ANALYTICS·MAY 9·15 MIN
BigQuery cost optimization for DTC: under $100 setup
BigQuery setup for $2-10M DTC stores under $100 a month. Partitioning, clustering, query habits that control cost, and when to migrate off the warehouse.
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Topical cluster
Analytics & Data Infrastructure
The analytics layer DTC operators need after they stop trusting the platform dashboards. GA4 migration without data loss, BigQuery on a budget, warehouse-first attribution, cohort reports from Shopify raw data, and the event schemas that survive the next platform pivot.
13 postsFor: DTC analytics owners and fractional data leads rebuilding measurement
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ANALYTICS·APR 17·9 MIN
A DTC data warehouse on $1,000 a month: the real budget
Field notes on a mid-market DTC data warehouse running at $1,000 per month. Every line item, every vendor, where the spend actually goes.
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ANALYTICS·APR 2·10 MIN
GA4 migration playbook for DTC: what actually breaks
A tutorial walkthrough on the GA4 migration for DTC brands. The specific events, props, and joins that fail during the move and the fixes that hold up.
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ANALYTICS·MAR 24·9 MIN
Cohort LTV from Shopify raw data: SQL patterns that hold up
Pattern library for cohort LTV in BigQuery against Shopify raw data. By acquisition month, by channel, by product, with retention curves and a revenue mart.
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ANALYTICS·MAR 18·10 MIN
Reconciling Shopify, GA4, and Meta: the forensic workflow
Field notes on the forensic workflow for reconciling Shopify, GA4, and Meta. Diff windows, join keys, the five bugs that hide in plain sight.
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ANALYTICS·MAR 6·10 MIN
Attribution modeling in BigQuery: the SQL I keep copying
Tutorial walkthrough on attribution modeling in BigQuery. Last-click, first-click, linear, time-decay, and position-based SQL that runs against your warehouse.
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ANALYTICS·FEB 12·9 MIN
Event schema design for DTC: naming that survives replatform
Pattern library for DTC event schema design. Canonical event names, typed payloads, versioning, and naming rules that survive a replatform.
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ANALYTICS·FEB 12·9 MIN
Dashboard design for operators: what founders actually read
Contrarian essay on dashboard design for DTC operators. Why the 12-tile exec overview is a trap and what founders actually read in 90 seconds.
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ANALYTICS·FEB 11·8 MIN
Looker Studio DTC templates worth building versus buying
A decision log on Looker Studio for DTC brands. Which templates to build yourself, which to buy, and when to graduate to Metabase or Hex instead.
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ANALYTICS·FEB 5·10 MIN
Server-side GA4 via Measurement Protocol: the real setup
Tutorial walkthrough for server-side GA4 using the Measurement Protocol. Endpoint, payload shape, api_secret rotation, and the consent-aware event filter.
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ANALYTICS·FEB 2·10 MIN
Klaviyo to warehouse ETL: three ways that work in 2026
Pattern library for Klaviyo to BigQuery ETL. Native connector, Fivetran, and DIY API. Latency, cost, and schema for each, with the dbt models that sit on top.
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ANALYTICS·JAN 29·10 MIN
BigQuery for Shopify data: the schema that does not regret you
Pattern library for landing Shopify raw data in BigQuery. Partitioning, clustering, dbt staging models, and cost math that keeps warehouse cheap.
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Why this matters.
Most DTC analytics stacks fail in the same way. Shopify, GA4, and Meta each report a different conversion count, the operator picks the one that flatters the channel, and decisions get made on a number nobody trusts. The fix is a warehouse-first reporting layer where Shopify raw orders are the source of truth, GA4 and Meta are session and ad-platform diagnostics, and a small dbt project (or even a SQL view set) reconciles them on a daily cadence. BigQuery is overkill at $2M and indispensable at $10M; the migration in between is most of the work.
This cluster covers the analytics architecture that holds. GA4 migration without losing year-over-year comparability. BigQuery setup on a budget. Cohort retention reports built directly off Shopify orders rather than a platform's prebuilt cards. Event schemas that survive a tracking rebuild. Klaviyo-to-warehouse ETL so lifecycle revenue ties cleanly to the P&L.
If your dashboards disagree by more than a few percent and the team is running on vibes, start with the hub piece on warehouse-first reporting and walk the GA4 and BigQuery posts before the next quarterly review.
Other clusters
Attribution
Attribution & CAPI
Server-side tracking, dedup, and the math behind DTC attribution.
Shopify
DTC Shopify Infrastructure
Theme architecture, metafields, agent-orchestrated builds, Hydrogen decisions.
Healthcare
Healthcare & Compliance
HIPAA-aware Next.js, audit trails, and regulated DTC patterns.
Solo brand
Creative-Tech Solo Brand
The hybrid creative-director-who-codes operating system.
Pricing
Services Business & Pricing
Productizing services, pricing strategy, and the retainer exit.
Lifecycle
Email & Lifecycle Marketing
Klaviyo flow architecture, retention math, and the LTV playbook.
Agents
AI Agent Engineering
Claude Code sub-agents, MCP servers, skills, and the orchestration stack.
Conversion
Ecommerce Conversion & UX
PDP patterns, cart decisions, checkout extensions, and the CRO stack.
Programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO & Content Ops
Scaling content without burning author brand authority.
Paid Social
Paid Social Performance
Meta, TikTok, and Google Ads for DTC operators who also own the data.
Brand
Brand Architecture & Design Systems
Visual identity, naming ladders, and design systems that scale with the business.
Shopify Apps
Shopify App Ecosystem
Selecting, configuring, and replacing the third-party stack on Shopify.
Fractional
Fractional Ops & Service Leadership
Running a high-leverage fractional practice without becoming an agency.
Image AI
Local AI Image Generation
Running Flux, Z-Image, and Qwen locally without the cloud-API bill.
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