Tom W Brown
the other plates · 2014 → now

Projects, past and spinning.

Brands I've built, partnered on, or quietly wound down — the receipts behind the letters. Some are still running. One is deliberately unnamed.

200+
Shopify & Shopify Plus stores advised
3
own brands bootstrapped to 7 figures
2014
first proper brand — old in internet years
The Headwinds 2025 →
running

The consultancy — fractional growth for DTC brands.

visit →
Canopy 2026 →
in private beta

An automated growth platform for Shopify brands — knows your real P&L, takes plain-English targets, then does the work itself: ads, email, storefront.

HomeHandPro 2026 →
in the workshop

Home services, productised. Launching soon.

visit →
BRND Labs 2019 →
migrating

The old mothership — the blog became this site; the agency became The Headwinds.

visit →
A women’s safety brand 2020 →
running · unnamed

120,000+ customers and thousands of five-star reviews. Name withheld on purpose — ironically.

James Gin 2023–2025
wrapped

Partner on James May's gin — four Shopify Plus stores, global DTC, all US retail & distribution.

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Doc & Glo 2024–2026
wrapped

Partnership with Sloane Stephens — clean personal care, stocked at Sephora.

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DTC Unscripted 2024
archived

A raw, unedited series documenting a DTC brand built from scratch.

The Curious Merchant 2022–2026
absorbed

The weekly newsletter — absorbed into The Dispatch. You’re soaking in it.

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Packed 2019–2021
wrapped

Growth, DTC and ads for a packaging supplier — pivoted in the pandemic and sold hundreds of thousands of masks.

Posted Protein 2015–2021
exited

£45 and a spare bedroom → a 7-figure Shopify store. Hundreds of brands, thousands of SKUs.

Caribou Nutrition 2014–2015
wound down

Protein bars, done properly — 20g protein, 1g sugar. Think Quest, but British, organic, and allergic to nonsense. No manufacturer this side of the pond could scale with us.

prehistory.log · the unregistered years

Son of a business owner — top-1% England, right up until we lost everything. Homeless at eight. Selling wasn't a career choice; it was the house rules. You name it, I sold it:

candy, then "spice challenges" — playground commodities
american sweets & goodies — import margins, schoolbag logistics
phone cases & batteries — the accessories desk
evisu jeans · ralph lauren sweaters — grey-market apparel
car stereos, fitted in the college carpark — the economics lecturer never forgave the field work
assorted contraband — [redacted on legal advice]

And before the brands got real: turning 747s around at Heathrow T5. ✺