Steve welcomes Andrew Lipp, CEO and co-founder of EQL, for a deep dive into the chaotic world of product launches and why the infrastructure most brands rely on completely breaks when passionate fans show up in force. Andrew’s journey started with personal frustration—trying to buy limited-edition Nike sneakers, getting a confirmation, then being told the transaction never actually processed because the site had crashed and oversold. That experience sparked a realization: if Nike, a brand built around athletes and performance, was delivering such a broken experience during launches, this was a systemic problem affecting every category where excitement and passion drive commerce.

What makes this conversation particularly valuable is Andrew’s perspective from both sides of the problem. After leaving Google and founding EQL, he’s now powered launches for Fortune 100 brands like Nike, Crocs, Stanley, and Foot Locker—learning exactly what breaks, why it breaks, and how to fix it. The challenge isn’t just technical infrastructure (though that matters). It’s about understanding that launch traffic behaves fundamentally differently than everyday commerce—whether you’re dropping 50 units or 5,000. You get massive spikes, bot armies trying to clear inventory, resellers gaming the system, and real fans feeling disenfranchised when they can’t get products they genuinely want to own.

Steve shares the legendary Jeffree Star Cosmetics story from his Shopify insider days—when Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star’s combined 40 million YouTube subscribers descended on a single Shopify store simultaneously. Despite Shopify engineers standing by with beta flags and scaled infrastructure, the internet essentially broke for six to eight hours. It became a full documentary-worthy disaster that taught everyone involved critical lessons about launch preparation, traffic management, and operational complexity. This wasn’t some rookie store making beginner mistakes—this was Shopify’s own infrastructure, with engineers on standby, being pushed to its absolute breaking point.

Andrew breaks down what actually goes wrong during launches: sites crash because standard infrastructure can’t scale fast enough, checkout systems fall out of sync leading to overselling, bots clear out inventory before real customers can complete purchases, and the operational pain lingers for months through support tickets and refund requests. Then he explains how EQL solves these challenges through three core mechanisms: queue management that fairly distributes access during traffic spikes, draw and raffle systems that let fans enter for a chance rather than fighting bots, and exclusive access controls that reward loyal community members first.

The conversation covers why “emotional loyalty” matters more in launch commerce than traditional retail, how brands like Kith have built passionate followings by consistently rewarding their fan base with first access to drops, and why giving customers the tools to engage (not just compete) creates sustainable growth. Andrew just launched EQL’s Shopify app to democratize these tools—bringing enterprise-level launch infrastructure to solo creators, growing DTC brands, and multi-store retailers who previously couldn’t afford the $20-30K monthly platform fees that Shopify Plus operations require.

This isn’t theory. It’s battle-tested infrastructure that’s handled millions of dollars in launch volume for the world’s biggest brands, now accessible to anyone building community around products people genuinely love.

Strategic Takeaways

👉 Understand that launch traffic behaves completely differently than everyday commerce. When passionate fans show up simultaneously for limited products, they refresh aggressively, they try multiple checkout attempts, they bring bot scripts, and they create traffic patterns your standard infrastructure wasn’t built to handle. Don’t assume that because your site handles 1,000 daily visitors smoothly, it’ll survive 10,000 people showing up in the first 60 seconds of a drop. Plan for traffic spikes that are 10-50x your normal peak, and build queue systems that fairly distribute access rather than rewarding whoever can refresh fastest.

👉 Treat bots and resellers as operational problems, not just annoyances. When automated scripts can clear out your limited inventory in seconds and real customers watch those same products instantly appear on resale markets for 3x the price, you’re not just losing sales—you’re actively damaging the relationship with fans who actually want to engage with your brand. Implement proper bot detection, use exclusive access controls, and consider draw/raffle systems that reward engagement rather than speed. Your real customers will remember how you treated them during launches.

👉 Use draws and raffles to build emotional loyalty, not just manage demand. Giving fans the ability to enter for a chance at limited products creates anticipation, rewards consistent engagement, and removes the stress of fighting bots during a live drop. Brands like Kith have proven this works—their loyal community keeps coming back because they feel seen and rewarded for their efforts. Whether you’re doing $10K months or $10M months, the principle holds: people buy from brands that make them feel valued, and launch mechanics are powerful tools for demonstrating that appreciation.

👉 Don’t attempt major launches without proper infrastructure in place. The Jeffree Star Cosmetics disaster showed that even with Shopify’s engineering team on standby with beta flags and scaled infrastructure, launches can break spectacularly when 40+ million combined subscribers converge simultaneously—the site was essentially down for 6-8 hours despite maximum preparation. If you’re planning a launch with significant hype—whether from social media, influencer partnerships, or email lists—invest in queue management, load testing, and checkout systems that stay synchronized under pressure. The cost of broken launches (lost sales, damaged trust, months of support overhead) far exceeds the investment in proper infrastructure.

👉 Recognize that launch commerce creates operational pain that lasts months, not hours. When sites crash, checkouts fall out of sync, and transactions don’t process cleanly, you’re left with weeks of support tickets, refund requests, and angry customers who got charged but never received products. These operational headaches consume team bandwidth long after the launch window closes. Build systems that track transactions properly, communicate clearly with customers about queue position and stock availability, and have refund processes that actually work when things go wrong.

👉 Leverage exclusive access to reward your most engaged community members first. Whether it’s early access for email subscribers, first dibs for repeat customers, or VIP access for loyalty program members, giving your core fan base privileged access to launches builds the kind of community that fuels sustainable growth. This applies whether you’re launching your first product or running your hundredth drop—the principle of “reward the people who’ve already supported you” creates flywheel effects that compound over time.

Andrew Lipp
CEO & Co-Founder, EQL

Andrew Lipp founded EQL after experiencing firsthand the frustration that millions of fans face during product launches: showing up on time, following the rules, and still losing out to bots and resellers. His personal breaking point came while trying to buy limited-edition Nike Stranger Things sneakers—the site crashed, they oversold, his transaction never fully processed, and he couldn’t even get a refund because the checkout system had fallen completely out of sync. That broken experience revealed a systemic problem in how brands handle high-demand launches.

Before founding EQL, Andrew worked at Google, where he recruited colleagues who would eventually join him in building a solution to launch chaos. What started as solving his own sneaker-buying frustration evolved into infrastructure that now powers launches for Fortune 100 brands including Nike, Crocs, Stanley, and Foot Locker. The platform has handled millions of dollars in launch volume, managing everything from limited sneaker drops to viral Stanley cup releases that created headlines for their overwhelming demand.

EQL just launched their Shopify app in late 2024, bringing enterprise-level launch tools to brands of every size—from solo creators testing their first drop to growing DTC brands building passionate communities. The platform addresses three core problems: infrastructure that scales under massive traffic spikes, queue management that fairly distributes access, and draw/raffle systems that reward fan engagement over bot speed.

What makes Andrew’s perspective valuable isn’t just the technical expertise—it’s his understanding that launches aren’t simply about moving inventory quickly. They’re about building emotional loyalty with fans, rewarding community members who consistently engage, and creating experiences where customers feel seen and valued rather than frustrated and locked out. He describes himself as a “launch tragic” who could talk about drops all day, and that passion shows in how EQL approaches the operational pain retailers face when excitement overwhelms infrastructure.