How To Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome in Ecommerce #601

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Every week there’s a new platform, a new tool, a new marketing tactic promising to unlock the next stage of scale. AI features, new social channels, advanced website widgets, automation tools. They all look compelling, and they all come with the same promise: growth. But chasing them all usually leads to the same outcome. You end up building ten things and mastering none of them. That’s shiny object syndrome.

In today's playbook, we're exploring how ecommerce operators avoid that trap. The lesson starts with Adam Jelic, Founder of MiGoals, who built one of Australia’s most recognisable goal-setting brands over the past 15 years. Adam’s philosophy is simple: the problem in ecommerce isn’t a lack of ideas, it’s deciding which ideas actually deserve your focus.

In this playbook:

• Why every founder needs a “filter” for new ideas
• When to kill a feature that looks innovative but delivers no value
• Why dominating one marketing channel beats spreading attention across many
• How to stop buying new software and start using the tools you already have
• Why shiny object syndrome is often a focus problem, not an innovation problem

Connect with Adam
Explore MiGoals
MiGoal’s main episode
Bluethumb's episode
Krumbled Group’s episode
Nespresso’s episode

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Look, you probably know this already. The customers aren't just Googling products anymore. They're asking AI what to buy. And if AI can't understand your brand, it won't recommend it. That's why Studio Hawk, Australia's largest dedicated SEO and AI search agency, is offering a Descartes Listeners a free SEO and AI search master plan. You'll get an in-depth audit of how your brand appears across search and AI platforms, plus a custom roadmap to improve your visibility. And to help you get started straight away, you can also download their free e-commerce AI visibility toolkit. It's packed with prompts, checklists, wireframes, and a step-by-step digital PR framework. Head to studiohawk.com.au forward slash ad to cart. That's studiohawk.com.au forward slash add to cart to download your exclusive toolkit and request a personalized master plan. We'll put the link in the show notes as well. There has never been a noisier time to run an e-commerce business. Every week there's a new AI tool, a new feature, a new platform that you have to be on, a new hack that promises to unlock scale. And if you're not careful, you're going to wake up six months later having built 10 things and mastered none of them. That is Shiny Object Syndrome. And today's playbook is about how to avoid it. We're starting with Adam Yelik, founder of My Goals. He's a 15-year operator who has built one of Australia's most recognizable global goal setting brands. Adam's charge is simple. Build a filter. Because the problem in e-commerce isn't a lack of ideas. We've all got so many of them. It's which ones do you actually do? Today we'll also hear from George Hartley, founder of Bluethumb, Australia's largest online art marketplace. Kira Rumble, founder of Crumbled Group and currently running three high-performing brands. And YCU, head of e-business at Nespresso. Today's playbook isn't about innovation, it's about restraint. Because sometimes the most profitable growth strategy is saying no. Let's hear from Adam.

SPEAKER_01 2:15

It's the filter. It's like you've got to filter through that noise in your head, and that's where goal setting, writing things down, it helps you. Like otherwise, you're just, it's just too much, right? It's like shiny object theory. It's like, oh, that's cool. Oh, that's good. That's good. And for me, I've realized over time, and I've heard other entrepreneurs talk about it. I go drive down the road and I go, that's a cool business idea. I see something, I see a problem. I go to a cafe, I'm like, oh, okay, I saw something that could be better. Would that be a cool idea? So it's right. The ideas that I generate just keep coming. So I need a filter process to help me just sort of say, that's the one that I'm passionate about. That's the real one, focus on that.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

And I could imagine in your business where you've got different formats, you've got calendars, and I saw that you're expanding into digital products, that even within your own business, there wouldn't be a shortage of ideas that you've got. How do you filter what is a good idea for my goals versus something that you can leave on the table for a while?

SPEAKER_01 3:05

I mean, you you look at a broader perspective, you look at the broader the market and you think, okay, what could help someone in this specific thing? You look at trends, you know, like gratitude is a big thing, wellness is a big thing, sleep's a big thing. So it's like, what can we create that might help someone get better sleep, practice better gratitude and so forth, and then we just break it down from there. I mean, in in truth, you know, you can come up with any product. I mean, the fundamentals, the ones that you're really passionate about are the ones that sell the best, I find. You know, still that that diary is still our key seller. It's like the one that was that's the OG, and that's the one that came from like the true space of like, this is what I need, this is what I'm gonna create. And it's you know, 15 years down the track, it's still, you know, still changing people's lives. I'm still getting emails about, you know, this product has helped me do this. Thank you, which is yeah, when you put your heart as well.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

How do you get people to take that initial step? Have you found that there's a particular marketing message or content message that you can put out there to get people who are in those situations or who might feel a bit lost, even if it's not as dire as that, but just feel a bit lost and a little bit listless. Is there any particular message you put out in market to go, this will help you?

SPEAKER_01 4:12

We're trying things. I mean, it's it's not as easy as what I what I think in my head and what I think should work doesn't ultimately work all the time.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

I've always, you know, problem solutions like if you're struggling, then this product will help. You know, general messaging like that is something that gets people's attentions because everyone wants to improve something in their life. Like that works for me. So I always take it on board from a marketing perspective, it's like what attracts me, it's like this product will help you live longer. It's like, oh, curious. Yeah, you know, I always click, it's you know what I mean. It's like, yeah, tell me more. So stuff like that, the general consensus of like if you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious, this product will help. I think we have to get better at doing it because sometimes you go too broad, it doesn't hit. So I think, you know, again, one of our goals is to sort of get more narrow-minded and it's like, what are the what's the specific problem that people are facing? How can our product help that? As opposed to just like if you need help, then we're here.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

That's a really good pickup because obviously you've got a product that anyone can use, really. When you look at your total addressable market, it is anyone. How are you going to decide who you focus in on?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Well, I mean, looking at data, obviously, you know, predominantly 80% female audience, generally 25 to 35. So that age group, whether it be a professional mum, wife, you know, there's that specific group. And look, we're still in that stage where we're not considered a personal brand, which I would like it to be. So I think that sort of has to change from it's still stationary, right? So when you look at stationary market, the men aren't so receptive to it. It's like I don't need that, you know, I don't write in a diary.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

I've got Chat GBT to share my feelings with.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

I've got it, I've got it in my head, right? That's the main one. And I always go. And I I remember reading a fact that said, you know, the average human being has 50,000 thoughts per day. And it's it's 50,000. So it's like if you think you've got all your things in your head, that's why you feel overwhelmed, right? Because it's all up here. There's no direction, it's just like survival mode. But yeah, I think, you know, starting at what the data says and then expanding from that. And then I think going back to the real principle of how can we help people, like that genuine we want to help. So, like, what does that look like?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

All right, let's get into the lessons from Shiny Object Syndrome in e-commerce. Lesson one is that you need to build a filter. Adam says it very, very plainly. It's the filter. As founders, ideas don't stop. Even if you're not a founder, ideas don't stop. You see a competitor launch something, you hear about a new AI tool, you spot a friction point and think, we could build that. And suddenly you're chasing everything. Adam realized something critical early on. If you don't build a system that filters ideas, your business just becomes reactive. Writing things down wasn't about journaling for him. It was about forcing clarity. What are we actually building? What aligns with our core goals? What deserves our time? Shiny object syndrome isn't a discipline problem, it's a decision-making problem. And once you've built your filter, you can actually apply it everywhere. Just like George did. George Hartley is the founder of Blue Thumb. And he faced a classic tech temptation. Augmented reality was hot. So they built it. Customers could virtually hang artwork on their walls using augmented reality. It was cool. It was innovative and it looked great on a pitch deck. But when they looked at the data, hardly anyone actually used it. So they ripped it out. Most brands would keep it because they were invested in it. George killed it because it didn't move behavior. That in itself is operator maturity. If it doesn't drive usage, conversion, or retention, it's actually just clutter. And clutter kills focus. And then there's channel temptation. Kira Rumble is the founder of Crumbled Group and she runs three brands. She's pretty busy. What started as rolling protein balls in her Bondi kitchen ended up building a multi-brand powerhouse of functional brands. And her TikTok accounts were exploding. Organic reach, creative commerce, massive hype. She saw the huge potential here, but she said no. Not because she thought it wouldn't work, but because she hadn't yet mastered her existing channel, Meta. And that in itself is strategic restraint. Adding a channel before you've maxed the one you're already working on can sometimes be just dilution. You don't scale by being everywhere. You scale by dominating and mastering one channel first. Focus compounds, distraction fragments. It's a lesson that comes through all of these examples. Now for the quiet killer that I'm sure you have experience with, TechBloat. YCU is the head of e-business at Nespresso, and she noticed a pattern. Brands buy a platform for one feature, use 10% of what it can do, then buy something else to solve the next problem. She called it out. Instead of onboarding more agencies and more tools, Nespresso shifted their strategy. Stop buying shiny things and start sweating the assets. Maximize machine learning. Maximize the features already paid for. Extract more value from the existing stack and put pressure on your partners to deliver it for you. Because most businesses don't have a tech shortage. They have a utilization problem. You see this in 90% of businesses. So before you buy the next platform, ask yourself: are we actually using the ones that we already pay for? Shiny Object Syndrome feels productive. You're building, you're testing, exploring, innovating. But honestly, you might just be avoiding focus. Adam taught us how to build a filter to know what is actually Shiny Object Syndrome. George showed us to kill features that don't get used by customers. Kira proved that you can ignore exploding platforms if you haven't mastered the ones that you're already on. And YC reminded us to maximize what we already have. In e-commerce, the brands that win aren't necessarily the ones that are doing the most or doing the next cool thing. They're the ones that are doing the right things repeatedly. Sometimes growth isn't about adding something new. Sometimes it's about removing something that's unnecessary or that's not being used or it's holding you back. And sometimes the most powerful move you can make is saying no.