Chain Pod https://chainsocial.com.au/ en The marketing podcast that gives you an unfair advantage. The Chain Pod is hosted by the team behind Australia's leading all-female agency, Chain Social. Built for business owners and marketers who want what's working, not what's trending. Presented by CEO, Shelby Van Zwol and Digital Director, Adele Elliott, every episode is education-driven and packed with tangible takeaways - going deep with platform experts, brand founders, and industry leaders on the wins worth stealing and the misses worth learning from. These are the most honest marketing conversations happening in this country, and the missing link in your strategy. https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/7c402776-5b48-11f1-8622-a3f5b3ddcbd9/image/b3534cbc66a1cb4b7cf4e2ce0249074f.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Chain Pod https://chainsocial.com.au/ episodic Chain Social The marketing podcast that gives you an unfair advantage. The Chain Pod is hosted by the team behind Australia's leading all-female agency, Chain Social. Built for business owners and marketers who want what's working, not what's trending. Presented by CEO, Shelby Van Zwol and Digital Director, Adele Elliott, every episode is education-driven and packed with tangible takeaways - going deep with platform experts, brand founders, and industry leaders on the wins worth stealing and the misses worth learning from. These are the most honest marketing conversations happening in this country, and the missing link in your strategy. The marketing podcast that gives you an unfair advantage.

The Chain Pod is hosted by the team behind Australia's leading all-female agency, Chain Social.

Built for business owners and marketers who want what's working, not what's trending.

Presented by CEO, Shelby Van Zwol and Digital Director, Adele Elliott, every episode is education-driven and packed with tangible takeaways - going deep with platform experts, brand founders, and industry leaders on the wins worth stealing and the misses worth learning from.

These are the most honest marketing conversations happening in this country, and the missing link in your strategy.

]]> Chain Social hello@pivotalconversations.ai Ep 3. AI Decoded for Brands & Marketers, Without the Overwhelm with Daniela Valencia Our very first guest, and who better than an AI consultant? Shelby and Adele sit down with Daniela Valencia to make AI feel less overwhelming and a lot more useful for marketers, agencies and brand founders. The big reframe: AI is not here to replace your team, it is here to enhance it. Speed up the admin, surface the data insights, and free your humans to do the thinking only humans can do. We get properly tangible: where to actually start, why Claude is our pick for agencies and founders, building your "business OS", turning your process into a reusable skill, and the day-to-day use cases saving us hours every week. πŸ’Œ Start by brain-dumping your role and business into Claude so it has real context. πŸ’Œ MD (markdown) files are the universal language for AI tools, and lighter on tokens. πŸ’Œ Decide what should stay human (selling, your brand soul) before you automate anything. πŸ’Œ Get on top of AI now, or risk being out-paced by an AI-native marketer. πŸ’Œ Agentic commerce is coming - up to 70% of ecomm traffic could be AI agents by 2027. πŸ’Œ Make your site AI-ready: clean product data, a crawlable site, and an llms.txt file. Performance meets aesthetics, even in the age of AI. ✨ 00:00 Welcome back + our first ever guest 01:30 Why AI, why now 03:30 Meet Daniela Valencia, AI consultant 06:30 Feeling overwhelmed? Where to actually start 07:10 Why Claude for agencies and founders 08:30 Build your "business OS" and dump your context 09:30 Voice tools and recording calls (the legal bit) 11:50 Skills: turn your process into a reusable tool 13:10 MD files, your universal AI language 17:50 Critical thinking and the AI-native marketer 21:00 Bring your own AI agent: the new IP question 26:40 Team vs personal accounts 30:50 Use case: your weekly platform brief, straight to Slack 32:30 Email superpowers: sentiment + finding old threads 36:10 Tokens, the AI race and IPO hype 40:20 Staying safe: never hand over card or private details 41:15 Agentic commerce: 50-70% of purchases by 2027 44:45 Get AI-ready: crawlable sites and llms.txt 47:45 AI visibility + the blog/SEO resurgence 50:20 Part two: our live AI Masterclass 52:15 Where to find Daniela RESOURCES πŸ”— AI Masterclass with Daniela - Melbourne, tickets below. Code CHAINPOD15 for 15% off. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ai-for-ecommerce-the-masterclass-tickets-1992404943821 πŸ”— Find Daniela on Instagram: @danielavalencia.aiΒ  πŸ”— Tools mentioned: Claude desktop app, Gemini, Wispr Flow, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok. Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: www.chainsocial.com.au Training: www.chainacademy.com.au Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0000 full Chain Social Our very first guest, and who better than an AI consultant? Shelby and Adele sit down with Daniela Valencia to make AI feel less overwhelming and a lot more useful for marketers, agencies and brand founders. The big reframe: AI is not here to replace your team, it is here to enhance it. Speed up the admin, surface the data insights, and free your humans to do the thinking only humans can do. We get properly tangible: where to actually start, why Claude is our pick for agencies and founders, building your "business OS", turning your process into a reusable skill, and the day-to-day use cases saving us hours every week. πŸ’Œ Start by brain-dumping your role and business into Claude so it has real context. πŸ’Œ MD (markdown) files are the universal language for AI tools, and lighter on tokens. πŸ’Œ Decide what should stay human (selling, your brand soul) before you automate anything. πŸ’Œ Get on top of AI now, or risk being out-paced by an AI-native marketer. πŸ’Œ Agentic commerce is coming - up to 70% of ecomm traffic could be AI agents by 2027. πŸ’Œ Make your site AI-ready: clean product data, a crawlable site, and an llms.txt file. Performance meets aesthetics, even in the age of AI. ✨ 00:00 Welcome back + our first ever guest 01:30 Why AI, why now 03:30 Meet Daniela Valencia, AI consultant 06:30 Feeling overwhelmed? Where to actually start 07:10 Why Claude for agencies and founders 08:30 Build your "business OS" and dump your context 09:30 Voice tools and recording calls (the legal bit) 11:50 Skills: turn your process into a reusable tool 13:10 MD files, your universal AI language 17:50 Critical thinking and the AI-native marketer 21:00 Bring your own AI agent: the new IP question 26:40 Team vs personal accounts 30:50 Use case: your weekly platform brief, straight to Slack 32:30 Email superpowers: sentiment + finding old threads 36:10 Tokens, the AI race and IPO hype 40:20 Staying safe: never hand over card or private details 41:15 Agentic commerce: 50-70% of purchases by 2027 44:45 Get AI-ready: crawlable sites and llms.txt 47:45 AI visibility + the blog/SEO resurgence 50:20 Part two: our live AI Masterclass 52:15 Where to find Daniela RESOURCES πŸ”— AI Masterclass with Daniela - Melbourne, tickets below. Code CHAINPOD15 for 15% off. https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ai-for-ecommerce-the-masterclass-tickets-1992404943821 πŸ”— Find Daniela on Instagram: @danielavalencia.aiΒ  πŸ”— Tools mentioned: Claude desktop app, Gemini, Wispr Flow, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok. Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: www.chainsocial.com.au Training: www.chainacademy.com.au Our very first guest, and who better than an AI consultant? Shelby and Adele sit down with Daniela Valencia to make AI feel less overwhelming and a lot more useful for marketers, agencies and brand founders.


The big reframe: AI is not here to replace your team, it is here to enhance it. Speed up the admin, surface the data insights, and free your humans to do the thinking only humans can do.


We get properly tangible: where to actually start, why Claude is our pick for agencies and founders, building your "business OS", turning your process into a reusable skill, and the day-to-day use cases saving us hours every week.


πŸ’Œ Start by brain-dumping your role and business into Claude so it has real context.

πŸ’Œ MD (markdown) files are the universal language for AI tools, and lighter on tokens.

πŸ’Œ Decide what should stay human (selling, your brand soul) before you automate anything.

πŸ’Œ Get on top of AI now, or risk being out-paced by an AI-native marketer.

πŸ’Œ Agentic commerce is coming - up to 70% of ecomm traffic could be AI agents by 2027.

πŸ’Œ Make your site AI-ready: clean product data, a crawlable site, and an llms.txt file.


Performance meets aesthetics, even in the age of AI. ✨


00:00 Welcome back + our first ever guest

01:30 Why AI, why now

03:30 Meet Daniela Valencia, AI consultant

06:30 Feeling overwhelmed? Where to actually start

07:10 Why Claude for agencies and founders

08:30 Build your "business OS" and dump your context

09:30 Voice tools and recording calls (the legal bit)

11:50 Skills: turn your process into a reusable tool

13:10 MD files, your universal AI language

17:50 Critical thinking and the AI-native marketer

21:00 Bring your own AI agent: the new IP question

26:40 Team vs personal accounts

30:50 Use case: your weekly platform brief, straight to Slack

32:30 Email superpowers: sentiment + finding old threads

36:10 Tokens, the AI race and IPO hype

40:20 Staying safe: never hand over card or private details

41:15 Agentic commerce: 50-70% of purchases by 2027

44:45 Get AI-ready: crawlable sites and llms.txt

47:45 AI visibility + the blog/SEO resurgence

50:20 Part two: our live AI Masterclass

52:15 Where to find Daniela


RESOURCES

πŸ”— AI Masterclass with Daniela - Melbourne, tickets below. Code CHAINPOD15 for 15% off.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ai-for-ecommerce-the-masterclass-tickets-1992404943821

πŸ”— Find Daniela on Instagram: @danielavalencia.aiΒ 

πŸ”— Tools mentioned: Claude desktop app, Gemini, Wispr Flow, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok.


Connect With Us:

Instagram: @chainsocial

Instagram: @chainpod

Web: www.chainsocial.com.au

Training: www.chainacademy.com.au

]]> 3097 Ep 2. The Conversion Equation Every E-Com Brand Needs Before Spending on Ads with Shelby Van Zwol You can't advertise your way out of weak foundations. Period. In this (not-so-short) episode, Shelby and Adele get into the nitty gritty of what every e-commerce brand needs BEFORE you pour budget into paid. It all comes down to one equation: Revenue = Average Order Value Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic. Nail those three numbers and you can reverse-engineer almost any revenue goal. We unpack each one - why your product page (not your home page) does the heavy lifting, the website rebuild that took one skincare brand from a 1.5% to a 5.5% conversion rate, why not all traffic is created equal, and how AOV and margin quietly make or break your ads. πŸ’Œ Foundations before ad spend - "ads don't work for me" almost always means something upstream is broken. πŸ’Œ Your product page is the hero, and it has to be built for mobile. πŸ’Œ A 0.5% lift in conversion is game-changing revenue. πŸ’Œ Watch your AOV & margin - a $15–$100 basket is brutal for paid. πŸ’Œ Free shipping converts (~70% of Aussie shoppers abandon over shipping). πŸ’Œ Performance AND aesthetics - we'll never run an ugly ad. ✨ Your homework: work out your conversion rate, AOV and traffic. Times them together for your monthly revenue - then you'll know exactly which lever to pull first. πŸ“£ Want our free CRO checklist + budget calculator? DM us "CONVERSION" on Instagram @chainpod. 00:00 - Welcome back to Chain Pod 🀎 01:50 - You can't advertise on weak foundations 03:15 - The equation: AOV Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic 05:35 - Conversion rate, explained 06:01 - Your website is a transactional pathway, not just a pretty face 06:40 - Quick wins: announcement banner, above-the-fold, CTAs 07:51 - Stop designing for desktop - shop on mobile 08:12 - Why the product page beats the home page 09:04 - Case study: a skincare site from 1.5% β†’ 5.5% 13:54 - Test slow: change 1–2 things at a time 14:30 - Traffic quality vs quantity (& the 16 touchpoints Aussies need) 15:35 - Benchmark by category: $800 LED mask vs $60 replenishable 18:00 - Bot traffic & moving away from landing page views 19:30- Prediction: AI shopping agents & the checkout as the new product page 24:30 - Reverse-engineering your revenue goal 25:45 - AOV & margin: why a small basket hurts on paid 26:50 - Free shipping & the $9.95 that loses the sale 29:15 - Why we'll never run an ugly ad 30:09 - Wrap up + your homework RESOURCES πŸ”— Free CRO checklist/spreadsheet - DM "CONVERSION" over at @chainpod πŸ”— Budget calculator - coming in a future episode. πŸ”— Reverse-engineer your revenue with AI - tell Claude your goal, conversion rate, AOV & traffic, and ask which lever to pull first. Coming up on Episode 3: a full AI deep dive for marketers! Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: https://chainsocial.com.au Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/ podscan_i9UIZSjOjKyrZBXm57IetTwiGvHxnj5l Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:31:00 -0000 full Chain Social You can't advertise your way out of weak foundations. Period. In this (not-so-short) episode, Shelby and Adele get into the nitty gritty of what every e-commerce brand needs BEFORE you pour budget into paid. It all comes down to one equation: Revenue = Average Order Value Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic. Nail those three numbers and you can reverse-engineer almost any revenue goal. We unpack each one - why your product page (not your home page) does the heavy lifting, the website rebuild that took one skincare brand from a 1.5% to a 5.5% conversion rate, why not all traffic is created equal, and how AOV and margin quietly make or break your ads. πŸ’Œ Foundations before ad spend - "ads don't work for me" almost always means something upstream is broken. πŸ’Œ Your product page is the hero, and it has to be built for mobile. πŸ’Œ A 0.5% lift in conversion is game-changing revenue. πŸ’Œ Watch your AOV & margin - a $15–$100 basket is brutal for paid. πŸ’Œ Free shipping converts (~70% of Aussie shoppers abandon over shipping). πŸ’Œ Performance AND aesthetics - we'll never run an ugly ad. ✨ Your homework: work out your conversion rate, AOV and traffic. Times them together for your monthly revenue - then you'll know exactly which lever to pull first. πŸ“£ Want our free CRO checklist + budget calculator? DM us "CONVERSION" on Instagram @chainpod. 00:00 - Welcome back to Chain Pod 🀎 01:50 - You can't advertise on weak foundations 03:15 - The equation: AOV Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic 05:35 - Conversion rate, explained 06:01 - Your website is a transactional pathway, not just a pretty face 06:40 - Quick wins: announcement banner, above-the-fold, CTAs 07:51 - Stop designing for desktop - shop on mobile 08:12 - Why the product page beats the home page 09:04 - Case study: a skincare site from 1.5% β†’ 5.5% 13:54 - Test slow: change 1–2 things at a time 14:30 - Traffic quality vs quantity (& the 16 touchpoints Aussies need) 15:35 - Benchmark by category: $800 LED mask vs $60 replenishable 18:00 - Bot traffic & moving away from landing page views 19:30- Prediction: AI shopping agents & the checkout as the new product page 24:30 - Reverse-engineering your revenue goal 25:45 - AOV & margin: why a small basket hurts on paid 26:50 - Free shipping & the $9.95 that loses the sale 29:15 - Why we'll never run an ugly ad 30:09 - Wrap up + your homework RESOURCES πŸ”— Free CRO checklist/spreadsheet - DM "CONVERSION" over at @chainpod πŸ”— Budget calculator - coming in a future episode. πŸ”— Reverse-engineer your revenue with AI - tell Claude your goal, conversion rate, AOV & traffic, and ask which lever to pull first. Coming up on Episode 3: a full AI deep dive for marketers! Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: https://chainsocial.com.au Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/ podscan_i9UIZSjOjKyrZBXm57IetTwiGvHxnj5l You can't advertise your way out of weak foundations. Period.


In this (not-so-short) episode, Shelby and Adele get into the nitty gritty of what every e-commerce brand needs BEFORE you pour budget into paid. It all comes down to one equation:


Revenue = Average Order Value Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic.


Nail those three numbers and you can reverse-engineer almost any revenue goal. We unpack each one - why your product page (not your home page) does the heavy lifting, the website rebuild that took one skincare brand from a 1.5% to a 5.5% conversion rate, why not all traffic is created equal, and how AOV and margin quietly make or break your ads.


πŸ’Œ Foundations before ad spend - "ads don't work for me" almost always means something upstream is broken.

πŸ’Œ Your product page is the hero, and it has to be built for mobile.

πŸ’Œ A 0.5% lift in conversion is game-changing revenue.

πŸ’Œ Watch your AOV & margin - a $15–$100 basket is brutal for paid.

πŸ’Œ Free shipping converts (~70% of Aussie shoppers abandon over shipping).

πŸ’Œ Performance AND aesthetics - we'll never run an ugly ad. ✨


Your homework: work out your conversion rate, AOV and traffic. Times them together for your monthly revenue - then you'll know exactly which lever to pull first.


πŸ“£ Want our free CRO checklist + budget calculator? DM us "CONVERSION" on Instagram @chainpod.


00:00 - Welcome back to Chain Pod 🀎

01:50 - You can't advertise on weak foundations

03:15 - The equation: AOV Γ— Conversion Rate Γ— Traffic

05:35 - Conversion rate, explained

06:01 - Your website is a transactional pathway, not just a pretty face

06:40 - Quick wins: announcement banner, above-the-fold, CTAs

07:51 - Stop designing for desktop - shop on mobile

08:12 - Why the product page beats the home page

09:04 - Case study: a skincare site from 1.5% β†’ 5.5%

13:54 - Test slow: change 1–2 things at a time

14:30 - Traffic quality vs quantity (& the 16 touchpoints Aussies need)

15:35 - Benchmark by category: $800 LED mask vs $60 replenishable

18:00 - Bot traffic & moving away from landing page views

19:30- Prediction: AI shopping agents & the checkout as the new product page

24:30 - Reverse-engineering your revenue goal

25:45 - AOV & margin: why a small basket hurts on paid

26:50 - Free shipping & the $9.95 that loses the sale

29:15 - Why we'll never run an ugly ad

30:09 - Wrap up + your homework


RESOURCES

πŸ”— Free CRO checklist/spreadsheet - DM "CONVERSION" over at @chainpod

πŸ”— Budget calculator - coming in a future episode.

πŸ”— Reverse-engineer your revenue with AI - tell Claude your goal, conversion rate, AOV & traffic, and ask which lever to pull first.


Coming up on Episode 3: a full AI deep dive for marketers!


Connect With Us:

Instagram: @chainsocial

Instagram: @chainpod

Web: https://chainsocial.com.au

Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/


podscan_i9UIZSjOjKyrZBXm57IetTwiGvHxnj5l

]]> 1825 The Pilot: Meet Shelby, Adele and Your New Unfair Advantage Welcome to the very first episode of the Chain Social podcast! We are kicking off the series by stripping back the glossy facade of digital marketing and giving you an honest look at who we are, how we got here, and why we’re finally launching this show. In this pilot episode, hosts Shelby Van Zwol (Founder & Director) and Adele Elliott (Digital Director) share their unconventional career journeys, the reality of building a fully female-founded, non-toxic agency, and why most startup brands fail before they even get off the ground. We're not here to give you generic "inspiration"- we’re here to give you the exact, data-backed strategies moving the needle right now. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Why another marketing podcast? Cutting through the noise to deliver real value. 01:12 – Meet the hosts: Adele’s journey from big agency land to L'OrΓ©al, Retail Zoo, and landing her dream gig at Chain Social. 02:57 – Shelby’s story: Selling sand sculpting events, getting fired from retail jobs, and building Chain Social from a 23-year-old’s side hustle into a decade-long powerhouse. 07:27 – The reality of agency land: Being an early adopter, standing out in an unregulated market of 9,000+ agencies, and Preferred Partnership with Meta. 11:12 – The Chain Social ethos: Managing 23 brilliant women with zero corporate toxicity, and leaning heavily into the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle niche. 18:04 – Our Podcast Mission: One non-negotiable piece of tangible advice per episode, and making Meta and TikTok a lot less scary. 21:14 – Legendary client parties, flying in Peking Duk, and building a community-led show. 28:00 – The Quick-Fire Deep Dive: The biggest mistakes startups make (hint: it's product bias and blowing your budget too early). 33:39 – How to properly test product-market fit without burning $300k on stock. 36:50 – The Ultimate Controversy: Why you probably shouldn't hire an agency yet, and when your brand is actually ready to scale. 41:22 – Pros and cons of Agency vs. In-house marketing (and why the "Jack of all trades" employee is a myth). 44:56 – Outro & how to get in touch with us via our Meta-backed handles. Key Takeaways From This Episode 1. Ditch the Product Bias Don't ask your mum and friends to praise your idea. Ask them to pick it apart. If your only unique selling points (USPs) are "aesthetic packaging" and being "vegan," you aren't ready for a saturated market. 2. The 95% Budget Trap Getting a product ready for market is 95% of the battle, but too many founders spend 95% of their capital just getting to the starting line. Save your money for creating brand demand and attention - Meta ads aren't a magic tap you can just turn on with zero baseline brand awareness. 3. Don't Hire an Agency Yet! If you aren't turning over $30k to $50k a month, keep the cash in your business and learn the platforms yourself. You need a proven product and proof of concept before an agency can effectively scale you into the multi-millions. Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: https://chainsocial.com.au Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/ Fri, 29 May 2026 13:50:00 -0000 full Chain Social Welcome to the very first episode of the Chain Social podcast! We are kicking off the series by stripping back the glossy facade of digital marketing and giving you an honest look at who we are, how we got here, and why we’re finally launching this show. In this pilot episode, hosts Shelby Van Zwol (Founder & Director) and Adele Elliott (Digital Director) share their unconventional career journeys, the reality of building a fully female-founded, non-toxic agency, and why most startup brands fail before they even get off the ground. We're not here to give you generic "inspiration"- we’re here to give you the exact, data-backed strategies moving the needle right now. Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Why another marketing podcast? Cutting through the noise to deliver real value. 01:12 – Meet the hosts: Adele’s journey from big agency land to L'OrΓ©al, Retail Zoo, and landing her dream gig at Chain Social. 02:57 – Shelby’s story: Selling sand sculpting events, getting fired from retail jobs, and building Chain Social from a 23-year-old’s side hustle into a decade-long powerhouse. 07:27 – The reality of agency land: Being an early adopter, standing out in an unregulated market of 9,000+ agencies, and Preferred Partnership with Meta. 11:12 – The Chain Social ethos: Managing 23 brilliant women with zero corporate toxicity, and leaning heavily into the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle niche. 18:04 – Our Podcast Mission: One non-negotiable piece of tangible advice per episode, and making Meta and TikTok a lot less scary. 21:14 – Legendary client parties, flying in Peking Duk, and building a community-led show. 28:00 – The Quick-Fire Deep Dive: The biggest mistakes startups make (hint: it's product bias and blowing your budget too early). 33:39 – How to properly test product-market fit without burning $300k on stock. 36:50 – The Ultimate Controversy: Why you probably shouldn't hire an agency yet, and when your brand is actually ready to scale. 41:22 – Pros and cons of Agency vs. In-house marketing (and why the "Jack of all trades" employee is a myth). 44:56 – Outro & how to get in touch with us via our Meta-backed handles. Key Takeaways From This Episode 1. Ditch the Product Bias Don't ask your mum and friends to praise your idea. Ask them to pick it apart. If your only unique selling points (USPs) are "aesthetic packaging" and being "vegan," you aren't ready for a saturated market. 2. The 95% Budget Trap Getting a product ready for market is 95% of the battle, but too many founders spend 95% of their capital just getting to the starting line. Save your money for creating brand demand and attention - Meta ads aren't a magic tap you can just turn on with zero baseline brand awareness. 3. Don't Hire an Agency Yet! If you aren't turning over $30k to $50k a month, keep the cash in your business and learn the platforms yourself. You need a proven product and proof of concept before an agency can effectively scale you into the multi-millions. Connect With Us: Instagram: @chainsocial Instagram: @chainpod Web: https://chainsocial.com.au Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/ Welcome to the very first episode of the Chain Social podcast!

We are kicking off the series by stripping back the glossy facade of digital marketing and giving you an honest look at who we are, how we got here, and why we’re finally launching this show.

In this pilot episode, hosts Shelby Van Zwol (Founder & Director) and Adele Elliott (Digital Director) share their unconventional career journeys, the reality of building a fully female-founded, non-toxic agency, and why most startup brands fail before they even get off the ground.

We're not here to give you generic "inspiration"- we’re here to give you the exact, data-backed strategies moving the needle right now.


Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Why another marketing podcast? Cutting through the noise to deliver real value.

01:12 – Meet the hosts: Adele’s journey from big agency land to L'OrΓ©al, Retail Zoo, and landing her dream gig at Chain Social.

02:57 – Shelby’s story: Selling sand sculpting events, getting fired from retail jobs, and building Chain Social from a 23-year-old’s side hustle into a decade-long powerhouse.

07:27 – The reality of agency land: Being an early adopter, standing out in an unregulated market of 9,000+ agencies, and Preferred Partnership with Meta.

11:12 – The Chain Social ethos: Managing 23 brilliant women with zero corporate toxicity, and leaning heavily into the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle niche.

18:04 – Our Podcast Mission: One non-negotiable piece of tangible advice per episode, and making Meta and TikTok a lot less scary.

21:14 – Legendary client parties, flying in Peking Duk, and building a community-led show.

28:00 – The Quick-Fire Deep Dive: The biggest mistakes startups make (hint: it's product bias and blowing your budget too early).

33:39 – How to properly test product-market fit without burning $300k on stock.

36:50 – The Ultimate Controversy: Why you probably shouldn't hire an agency yet, and when your brand is actually ready to scale.

41:22 – Pros and cons of Agency vs. In-house marketing (and why the "Jack of all trades" employee is a myth).

44:56 – Outro & how to get in touch with us via our Meta-backed handles.


Key Takeaways From This Episode

1. Ditch the Product Bias

Don't ask your mum and friends to praise your idea. Ask them to pick it apart. If your only unique selling points (USPs) are "aesthetic packaging" and being "vegan," you aren't ready for a saturated market.

2. The 95% Budget Trap

Getting a product ready for market is 95% of the battle, but too many founders spend 95% of their capital just getting to the starting line. Save your money for creating brand demand and attention - Meta ads aren't a magic tap you can just turn on with zero baseline brand awareness.

3. Don't Hire an Agency Yet!

If you aren't turning over $30k to $50k a month, keep the cash in your business and learn the platforms yourself. You need a proven product and proof of concept before an agency can effectively scale you into the multi-millions.


Connect With Us:

Instagram: @chainsocial

Instagram: @chainpod

Web: https://chainsocial.com.au

Web: http://www.chainacademy.com.au/

]]> 2759