • Jason’s own experience and face are central to the brand, providing authenticity and relatability (11:17).
  • Built trust by being present in alopecia Facebook groups and sending free samples in exchange for reviews and word-of-mouth (11:33).
• Emotional Impact:
  • Profound customer testimonies, including stories from parents of children undergoing chemotherapy (12:18).
  • Host Serena: “I was reading some of the reviews on your website. I was in tears.” (12:18)

Customer Service and Retention

• High-Touch Support Approach:

  • Reviews almost every customer email, ensures communications feel “like a friend” rather than faceless business (13:51).
  • Maintains personal touch even as business scales; phone calls to the company go directly to Jason’s cell (24:32).

• Product Customization & Sampling:

  • Developed five sizes (based on real data crowdsourced from Facebook), five styles, and 11 colors — 275 variants in total (09:12, 14:46).
  • Each first order includes a free sample pack covering all sizes and styles plus best-selling colors (16:22), alongside a “virtual mirror” for customers to visualize options.

• Subscription Model:

  • 50% of customers are subscribers; aligns with the consumable nature of the product (17:47).
  • Automatic fulfillment prevents last-minute shortages for users before important events (18:40).

Business Operations and Profitability

• Reinvestment Over Profit-Taking:

  • Entire profit is reinvested in the business for growth; Jason has never withdrawn personally (20:32).
  • Personal life funded through previous real estate investments and part-time work as an airline pilot (20:39).
  • Demonstrates that entrepreneurship doesn’t always require single-minded sacrifice—diversification can fuel creativity and financial stability (22:11).

• Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs:

  • Suggestion: Build a passive cash-flowing asset first to free creative energy for business development (23:33).
  • Quote: “Once you have passive income and you’re not working all the time, you’re going to come up with ideas for business.” (23:33)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Emotional Impact:

  • “A lot of people, they email me and they say, hey, you’ve changed my life.” — Jason (00:47)
  • “I used to find it harder to even look at people in the eye when I was talking with them just by the fact that I didn’t have eyebrows.” — Jason (05:04)

• On Niche Focus:

  • “If you try to sell to everybody, you’ll sell to no one. If you try to sell to a small amount of people, you do much better.” — Jason (07:28)

• On Trust and Branding:

  • “I think having a developed brand, particularly with my face on it and me saying, hey, look, I wear these myself and they work, definitely added to the trust of the brand too.” — Jason (10:58)
  • “People want to feel what this business started as... I’ve been very careful to keep that personal branding.” — Jason (13:51)

• On Customer Service:

  • “You need to treat these people like a friend and do what makes the customer feel best and help them, not just try to close a support ticket.” — Jason (13:55)

• Favorite Customer Story:

  • “Katano... he called me... and was just telling me some pretty deep stuff about his life and how he didn’t have eyebrows for decades. His quote was, ‘You don’t know how much you changed in my life, but I really want you to know how much you did.’” — Jason (24:32)

• On Personal Fulfillment and Balance:

  • “It’s fun flying airlines all over the world. It makes money and it’s a passion of mine. I love it. Doesn’t even feel like I go to work when I do that.” — Jason (21:27)

Key Timestamps

• 00:07: Introduction of Jason and his background
• 01:16: Jason’s journey to fighter pilot and first business/real estate
• 04:07: Initial experiences with existing brow products and market gap
• 05:04: The personal/emotional impact of eyebrow loss
• 07:28: The importance of niche markets
• 09:12: Product development and uniqueness — sizes, styles, colors
• 11:33: Establishing trust and community-based marketing
• 13:51: Customer service philosophy as business scales
• 14:46: Customization and the origin of product variants
• 16:22: Free sample strategy and virtual mirror tool
• 17:47: Subscription model explained
• 20:32: Business profitability and reinvestment
• 21:27: Balancing flying and entrepreneurship
• 23:33: Advice for balancing entrepreneurship with other commitments
• 24:32: Standout customer testimonial (Katano)

Conclusion

In this episode, Jason Burndt’s story illustrates how deeply understanding a personal problem can drive authentic, effective entrepreneurship. My2Brows’ journey showcases the power of niche focus, the value of personal branding, and the importance of high-touch, empathetic customer service— all woven into a scaling e-commerce brand. For listeners seeking not only tactical e-commerce advice but also inspiration and real human impact, Jason’s experiences deliver both.

Memorable Quote for Entrepreneurs:
“If you solve a big enough problem for a proper niche of people, then you can create a successful business.” — Jason (00:00)