The 2026 eCom Trends Report
Top Report Findings: This is our sixth Trends Report with 300 owners representing $3.5...
If you’ve been out and about on a Sunday, you have probably come across the product created by today’s guest. Chris Ruder is the Founder of Spikeball.com and he has a really cool story about how he started the company and ran it as a side hustle for five years before taking it full-time and growing it to where it is today.
Listen in as Chris shares what it was like raising the initial $100k he needed to launch the business from friends and family, why he never considered using third-party investors, and the lessons he learned mixing business and personal. We also dive into the marketing strategies that Chris has employed, why he has never relied on paid advertising, and how he has leveraged community, connection, and word of mouth to scale his business.
You’ll learn:
- The lessons Chris learned raising $100k from family and friends. (7:00)
- Why their values are to surpass and delight. (13:10)
- How distribution has changed for Spikeball.com. (17:00)
- The channel that is most valuable to them today. (25:00)
- What the past year has been like for the company. (29:50)
- Lightning round with Chris. (34:35)
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(With your host Andrew Youderian of eCommerceFuel.com and Chris Ruder of Spikeball.com)
What Was Mentioned
- Chris Ruder: Website
- eCommerceFuel Forum
- Fulfil.io
- One Click Upsell – Increase Sales 15%+ with Pre-and Post-purchase Upsells. (On average, Shopify users increase sales 15% immediately after installing the app!)
Post by Andrew Youderian
Founder and Chief Instigator, eComFuel
Andrew quit an early finance job to sell CB radios online — an admittedly unorthodox career path. It set him on a course to found and sell multiple businesses, host a decade-running podcast, lecture at Harvard Business School and create eComFuel, the leading community for 7- and 8-figure online business owners. Andrew is fascinated with branding, AI, building community, investing and growing meaningful businesses that don't require sacrificing what truly matters.
