Mar 3, 2026
Episode
28
Ryan Copeland, Foundation Commerce, the Magento Developer Who Took On Shopify
Summary
Transcript
Guest Details
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Most e-commerce agencies are better at winning clients than keeping them. Ryan Copeland built Foundation Commerce in 2020 to do the opposite and five years on, the results speak for themselves. As Founder and MD of one of only two Hyvä Platinum Partners in the UK, Ryan joined Jamie to talk about what it actually takes to grow an e-commerce agency with integrity.
They get into the work behind doubling Citizen Watch's revenue in year one and then again in year two, why outcome-based pricing is eating hourly billing, and Ryan's long-standing and somewhat controversial case for Magento over Shopify once you cross the £5M revenue mark. Ryan also breaks down the real cost of a slow website and why page speed is still the most commonly ignored quick win in the market. Every second over the industry benchmark costs seven percent in conversion rate and most merchants have no idea.
There's plenty more besides. The magpie effect and why headless commerce is oversold to 99% of merchants, how Foundation built and open-sourced a Klaviyo compatibility module for the entire Hyvä community, and what Ryan learned about running a business after losing his dad. One of the more honest conversations the show has had about what good agency work actually looks like.
About Foundation Commerce
Foundation Commerce is one of only two Hyvä Platinum Partners in the UK and a multi-award-winning Magento and Adobe Commerce agency trusted by brands including Citizen Watch, Peter Tyson, and Todd Doors. Built on a consultative model that prioritises outcomes over billable hours, Foundation offers the full stack of services a growing e-commerce merchant needs including Hyvä migrations, Adobe Commerce development, conversion rate optimisation, and e-commerce email marketing. The team of fifteen was recognised at the Hive Awards 2025 for both Best Conversion Improvement and Quickest Time to Market, and operates on a single internal principle: they only succeed if their clients succeed.
Jamie Hamer
Host, Retail is Detail Podcast
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