Wake up with hot coffee and breakfast provided by SubSummit to kickoff your SubSummit Experience!

“Wrap It Up!” Breakfast Burrito Bar: Egg, chorizo & cheese burritos • Bacon, egg & cheese burritos • Veggie burritos • Salsa • Breakfast potatoes

Open to merchants only. Topics are shaped by what the SubSummit community is actively navigating heading into the conference, ensuring every conversation is timely, relevant, and immediately useful

• AI That Actually Delivers ROI: Cutting through hype to tactical ROI
• Designing Subscription/Membership Value People Actually Care About: Distill the elements of perceived value that drive retention, not just acquisition.
• Which Channels Are Actually Driving Subscription Growth: Decode channel performance in the post-iOS, post-discount era.
• Scaling Subscription Operations Without Breaking the System: Navigate 2026’s operational challenges – changing forecasting, shifting tariffs, different demand, and rising competition.
• What “Good” Looks Like Now: The New Data Benchmarks: Redefining success in a changing marketing landscape where privacy policies and third-party data are more scarce.
• Pinpointing Churn: Signals, Surprises, and Fixes: Identify the early signals that predict subscriber churn and share practical strategies brands are using to intervene before customers leave.
• Delight, Retain, Repeat: Subscription Growth Without Getting Sued: Explore how DTC and subscription brands can optimize growth through promotions, personalization, and emerging tech without triggering regulatory headaches.
• Win the Moment: How Trigger Marketing Drives Real Results: Capture high-response, high-value customers by reaching them when it matters most
  

As AI moves from novelty to infrastructure, the rules of subscription growth are being rewritten.

In this session, MANSCAPED breaks down the blueprint behind building a global category leader, from early product-market fit to scaling across 40+ markets. Learn how brand, loyalty, and lifetime value work together to drive durable growth, and why value and convenience remain the foundation of any successful program.

As AI reshapes how consumers discover, evaluate, and purchase, the advantage shifts away from tactics and toward what can’t be commoditized: brand equity, trust, and the relationship with the customer.

You’ll walk away with a clearer view on what drives high-performing subscription programs, where AI creates leverage, and where brand must lead.

With 77% of consumers holding subscription counts steady, growth no longer comes from new logos alone — it comes from infrastructure that works harder. Yet software companies left $155 million on the table in failed payments in 2025 alone. In this fireside conversation, Recurly’s Chief Customer Officer Rachel Sheriff speaks with Chegg’s Chief Technology Officer Rahul Desai about how Chegg modernized its subscription platform to support global expansion, reduce operational complexity, and move faster — and what it means to build a system designed not just to bill, but to grow. Including what’s next as 43% of consumers are now open to AI managing parts of their subscription experience.

See how BattlBox turns live selling into community-driven commerce on Whatnot. In this session, the BattlBox team will break down the strategies behind building audience engagement, driving real-time conversions, and creating entertaining live experiences that keep customers coming back.

Winning With Shopify is a weekly ecommerce podcast hosted by Nick Trueman that shares practical advice for launching, growing, and scaling a Shopify store. Through interviews with successful founders, Shopify app partners, and ecommerce experts, the show breaks down real strategies across marketing, retention, operations, and technology to help merchants build more profitable online businesses.

Lunch provided by SubSummit. Grab a plate and feel free to join an open roundtable discussion, or just recharge for the rest of the day!

Lunch options include:

1) Chicken Alfredo, Garlic Breadstick

2) Lasagna (Meat or Veg), Roasted Green Beans, Garlic Breadstick

3) Cobb Salad with or without Chicken, Bacon, Blue Cheese, Tomatoes, Avocado, Red Onion, Egg, Ranch

Open to all: Grab lunch and join a roundtable on the topic that matters most to you. Connect with fellow subscription leaders in small-group discussions designed for candid conversations, shared challenges, and actionable takeaways.

• Experimentation That Moves Revenue (Not Just Metrics) – Cut through experimentation noise and focus on tests that drive revenue, retention, and LTV.
• Team Dynamics at Scale: How Subscription Orgs Are Evolving – Compare how teams are structured, grown, and realigned for the demands of modern subscription businesses—where retention, experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration matter more than ever.
• Protecting Margin in a Higher-Cost World – Understand how brands are maintaining profitability as CAC, shipping, and COGS rise.
• What’s Actually Working (That No One Talks About) – Surface under-the-radar tactics, channels, and strategies that are driving real results but aren’t widely discussed, helping operators uncover non-obvious opportunities and challenge conventional “best practices.”
• Keeping the Journey Going: CX That Retains – Identify the CX moments that actually drive repeat behavior and reduce churn, helping teams prioritize retention-focused investments across support, delivery, and lifecycle.
• AI That Actually Delivers ROI – Cut through AI hype to surface practical use cases that drive measurable revenue or efficiency, helping teams prioritize where to invest, scale, or pull back.
  

Join Stay AI for a hands-on, laptops-up workshop focused on building a high-performing retention strategy. We’ll help you implement proven tactics live across the subscriber lifecycle. Leave with real changes already in place to reduce churn and drive growth. BRING YOUR LAPTOP!

In a subscription economy powered by AI and automation, the real differentiator is still human insight. AI can surface patterns at scale, but it cannot provide lived experience, cultural context, or empathy. Data shows what happened. The human layer explains why and what to change to improve retention, reduce churn, and grow lifetime value.

Join Cheryl Zajac, VP of Client Insights at Bizrate Insights, for a practical framework to strengthen the human layer of your VoC strategy. Learn how to capture verified human signals, apply expert judgment, and translate insights into action across the subscriber lifecycle from onboarding and engagement to renewal and win-back, including lessons from Crutchfield on turning feedback into measurable improvements in subscription KPIs.

Most subscription e‑commerce brands are stuck on a plateau: they’ve cycled through agencies, tried every “playbook,” and still can’t break through. The real problem usually isn’t creatives or channels in isolation—it’s that no one is looking at the whole system: cash flow, inventory, acquisition, onsite conversion, and retention as one machine.

This workshop shows how to engineer 3x subscription growth by treating your business as a system and augmenting your team with AI agents instead of adding headcount or ad budget. Using a concrete e‑commerce model, we’ll walk through the impact of three core levers—improving site conversion (e.g. 2.6% → 4%), refreshing and scaling creatives, and running smart lifecycle/email programs—then show how freeing up and reallocating cash flow accelerates everything.

You’ll see, step by step, how to:

• Consolidate your customer and performance data into one place
• Replace a $400/week email manager with an AI “email operator” that plans, writes, and iterates campaigns in your brand voice
• Use AI agents to surface anomalies and opportunities across ads, subscription metrics, and retention cohorts
• Design a simple operating system for continuous growth instead of one‑off campaigns

We’ll run a live teardown on a real or hypothetical subscription brand and share a ready‑to-use GitHub “labs” project with prebuilt e‑commerce skills, so you can replicate the setup in your own store after the session. This workshop is designed for founders, marketing/growth leads, and operators of subscription e‑commerce businesses who feel “stuck” and want a concrete, technical but practical path to 3x LTV and revenue.

See how BattlBox turns live selling into community-driven commerce on Whatnot. In this session, the BattlBox team will break down the strategies behind building audience engagement, driving real-time conversions, and creating entertaining live experiences that keep customers coming back.

How do the world’s leading subscription brands scale seamlessly across borders without losing local relevance? In this Podcast Stage session, Bolong Li, VP and Global Head of Growth at Audible, unpacks how AI is transforming global expansion from a complex challenge into a strategic advantage.

From market entry to personalization at scale, Bolong will share how AI-powered tools are enabling faster localization, smarter customer acquisition, and more efficient growth across diverse regions. Expect actionable insights on leveraging data, automation, and emerging technologies to break into new markets while maintaining brand consistency and customer connection.

Whether you’re expanding into your first international market or optimizing a global footprint, this session delivers practical frameworks and real-world lessons from one of the most innovative leaders in subscription growth.

Tariffs are volatile, cash is tied up early, and getting product to the customer is more complex than ever.

This conversation breaks down the real economics behind moving goods today, from bulk shipping and product design to DTC and B2B distribution. Expect a clear look at how operators are navigating tariffs, protecting cash flow, and building supply chains that actually scale.

What does it actually take to scale to 2 million subscribers right now?

Susan Black, Founder and CEO of Wowzitude, breaks down the exact AI stack behind that growth. Not theory. Not trends. The real tools, how they’re wired together, and where they’re driving measurable impact across acquisition, conversion, and retention.

This session walks through the 19 tools her team relies on daily, how each one fits into the funnel, and what’s worth implementing versus what’s noise. Expect a clear view into where AI is replacing manual work, where it’s amplifying performance, and how to apply it without overcomplicating your stack.

If you’re figuring out how to actually use AI to scale subscribers, this is the playbook.

Learn how Fraud Deflect is helping merchants stop chargebacks before they happen

Melanie Fox explains how Dollar Shave Club is focused on turning single-product subscribers into multi-product loyalists—and why reaching three subscriptions is a key signal of long-term retention.

Step beyond the conference and into an intimate dining experience with SubSummit sponsors and industry leaders. Hosted at some of Kansas City’s top restaurants, these curated evenings are designed for meaningful conversations, exceptional food, and high-value connections in a more relaxed setting.

“Flippin’ Fun” Pancake Show with Chris Cakes. Fresh pancakes with butter & syrup • Sausage links • Breakfast potatoes • Assorted muffins • Yogurts • Coffee

Open to merchants only. Topics are shaped by what the SubSummit community is actively navigating heading into the conference, ensuring every conversation is timely, relevant, and immediately useful

• AI That Actually Delivers ROI: Cutting through hype to tactical ROI
• Designing Subscription/Membership Value People Actually Care About: Distill the elements of perceived value that drive retention, not just acquisition.
• Which Channels Are Actually Driving Subscription Growth: Decode channel performance in the post-iOS, post-discount era.
• Scaling Subscription Operations Without Breaking the System: Navigate 2026’s operational challenges – changing forecasting, shifting tariffs, different demand, and rising competition.
• What “Good” Looks Like Now: The New Data Benchmarks: Redefining success in a changing marketing landscape where privacy policies and third-party data are more scarce.
• Pinpointing Churn: Signals, Surprises, and Fixes: Identify the early signals that predict subscriber churn and share practical strategies brands are using to intervene before customers leave.
• Delight, Retain, Repeat: Subscription Growth Without Getting Sued: Explore how DTC and subscription brands can optimize growth through promotions, personalization, and emerging tech without triggering regulatory headaches.
• Win the Moment: How Trigger Marketing Drives Real Results: Capture high-response, high-value customers by reaching them when it matters most
  

Join Luke Cook & Ecommerce Equation where they will break down how the best founders are using AI not to replace creativity, but to scale what actually works and turn it into measurable growth.

What 20 years of retained payment failures taught us and how to use AI effectively.

Customers often try to pay, but traditional retry logic fails to recover those payments. In today’s complex payments ecosystem, excessive and ineffective retries can reduce issuer trust and lead to lost revenue.

This session explains what really happens after a payment fails and how AI can be applied in a practical and effective way.
You will learn proven best practices to recover more payments, reduce involuntary churn, and improve outcomes .

This is a must attend session for anyone responsible for payments, revenue, or customer retention.

Beardbrand Founder & CEO Eric Bandholz hosts a live podcast conversation with Eric Steckling, Founder & CEO of Ollie, exploring the challenges, lessons, and opportunities behind building a successful modern consumer brand.

Michael McWhorter and Ben Spell explain how Good Ranchers approaches net-new customer acquisition with subscription at the center. From pricing strategy to conversion tactics, and what other brands can learn from building a business where 80% of revenue comes from subscribers.

Join Daniel Scharff, host of the Startup CPG podcast, for a live recording featuring Todd Hoffman, COO of Brightland, as they explore the realities of building and scaling a modern CPG brand—from operations and marketing to the strategies driving growth.

See how BattlBox turns live selling into community-driven commerce on Whatnot. In this session, the BattlBox team will break down the strategies behind building audience engagement, driving real-time conversions, and creating entertaining live experiences that keep customers coming back.

Most subscription businesses treat payment declines as a nuisance to minimize. The best ones treat them as intelligence. In this podcast, we’ll explore how understanding the “why” behind a decline — and the engagement patterns surrounding it — can reshape how you think about retention, authorization optimization, and long-term customer value. Hear how Payway helped a client decode their decline data, apply smarter recovery methodologies, and drive meaningful revenue growth.

See how Snackify uses Whatnot to turn live selling into an interactive customer experience. Join Brandon Stallings as he demonstrates how to bundle products, build custom snack boxes in real time, and create high-energy live streams that drive engagement and conversions.

Lunch will be provided in the designated lunch area. Attendees can also choose to join an open roundtable discussion during this time to connect and exchange insights with fellow industry peers.
Lunch options include:

BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans & Bacon, Jalapeño Cheesy Corn

KC BBQ Combo – Mashed Potatoes, BBQ Beans, Brisket, Pulled Pork, Cole Slaw

BBQ Vegetarian – Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Cheesy Corn (no bacon), Potato Salad

Open to all: Grab lunch and join a roundtable on the topic that matters most to you. Connect with fellow subscription leaders in small-group discussions designed for candid conversations, shared challenges, and actionable takeaways.

• Experimentation That Moves Revenue (Not Just Metrics) – Cut through experimentation noise and focus on tests that drive revenue, retention, and LTV.
• Team Dynamics at Scale: How Subscription Orgs Are Evolving – Compare how teams are structured, grown, and realigned for the demands of modern subscription businesses—where retention, experimentation, and cross-functional collaboration matter more than ever.
• Protecting Margin in a Higher-Cost World – Understand how brands are maintaining profitability as CAC, shipping, and COGS rise.
• What’s Actually Working (That No One Talks About) – Surface under-the-radar tactics, channels, and strategies that are driving real results but aren’t widely discussed, helping operators uncover non-obvious opportunities and challenge conventional “best practices.”
• Keeping the Journey Going: CX That Retains – Identify the CX moments that actually drive repeat behavior and reduce churn, helping teams prioritize retention-focused investments across support, delivery, and lifecycle.
• AI That Actually Delivers ROI – Cut through AI hype to surface practical use cases that drive measurable revenue or efficiency, helping teams prioritize where to invest, scale, or pull back.
  

For a decade, subscriptions were the best tool we had for repeat revenue.

But customers are tired of fixed schedules, mistimed shipments, and managing too many recurring commitments. They still want refills. They just do not want the friction that comes with traditional subscriptions.

This session looks at the next evolution of subscription: AI-powered prediction, adaptive timing, and reorder experiences built around how customers actually buy. Because the future is not fixed. It is predicted.

The next era of recurring commerce is being built by brands that move beyond transactions and into true customer relationships.

In this session, leaders behind subscription-first companies that have scaled past $200M break down how they’ve done it. From building direct, always-on feedback loops with their customers to turning those insights into new products, retention isn’t a tactic. It’s the result of solving real problems and continuously evolving the offering.

You’ll hear how these brands use customer input to guide expansion, iterate quickly, and build products that actually work. The result is stronger advocacy, higher auto-replenish behavior, and durable growth that compounds over time.

See how BattlBox turns live selling into community-driven commerce on Whatnot. In this session, the BattlBox team will break down the strategies behind building audience engagement, driving real-time conversions, and creating entertaining live experiences that keep customers coming back.

Every cancel had a warning sign: how AI helps subscription brands see it coming.

Adam Pivko shares how Direct Meds scaled from 65 to 900+ new customers per day by focusing on small, daily improvements instead of chasing breakout ads. Learn how compounding gains across creative, spend, and testing drive real growth.

Ease into the evening with cocktails and conversation from 8–9 PM, and then carry the momentum straight into the SubSummit After-Party, featuring B.o.B

Join the SubSummit community for a high-energy after-party featuring B.o.B Complete with music, drinks, and a packed room of brands, partners, and operators ready to celebrate and connect.

“The Bakehouse” Breakfast Casserole Spread: Quiche Lorraine • Spinach quiche (crustless) • Cinnamon bread casserole • Assorted scones • Seasonal fruit tray • Coffee

Open to merchant attendees only. Topics are shaped by what the SubSummit community is actively navigating heading into the conference, ensuring every conversation is timely, relevant, and immediately useful

• AI That Actually Delivers ROI: Cutting through hype to tactical ROI
• Designing Subscription/Membership Value People Actually Care About: Distill the elements of perceived value that drive retention, not just acquisition.
• Which Channels Are Actually Driving Subscription Growth: Decode channel performance in the post-iOS, post-discount era.
• Scaling Subscription Operations Without Breaking the System: Navigate 2026’s operational challenges – changing forecasting, shifting tariffs, different demand, and rising competition.
• What “Good” Looks Like Now: The New Data Benchmarks: Redefining success in a changing marketing landscape where privacy policies and third-party data are more scarce.
• Pinpointing Churn: Signals, Surprises, and Fixes: Identify the early signals that predict subscriber churn and share practical strategies brands are using to intervene before customers leave.
• Delight, Retain, Repeat: Subscription Growth Without Getting Sued: Explore how DTC and subscription brands can optimize growth through promotions, personalization, and emerging tech without triggering regulatory headaches.
• Win the Moment: How Trigger Marketing Drives Real Results: Capture high-response, high-value customers by reaching them when it matters most
  

Connect. Empower. Grow. Together.

This is a room for the women building brands that last.

Across product, creative, and marketing, these leaders have scaled through multiple chapters of the subscription economy. They’ve navigated new channels, rising costs, shifting customer expectations, and constant pressure to grow, without losing what made their brands work in the first place.

This meetup is about how they’ve done it, over and over again.

How they prioritize in a world of endless opportunity. How they stay close to their customers as they scale. And how they continue to show up, for their teams, their brands, and themselves.

Different markets. Different channels. Different pressures. Same expectation: grow, without losing what makes the brand work.

This isn’t your typical networking event. You’ll step into a curated, high-energy experience designed to accelerate both your career and your confidence. The format makes it easy to connect, easy to speak up, and empowering to meet new friends.

See how BattlBox turns live selling into community-driven commerce on Whatnot. In this session, the BattlBox team will break down the strategies behind building audience engagement, driving real-time conversions, and creating entertaining live experiences that keep customers coming back.