Tim Katz

About

The long version.

I’m Tim Katz, a direct-to-consumer commerce operator. I started out as a web designer and developer, worked my way up to ecommerce and marketing executive, and in 2014 I co-founded DYODE, a Shopify Plus & ecommerce agency in Orange County, California.

It began in 2003 at Pacific Sunwear, designing and building the storefront. Over eleven years I climbed five roles, from web designer to E-Commerce Supervisor to Senior Director of E-Commerce, learning the business from the pixels up. That is the whole point of how I work: I’ve done nearly every job in the stack.

I co-founded DYODE in 2014 as I was leaving Pacific Sunwear. While the studio ramped, I ran ecommerce and marketing as a VP, leading the Buy.com to Rakuten.com rebrand and a Magento-to-Shopify re-platform at Active Ride Shop, then went full-time on DYODE in 2016. Today I also serve as VP of E-Commerce & Marketing and an investor at The Bruery & Offshoot Beer Co.

How I work

No hand-offs between strategy and execution. No deck that dies on contact with reality. I start from the unit economics, contribution margin, repeat rate, the cost to acquire and the cost to serve, and work backward to the storefront, the merchandising and the media. On the DYODE side that runs from a full headless Shopify Plus build to fractional commerce leadership for a founder who needs an operator in the room.

The climb at Pacific Sunwear

Eleven years, five roles, one storefront I never stopped improving.

  1. Sr. Director of E-Commerce 2012–2014
  2. Sr. Online Operations Manager 2008–2012
  3. Online Operations Manager 2007–2008
  4. E-Commerce Supervisor 2006–2007
  5. Web Designer / Developer 2003–2006

Where I’ve operated

  • DYODE (2014–Now) Co-Founder & Principal. Brand-side commerce studio. Shopify Plus & BigCommerce, CRO, growth.
  • The Bruery & Offshoot Beer Co. (2023–Now) VP, E-Commerce & Marketing / Investor. Operator and investor in a craft brewery.
  • Active Ride Shop (2016–2017) VP, E-Commerce & Marketing. Led rebrand and positioning; re-platformed Magento to Shopify.
  • Rakuten.com (2015) VP, E-Commerce & Marketing. Led the Buy.com to Rakuten.com rebrand.
  • Pacific Sunwear (2003–2014) Web Designer → Sr. Director of E-Commerce. Climbed five roles, web designer to Sr. Director.

What I care about

Speed, taste and margin. A store should load instantly, look like the brand spent money on it, and make more than it costs to run. Most of the leverage is in the boring places, page weight, checkout friction, the second purchase, so that’s where I spend my time.

Want to talk shop? Email tim@dyode.com or head back to the home page.