In this episode, Richard and Taylor Holiday discuss the rise of the “SEANs” — the Software-Enabled AgeNcy — and why it represents a fundamental shift in how eCommerce brands will build growth teams going forward.

Taylor explains how traditional agencies struggle to operationalize institutional knowledge across individuals, leading to inconsistent execution and diffused accountability. The solution? Embedding a clear point of view directly into software, turning ideology into infrastructure. Rather than offering neutral tools like Ads Manager, CTC is building software with an opinion: a system designed to unify marketing and finance around a daily, trackable path to predictable, profitable growth.

The conversation explores:

• Why “software with a point of view” is different from open-ended tools

• How declining SaaS gross margins and rising customer demands for outcomes are collapsing the line between software and services

• Why agencies are becoming more like software companies — and software companies more like agencies

• The impact of AI on compressing labor costs and increasing individual output expectations

If you care about the future of growth teams, SaaS economics, and how AI is reshaping both labor and leverage inside eCommerce, this conversation is a must-listen.

Show Notes:

• Get Dataships’ free A/B test: https://www.dataships.io/demo

• Explore the PROPHIT System: http://prophitsystem.com

• The Ecommerce Playbook mailbag is open — email us at podc