Growth Without the Burnout: What Triathlons Teach Us About Scaling Ecommerce
When your store suddenly takes off like a Tesla in Ludicrous Mode, you’d better have control systems in place. Going from “We’re doing okay” to “What the hell is happening?” only takes a weekend.
Some people train every day, and that’s it.
Others plan, measure, and tweak every variable to compete at the edge.
Today, we’re playing in that second league.
And yes, this applies to growing ecommerce brands too.
Let me explain. But first… let’s talk Ironman.
Ironman is the ultimate triathlon: 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and a full marathon (26.2 miles) to top it off. You’ve got 17 hours to complete this madness. No breaks. No pity. Just steady pulse, cold head… and a stomach that doesn’t betray you.
Ibiza, 1999
Sunrise at Figueretas Beach. The Mediterranean is dead calm, a perfect mirror. The announcer calls the start of the Ironman Ibiza. Among the sea of wetsuits stands Jesús Sánchez, 26, nervous, excited, and probably questioning his life choices.
The swim and bike go like a dream. But at mile 17 of the marathon, everything falls apart: cramps, nausea, a gut-wrenching pain that bends Jesús in half.
The crowd cheers. Jesús doubles over. An ambulance rolls in.
DNF—Did Not Finish.
Three letters that haunt him for months.
Blood tests, training logs, over 30 nutrition products tested… and the conclusion is brutal: he wasn’t undertrained, just under control.
One wrong variable — fast sugars, gluten, high osmolarity — turns your gut into a ticking bomb.
In 2007, Jesús heads to his basement with an industrial blender, a stack of scientific papers, and the energy of a mad scientist. He experiments, fails, adjusts. Sticky notes cover the walls with sodium, potassium, and osmolarity targets. After a hundred botched attempts, one formula finally works. His gut signs off.
Enter 226ERS
That anonymous white powder was the seed of 226ERS: clean ingredients, zero gluten, controlled sugar, low osmolarity. The old strategy of “run and pray” becomes: measure, adjust, repeat.
The results come fast. In 2011, Jesús crosses the Kona finish line — the Mecca of long-distance triathlon — for the first time. And two more times after that.
Then in 2012, he’s crowned European Long Distance Champion in Roth.
Validation in hand, 226ERS moves from basement to fulfillment center, then to global logistics, and now to a thriving DTC site shipping 80+ SKUs to 40 countries.
The brand grows at double digits, embraces subscriptions, adds channels, and turns its digestive obsession into an unfair market advantage.
Moral of the story? Talent gets you to the start line. Obsessive control gets you to the finish.
And the rest? History.
▶︎ 226ERS was born to fuel athletes taking on 226 km of hell… and became the go-to brand for champions.
So what does any of this have to do with your ecommerce?
Swap “Ironman” for “fast-scaling ecommerce” and the pattern is obvious:
The initial boost gets you ahead. But only control over every moving part keeps you alive when things speed up — and they will.
Survival Kit for Ecommerce in Growth Mode
Here’s the bottom line: growth without control is a slow-motion trainwreck.
These five levers will keep your business from imploding when sales surge.
1/ Revenue on Cruise Control
Subscriptions are the cruise control of modern ecommerce: orders repeat on their own. Customers get refills right on time, your cash flow smooths out, and you stop throwing Hail Mary discounts just to hit your monthly numbers.
▶︎ Build your subscription engine. Make the offer a no-brainer. Then spend your energy on growth, not on fires.
2/ Forecast-First Inventory
Predicting demand isn’t magic anymore. Hook up some AI models to your ERP, and you’ll know before stockouts or dead stock bite you. Smart alerts = smart purchase orders.
▶︎ Result? On-time delivery, fewer headaches, zero post-sale panic. But only if you get serious about it now.
3/ AI-Backed Support (That Actually Works)
Imagine if 70% of support tickets never reached a human. With a real-time knowledge base and a well-trained AI agent, your team focuses on upsell-worthy conversations, not lost packages.
Customers feel fast and accurate service. You feel lower costs and fatter carts.
▶︎ I’ve had this running for a while. Total game-changer.
4/ KPI Clarity Over Dashboard Chaos
Overloaded dashboards kill decision-making. Pick 3 metrics that move real dollars — LTV/CAC, repeat rate, acquisition cost — and set up Slack alerts when they go off track.
▶︎ You want traffic lights, not spreadsheets: green = go, red = fix it.
5/ Tech That Snaps Together Like LEGO
New tool? New feature? It shouldn’t feel like open-heart surgery. A modular, API-driven stack lets you plug in new tools like LEGO bricks — without breaking what’s working.
▶︎ I could write a book about this. I’ve been going full LEGO-mode for two years.
Your turn
Now tell me: what topic do you want me to go deep on next editions of the EcommLetter?
But, is this going to happen to me too?
If you’re growing in revenue and complexity, the fires will come. Ask the burned-out founder next door.
Every dollar saved in ops is a dollar freed for growth.
That spike in orders will hit on a Friday night. Or when your star employee is sipping sangria.
And worst of all: your customer will remember the bad experience longer than your best flash sale. Always.
Which means one thing: plan your growth. Or pay the price later.
Think about it:
Will you survive the next sales sprint?
Or will you collapse like Jesús in Ibiza ’99?
I’ve seen this for 25 years in ecommerce:
Put growth control systems in place today — or pay interest tomorrow. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
▶︎ Got questions about this? Drop them in the comments or message me directly.
Chances are, I’ve been where you’re headed.
Talk soon — assuming you don’t dehydrate first.
Stay cool out there,
Pablo Renaud