How We Built a 7-Figure Whatnot Channel: Part 5 - Pushing the Limits
We ended Part 4 at a crossroads: do we double down on our existing Whatnot channel or spin up new ones and spread the load?
We tried to do both. Then Whatnot threw us a curveball.
Missed Parts 1–4? Start here.
September Snapshot
Let’s get right to the numbers. September totals:
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$213,318 in revenue
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135.68 hours of live selling
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22.27% average margin
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Average hourly profit: $350.18
Q3 as a whole:
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$556,812 in sales
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$118,677.80 in profit
This is with one channel. In October, we’re scheduled for 53 shows and expect to break 170 hours live. The appetite is there, both from our audience and our team. But just when we were ready to go multi-channel...
Whatnot put a freeze on new Shopify-integrated channels.
So we pivoted.
Scaling Without Spinning Out (Yet)
We were set to roll out the second and third Whatnot channels in October, but with the integration on hold, that plan had to pause. Rather than stall, we redirected full focus to the original channel: optimize everything, extract every dollar, and make it as efficient as possible.
We now have 5 hosts running on the single channel. One of those hosts, Joey, is stepping into a full-time content and live shopping role in the coming weeks. He was already contributing, but he'll be putting in more hours and deeper support across the board.
At the same time, Cameron is close to hiring an additional full-time showrunner. The role will be hybrid to start: some backend support, some showrunning, until we have enough hours to justify a full-time showrunner schedule. The foundation is being built now.
The Lovable App: One Tool to Run It All
We built an internal tool from scratch with Lovable.
It integrates directly with Shopify and allows us to:
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Build and schedule shows
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Manage products
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Serve a heads-up display for the host with key details (starting bids, product facts, live adjustments)
This cut our show planning and execution time dramatically. It also made handoffs between team members cleaner and gave hosts confidence on-air.
The $1 Start Debate
We’ve tested a lot between $1 starts and higher opening bids. The verdict:
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$1 starts outperform, but only if your audience is large enough
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We now tie host retention strategies directly to this pricing method
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The host makes or breaks the room
If you’re looking for Whatnot live selling strategy, this is a big one. $1 auctions can work but only if the energy in the room is strong.
Inventory: Fighting Product Fatigue
We’re putting in dozens of new product orders specifically for the Whatnot channel. The channel can only grow if the catalog grows with it. A show built around tired inventory will feel tired, and viewers can sense that.
Avoiding product fatigue is just as important as optimizing show structure.
The Blade City Miami Collaboration
This October, we’re doing a live collab event in Miami with Blade City:
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5 hosts
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Back-to-back shows
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Raiding each other’s audiences
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A Samsung 75" TV giveaway
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Goal: our highest-grossing single show ever (even higher than our 8-hour shows)
This is part of a bigger bet on community-driven selling. People show up for deals, but they stay when there’s energy, consistency, and something bigger than a product drop.
A Quick Word on the Keynote
At Commerce Roundtable, we gave a talk on live selling strategy. It wasn’t about showcasing our own numbers. It was about showing what’s possible with the right process, team, and mindset.
Live selling is not luck. It’s reps. It’s iteration. It’s deliberate choices.
Final Thought: Delay Is Not Decline
Are we behind on the rollout of new Whatnot channels? Yes.
Are we still growing every month? Yes.
As long as we keep seeing growth, there’s no rush to pivot. But if we wait too long on channels 2 and 3, we risk losing momentum. That’s on us to fix.
In the meantime, we’re proving just how far one channel can go.
Q4’s going to be fun.
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