2PM Newsletter
Premium newsletter and blog analyzing direct-to-consumer and retail industry trends. Founded by Web Smith, 2PM provides original long-form essays and curated briefings on the intersection of e-commerce, media, and technology – offering strategic insights for commerce professionals
NATSEC Roundtable No. 10: The Forges Went Dark
The recent NATSEC roundtable highlighted how U.S. defense acquisition has moved from a broad commercial industrial base to a narrow set of specialist contractors, eroding innovation. Authors of *Mobilize* argue that reviving dual‑use manufacturers—companies that serve both consumer and military markets—could restore agility, citing examples like Anatar’s AI‑driven domestic apparel plant linked to DoD innovation institutes. The article lists several consumer brands (New Balance, Carhartt, YETI, etc.) that already possess the manufacturing discipline to become defense suppliers if procurement barriers are eased. It calls for policy changes to lower compliance costs and accelerate contract cycles.
Deep Dive: No Brand’s Demo
Web Smith has logged 786 consecutive days of 7‑12 miles, turning his daily runs into a data‑collection platform for running apparel durability. He tested half‑tights from ten brands over sixty days, evaluating fit, compression, pocket architecture, fabric wear and brand...
NATSEC Roundtable No. 9: Capital, Cloud, and Commerce
The defense ecosystem is evolving into a three‑layer stack of venture capital, cloud infrastructure, and digital commerce. Mandate‑driven VC firms such as In‑QTel, a16z’s American Dynamism and Shield Capital are financing AI, autonomous and cyber startups that resemble Silicon Valley...
Agentic: Shopify and Google’s UCP Will Democratize Commerce
Shopify’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) equips AI agents with a deterministic decision‑making framework that selects merchants based on structural constraints rather than ad spend. The protocol, reinforced by Google Gemini and ChatGPT integrations, turns clean data, clear policies, and reliable...
Member Brief: Why Shopify Should Acquire BigCommerce
A viral LinkedIn post by venture investor Jeremy Horowitz joking about buying BigCommerce caught industry attention when Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein publicly liked it. The gesture signals Shopify’s possible interest in acquiring the mid‑market eCommerce platform. Analysts interpret the like...
