The Story Behind the Sales: Scaling E-commerce Brand Growth
Every successful ecommerce brand begins with a strong story. The ones that break through scale are the ones that turn that story into infrastructure, systems, and revenue.
This panel brings together four operators who have done exactly that. Each of them has built a customer community around their brand and will share the real chapters of their growth, from early traction to the decisions that shaped what their companies look like today.
Hosted by JC+CO Growth Accelerants, a Shopify Plus studio working with scaling consumer brands across platform architecture, performance strategy, and AI search.
What We'll Cover
From Story to Revenue Engine How strong brand narratives evolve into structured acquisition, retention, and conversion systems that support long-term growth.
Technology as a Growth Multiplier What changes when Shopify infrastructure, integrations, and data begin driving commercial decisions instead of reacting to them.
The Operator's Shift How leadership priorities evolve when brands move beyond early traction and begin building durable market position.
Scaling Without Losing Identity How high-growth brands protect what makes them distinctive while expanding across channels, markets, and customer segments.
Agenda
6:00 PM — Doors open. Networking and drinks.
6:30 PM — Welcome and introductions.
6:45 PM — Panel discussion: The Story Behind the Sales.
7:45 PM — Audience Q&A.
8:15 PM — Networking and close.
9:00 PM — Doors close.
Our Speakers
Andrea Mourad, Founder, Saranghae & Orora Skin Science Andrea built two multiple seven-figure Korean skincare brands by blending time-honored Korean beauty rituals with modern skin science. Along the way, she's cultivated a loyal customer community that's become central to how both brands grow. She's a 2x best-selling author, podcaster, and mentor to female entrepreneurs. She'll be sharing how community and brand storytelling have shaped her growth from the inside out.
Jacqueline Sava, Founder, Soak Wash Inc. Jacqueline started Soak in 2006 as a side project while running her knitwear design business. She saw a gap: the care products in retail didn't match the clothing they were supposed to wash. So she made one that did. Soak grew into a premium laundry brand with a passionate customer community behind it. She holds a BFA in Industrial Design from RISD and an MBA from York University. She's looking forward to sharing how that community became one of Soak's biggest growth drivers.
Aidan Obama, COO & Head of Digital, Carmico Aidan runs operations and digital strategy for Carmico, a brand that's built a fiercely loyal community around a niche product line. His background is in video game design, where he led production and direction. At Carmico, he applies the same production principles with ecom-specific layers added in. He's excited to share how building an authentic community has shaped the brand's growth and how they protect that connection as they scale.
Matt Hickey, Partner Solutions Engineer, Shopify Matt has been at Shopify for 9 years and spent over 20 years in ecommerce across platforms, categories, and stages of growth. He works directly with Shopify Partners, helping their teams with the technical resources and strategies to improve merchant operations. He's helped launch close to 300 brands onto the platform and has seen firsthand what community-driven brands do differently when they scale. He's excited to share what separates the stores that grow from the ones that stall.
Moderated by Muneera Qureshi, Owner, JC+CO Growth Accelerants Muneera owns JC+CO Growth Accelerants, a Shopify Plus studio working with scaling consumer brands across platform architecture, performance strategy, and AI search. With 20+ years in technology and product leadership, she's worked with large organizations, corporations, and hundreds of founders and operators to connect the dots between their strategy and execution. She'll be leading the conversation and pulling out the stories behind the strategies.
Toronto Tech Week is a citywide celebration of the people building what's next. From May 25–29, 2026, founders, investors, and builders come together for hundreds of community-led events across Toronto, connecting tens of thousands of people around Canadian tech. Torontotechweek.com