Zander

Building Merciv

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

worked in IB for two years learning about the future of CPG and retail, and how untapped consumer data lakes are in informing market decisions

wanted to be a part of that future, but as a builder

a few weeks ago I shared what I quit my job to build (https://t.co/wbG6LFQ7oc)

never used Twitter before - every top builder I know looked at me sideways for it

so starting now. going to post what I observe as we build

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@carlo28__ Made me come back to X just for this

[Merciv @merciv_ai]

The brands that will win the next era of CPG and retail won't be the ones with the most data.

They'll be the ones who can make sense of it as fast as it changes.

The signals are already there. But they're scattered across disconnected systems, dashboards, and documents — and by the time they're connected, the moment has passed.

That model is broken. We built Merciv to fix it.

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@pidgethan Lfgg

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@pidgethan @merciv_ai Our head of Brand is more techincal than yours 💅

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

real-time consumer research is the next generation of how businesses make decisions - not financial models built on lagging data

been dogfooding @merciv_ai lately on real verticals to see what it surfaces

tested it on a pet grooming franchise business and discovered the highest store density regions - 4 southeast metros.

then asked where unmet demand is hiding in those markets?

pulled 250+ social threads, layered in google trend data, mapped it against the competitive landscape - came back in minutes

what it found wasn't just interesting. it wa net new revenue oppotutnties based on unmet demand that the business hadn't built yet

Report: https://t.co/ETmU8pa8YE

this is what consumer data should do. not report on what happened - surface what to build next

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

I’m convinced 90% of the founders job is to just do 3 things:

- be delusional in your optimism
- push everyone to move faster
- make it crystal clear what to work on

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@mattepstein agreed, but at lovables scale brand equity is a whole other game

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

Consumer research is about to get a lot more accessible

Merciv has been enterprise-only since day one, built for Fortune 500 brands

In a few weeks we're launching our first public model - we've been giving out private beta access

If understanding what consumers actually want in real time is relevant to your work, DM me to get early access.

https://t.co/wbG6LFQ7oc

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@mattepstein Formula

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

why is onboarding so important when @cursor_ai and @ManusAI have 0

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

every day there's a new tech partnership that just makes sense

take claude x figma. @AnthropicAI could try to build a competing design tool, but why?

the time to win that market would just be a major distraction with low win potential

instead: partner, integrate, absorb each other's customer base. mutually beneficial

it's literally agario lol

customers, product, and team have always been the core ingredients for startup success

but partnerships might be the biggest unlock of this era

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

best early stage recruitment firms for all things biz?

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

what are the best distribution channels for retail tech

ex.) retail dive, retail brew... etc.

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

the best PLG landing page CTAs invite skepticism

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@rohanpaul_ai partnerships as a moat 📈

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@gregisenberg condolences to every TMT investment banker tasked to model “agent native payments”

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

this video on community-led growth from @thisisgrantlee @ @GammaApp is gold.

when you run beta tests, don't just give them a task to track usage patterns, but have them narrate out loud while they do it

the accidental "wait why is this here..." comments are worth more than any structured feedback you'll ever get

https://t.co/l8F0WUNdp4

[Zander @ZanderArnold1]

@sama how do you prevent incremental scope creep into areas that may conflict with the original intent of work with DoW