Monday, April 7, 2026
Good morning,
Shane.
"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
The second best time is now."
The second best time is now."
You're a founder, a father, a fighter. Q2 just kicked off and Q2 Planning is Wednesday. Yesterday you did $152K in revenue. Aidan shipped 9 new ads over the weekend. Danielle's onboarding. The creative machine is humming. Let's go.
Morning Context
Your world at a glance
Santa Cruz
55°
Mostly cloudy. High 71° / Low 52°
Sunrise 6:44a · Sunset 7:35p
Sunrise 6:44a · Sunset 7:35p
Pleasure Point
2+ ft
Glassy, 14-15s period, SSW swell.
Water 58° · Clean AM, onshore afternoon
Water 58° · Clean AM, onshore afternoon
Harvard Business Review · Must Read
Four Trends in AI Experimentation, Adoption, and Transformation
AI is no longer a competitive differentiator — it's a foundational requirement. Success depends less on the technology and more on whether orgs can adapt cultures, empower employees, and embrace rapid experimentation. Key stat: 94% of consumers say personalization influences brand choices.
Read article
Today — Monday, April 7
6:00a
Take Photos
9:00a
Jiu Jitsu
10:00a
Danielle / Shane
1:1
12:30p
Creative Huddle 3.0
12 people
1:30p
Shane Heath — Eventi
4 people
2:00p
MUD Pulse Check
7 people
Tuesday, April 8
12:00p
MUD lunch + learn w/ Sara Povey
4 people
2:00p
Tapcart <> MUD\WTR: QBR
12 people
Wednesday, April 9
11:00a
Q2 Planning Session
11 people
Thursday, April 10 — Day Off
7:15a
Toast Masters
Friday, April 11
12:00p
Afternoon activity with Lyon
6:00p
Dinner Date with Eliza
Sunday, April 13
11:00a
Shane <> Emma Weekly
1:1
11:15a
Creative Data Review
17 people
12:00p
Retail Sales + Leadership
4 people
2:15p
Shane <> Megan
1:1
4:00p
Shane <> Brian
1:1
What You Missed
Overnight inbox
Important Emails
Veejay Costello — PearlRock Partners
8:02a
Wants to set a reconnect meeting in LA this summer (late June / early July) to share real business insights. Asked you, Emma, and Jeff to share available dates. Also requested samples be sent to their Cincinnati, Chicago, and NYC offices. Tone is warm — they're interested.
Respond with dates
Piyush Jain — Loop Subscriptions
7:27a
Loop will handle full migration from Recharge — white-glove, heavy lifting on their end. Biggest migration was 1.4M subscribers. Coterie, Four Sigmatic, OSEA, Prolon already migrated. Claims ~25% subscription growth and lower churn. Offered to connect you with reference brands. Pitched 3 levers: churn (30% save rate), upsells (3% incremental), and payment recovery (45% of failed payments).
Review — share with Megan?
Brian Abbott — Gather GM
9:15p yesterday
Q1 Retro + Q2 Projection for Gather. Q1 defined by resilience under pressure — cafe never closed despite injuries and Noelle out 6 weeks. Cafe net +3.6% YoY, co-working +49.4%. Q2 target: $232-239K combined revenue. Studio Manager is the #1 hire. Class revenue projected at $75K (vs. $19K last year). Outside seating build this quarter.
Read before Q2 planning Wed
Brian Abbott — March Retro
8:49p yesterday
March net sales $50,300 (+2.13% YoY) while severely shorthanded. Expo West executed well, Sundays consistently hitting $2K+. Mei identified as rising star. Tamara let go. Studio fully built but class launch intentionally paused until systems are solid. Brian worked 60+ days straight without a day off.
Context for Q2 planning
Fathom Meeting Recaps — Yesterday
Shane <> Megan — 80 min
3:37p
Reviewed Google Trends data — MUD\WTR tracking closely with Everyday Dose, may be ahead some weeks. Discussed onboarding Danielle (15 hrs/wk) with Notion home base and Britt for email content. Evaluating Travis's role evolution — considering dedicated Figma designer Lana. TikTok Shop proposal from agency showed losses (high sample costs) — Megan exploring Pattern as alternative. Agreed to focus TikTok on OG + coffee only.
EAV Partners — Leadership Weekly — 96 min
1:53p
Marketing performance deep-dive: new customers, CAC, CTR, email engagement. Agreed to work with Danielle to refine reporting. Discussed Whole Foods challenges (Chaga ingredient approval) — exploring WF-specific formula vs. removing Chaga. With Sam departing, Megan's Q2 focus is stabilizing marketing team. Touched on Costco expansion status and engaging WF buyers at upcoming event.
SOW Finalize — Danielle
10:02a
Statement of Work finalized. Updated to include weekly reporting, strategic planning, and a structured transition plan for Danielle's onboarding.
Slack Highlights
Danielle Murphy — Group DM
4:46p yesterday
Sent Target Go-To-Market Strategy for your 10:00a meeting today. Needs your input on 4 things: (1) Founder launch day video at Target on 5/10 — is this the hero asset? (2) LinkedIn post tagging buyer Stephanie Perri. (3) FYF creative direction for Target-specific content — border, PSA ticker, institutional tone. (4) Sneak peek package: 2-3 concept boards due to Target by April 18.
Prep for 10:00a Danielle call
Aidan Orozco — #creative-huddle
Saturday night
Shipped 9 new Shane ads over the weekend — 6 fully edited + 3 more ready to launch. All uploaded to Asana for Kevin to get into rotation. Creative pipeline is full.
Pipeline healthy
Megan Scott — Group DM w/ Emma, Hillary
Saturday
Sam Brunswick separation happening today. Communication timeline: Megan/Hillary connect 9a CST, Sam told at 10:15a, then Travis & Kevin notified, then team-wide email goes out. Notion doc shared with all comms drafts. Hillary asked about shipping Sam's laptop to you for AI support repurposing.
Happening today
Notion — Currently Doing
AI batching
Doing
Get reviews to Claude
Doing
LinkedIn Posts
This Week
Hire newsletter tool builder
To Do
Prepare for BOD
To Do
The Business
Revenue & pacing
Yesterday
$152K
2,836 orders
April MTD
$871K
16,088 orders
2026 YTD
$13.7M
~$53M annualized pace
Personal Finances
Yesterday's spend
Schwab Checking
$19,280
Investor Checking • 3768
Chase Balance
$15,036
Credit Card
AMEX Balance
$2,443
Platinum Card
Yesterday — Sunday, April 6
| Whole Foods | $143.11 | Chase |
| Toadal Fitness | $99.00 | Chase |
| Meller | $99.00 | AMEX |
| Santa Cruz Athletic Club | $78.00 | Schwab |
| Amazon | $42.69 | Chase |
| Amazon | $18.16 | Chase |
| Tesla EV Charging | $12.50 | AMEX |
| Venmo | $12.00 | Schwab |
| Cinelux Capitola Cafe | $8.25 | Chase |
Total Yesterday
$512.71
Excludes credit card payments & payroll transfers