1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?

Dan Trujillo: When we started, we only sold Italian products. We tried to position the company as a higher-quality company selling silver-based jewelry and solid gold jewelry imported from Italy, where some of the best jewelry comes from. Most companies sell stainless steel or brass-based jewelry, which, in my opinion, is low quality.

Fast forward to now, Miami Links has continued to offer Italian-made jewelry but has pivoted to selling an in-house Miami-made line. None of our competitors have this combination: both internationally and locally made jewelry.

2. Since launch, what have been the 1–2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?

Dan Trujillo: The first turning point was bringing on a professional email marketing team. This was incredible for us. Email marketing is a huge proponent of revenue.

And the second turning point was the .999 handmade chains. Including this, we doubled our revenue since we launched it. Introducing this product was about knowing our audience and giving them what they wanted.

3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?

Dan Trujillo: Right now, Meta and Google ads drive our revenue. Without that, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

4. How are you thinking about search in 2025 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?

Dan Trujillo: Miami Links is constantly innovating. We are always improving our SEO with blogs, PR, and whatever else we can. We understand that marketing and advertising are always evolving, and we evolve with them.

5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?

Dan Trujillo: There are two things I’d tell other companies: email marketing and listening. Email marketing is what brings back customers, and listening to your customers is what builds that trust.

6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?

Dan Trujillo: I would double down on always being one step ahead. Don’t reinvent the wheel; look at what others are doing and follow that. Always try new technologies, and if they don’t work, get rid of them. It’s that simple. There’s no need to sweat the small stuff.