"It's so hot out there!"
If you attended skucamp 2025, you said it. We said it. Everyone said it. But here's the thing about that brutal Scottsdale heat – it became the perfect metaphor for what was happening inside the Andaz resort. The industry was on fire, and everyone who missed it is hearing stories they wish they'd lived!
Picture this: Monday morning, 9 AM, and instead of the usual conference drone, Dave drops an original skucamp anthem and a "Welcome to skucamp!"
In a world where everything seems equal, customer experience IS the differentiator. Dan Gingiss, author of the book, "The Experience Maker" shared two hours of pure gold, including a live workshop. "Your best advertisement isn't an advertisement at all – it's a customer talking about you."
Dan's framework centered on making experiences "WISE": Witty, Immersive, Shareable, and Extraordinary. But here's what really stuck: "Become a customer of your own business," he challenged. "Go through the same process you ask people to go through. If it annoys you, it's going to annoy them. If it makes you smile, it's going to make them smile." The room collectively wrote down ideas about ransom-style invoices, funny disclaimers on contracts, and recording videos of products being made.
How? By asking herself a daily question: "Did I spend today handling client fires and processing orders, or did I work on systems and strategy?" That shift from being stuck in daily operations to focusing on business growth transformed Team SCG.
The game-changer came in 2020 when her father taught her to be "E-T-D-B-W" – Easy To Do Business With. "When clients interact with us, we have to be the easiest part of their day," Shayna explained. "If that means taking an extra step that doesn't make sense for our business but makes sense for them, that's what we do." While competitors were laying off during the pandemic, Team SCG made a counterintuitive move: they hired their three high-impact players, including Savannah "Merch Girly" who brought in $3.5M in enterprise clients within two years. The strategy? Invest in the company you want to be, not the one you are. Double down when others pull back.
One of our highest-rated speakers ever, returned with economic data that had everyone recalibrating 2025 strategies. Her take on AI adoption? "More business leaders are using AI than employees" – a complete reversal from social media adoption patterns.
And trust issue she uncovered through surveying 1,200 workers? Most people using AI haven't been trained on it. They're just winging it. But here's the kicker – training dramatically increases trust.
Kyla also warned about a looming demographic crisis: "Not only do we have an aging population, but young people are getting shut out of the labor market before they can even enter it." AI is eliminating entry-level jobs, which means the talent pipeline is drying up. For business owners, this means completely rethinking how you develop junior talent. The days of hiring someone green and training them the traditional way are numbered.
Kyla also shared crucial insight into how business leaders should think in uncertain economic times, giving the audience practical tools for how to discern media hyper-based fear vs. reality.
An industry power trio including Hit CEO CJ Schmidt, S&S CEO Frank Meyers, and Koozie Group CEO Pierre Montaubin, were interviewed by commonsku CEO Catherine Graham, and they held the community's attention for a riveting hour-long chat about supply chain, AI, tariffs, automation, and more.
One prediction for 2025-2027? "Print-on-demand will be a larger portion of everybody's business. The hardest part is having the backbone to tell end users what's really happening." Full discussion here.
Our Chief Content Officer, Bobby Lehew, led a workshop that included a live-polling experience with the audience, taking a pulse of where the industry is at with AI tools for prospect research, product, design, and ops. Results will be shared in our webinar here. Bobby also demonstrated how he uses AI in his work, kicking off a session with attendees that allowed everyone to share how they are using AI. "AI is giving us more creative repetitions at bat," he explained. Translation: Stop fearing it, start wielding it.
Joel Antymniuk from Motif reminded everyone to "make moves from your highs" and trust the clarity of your morning coffee brain, not the doubts that creep in when you're exhausted. Meghann Bezdikian from Boxed Sourcing challenged the room to stop thinking promo and start thinking design, showing lookbooks that could rival any retail brand. John Henry from JH Specialty dropped wisdom about finding your impact players: "They're not always the loudest – they're the ones who make everyone around them better." Each session could've been its own masterclass, and that's exactly what makes skucamp special – excellence across the board.
Arriving with an AI-generated Garbage Pail Kid version of himself (seriously, try it), Daniel from Wier/Stewart & Showpony delivered the creative agency reality check we needed and closed the event with humor and deep insight.
"I definitely can have one pretty bad idea out of 40 and be fine," he explained. His framework:
His childhood story about faking sick? His mom demanded to see the evidence. No throw up? Get to school. That's the energy he brings to business: Show the work or shut up.
Sarah Remple and our 11 supplier partners created one of the stars of any commonsku event: the merch.
The strategic brilliance:
The showstopper? Custom popsicle molds for signature drinks at the opening party . Function met memorable moments in ways that had even the veterans taking notes.
The full collection here.
One thing we love about skucamp is working with business leaders who will challenge us. Ethix Merch's activist CEO (literally hired off a picket line) delivered the supply chain wake-up call nobody wanted but everybody needed. His challenge: Can we genuinely grapple with global supply chain realities that do not put workers first?
"It will be messy and expensive and hard," he admitted. "But there's a good chance all the characters in our story – not just those at the top – can live happily ever after."
The room was silent. Then applause. Sometimes the best sessions are the ones that make you squirm. Daniel's point wasn't to shame anyone – it was to start conversations about the real humans making our products. One conversation, one supplier relationship, one conscious decision at a time.
While speakers dropped knowledge, the commonsku crew delivered magic:
skucamp wouldn't be skucamp without plenty of time to share ideas. At each breakout, we mixed everyone up, ensuring that attendees couldn't hide in their comfort zone. Morning swimmers found accountability partners. Coffee conversations spawned partnerships. The designed collaborations worked. The beauty of skucamp is literally the participants themselves. We've learned that if you sit one business leader beside another, they will share: what works, what needs work, and mostly, the inspiration to do the work.
Thank you to our presenting sponsors HIT Promotional Products and S&S Activewear, supporting sponsors Chameleon, Vantage, Magnet Group, Sock 101, Ruckus, Numo, iClick, Otto, and Kanata Group, plus PPAI for making magic happen in Scottsdale.
🎙️ skucamp, Unplugged: This article captures the full story of Scottsdale — every session, every breakthrough. But if you want the soundtrack behind the story (the mic-drop moments, candid conversations, and industry truths spoken on stage) press play on skucast episode 349: The Scottsdale Experience.
The conversations that started in Scottsdale continue in our community every day. Join us on commonsku, connect with fellow attendees, and keep pushing our industry forward.
Thank you for sweating through the desert with us, for filling those notebooks, for asking tough questions, and for being part of this incredible community.
With love and slightly less sweat,
The commonsku Family
Ps. Want to know about our future events? Check out our upcoming webinars and events here!