In this episode of Shopify Happy Hour, Dan sits down with Ronnie Teja, founder of Branzio Watches, to unpack his inspiring journey from picking blueberries as a new immigrant to building a global watch brand with a scrappy $10K start.

Ronnie shares real stories of entrepreneurship—burnout, supplier scams, PayPal bans, and team drama—and how he overcame it all by staying relentlessly curious, leaning into AI, and building a brand that now operates with global scale.

They also dive into:

• The early days of Facebook ads and retail media buying
• The mindset shift from performance marketing to brand-building
• How AI is changing e-commerce—from analytics to ad copy
• Tips on outsourcing, remote teams, and hiring middle management
• His philosophy on leadership, karma, and connecting people

Whether you're a solo founder, aspiring operator, or scaling ecom brand, this one is packed with gold.

👉 Learn more about Ronnie: Just Google his name — he’s everywhere.
 🎧 Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you tune in.

Products / products mentioned:

• Ghost
• Alibaba 
• 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss 
• Traction by Gino Wickman
• Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish
• Neil Patel
• BK Beauty
• The Big Short by Michael Lewis 
• Barbarians at the Gate by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
• Four Seasons

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Shopify Happy Hour

02:46
Ronny Teja's Journey to E-commerce

05:51
Lessons from Blueberry Picking

08:21
Marketing Education at Best Buy

11:31
Starting Branzio Watches

14:12
Challenges in E-commerce

16:49
Navigating Entrepreneurship

19:41
Building a Team and Leadership

22:31
The Evolution of Branzio Watches

24:50
The Evolution of Online Advertising

27:10
Shifting Mindsets: From Performance to Brand Marketing

29:41
Current Trends in Performance Marketing

31:51
Harnessing AI for Marketing and Business Decisions

36:31
Leveraging AI for Strategic Insights

39:48
Building a New E-commerce Business from Scratch

41:10
Choosing the Right Niche for E-commerce

43:19
Exceptional Customer Experiences in E-commerce

45:12
The Art of Connection and Networking