Shoptalk 2026 Prep Session

Overnight: Vault Secured

Security quarantine zone built. Work content now isolated behind Work/ with provable containment. 4 vendor security assessments completed. 8 slash commands hardened. All exit points filtered. Vault graph cleanup in progress — orphans being connected, broken links fixed, clutter removed.

Morning check: verify Plaud cloud sync is OFF in app. Env vars set in Claude Code settings.json.

10am Session: To-Do List

Review meeting schedule. Confirm which of the 24 meetings land on Day 1 vs Day 2 vs Day 3. Map your route through Mandalay Bay.
Star the Super Relevant 8. Cordial, GSTV, Mixpanel, Netcore, Nosto, Optimizely, Rakuten, Signifyd. These get full prep. Others get pocket-card-level prep.
Drill the compound learning sequence. Retail Media: Kyle (GSTV) first → Amit (MFP) → Lindsey (Making Science) → rest. CDP: Alex (Cordial) first → Nosto → Netcore → rest.
Load pocket cards on phone. Open Shoptalk/Shoptalk 2026 Pocket Cards.md in Obsidian mobile. Each card fits one screen.
Prep the 4 business problems. Employee discount, inventory protection, data management, disconnected identity. Know which meetings map to each.
Set up Post-Meeting Capture. Open the capture template on phone. Practice the dictation flow: Company → Verdict → Key Insight → Surprise → Follow-up → Compound Question.
Research footlocker.com search baseline. Before the Netcore/Sandeep meeting, try searching on FL's site. Note pain points.
Identify top 3 integration pain points. Before the Celigo/Jenny meeting, list the martech integrations that cause the most friction.

Your 3 Learning Objectives

1. Best-in-class retail media

You own Retail Media, Martech, CDP, Loyalty. These meetings are free consulting. Absorb architecture, not pitches.

2. CDP + Loyalty connection

Understand what real integration looks like, not what the sales deck says. Probe identity resolution.

3. AI: real value vs buzzwords

Filter: measurable lift? Deployed in sneaker/athletic retail? Solves a problem your team actually raised?

By the Numbers

Total Meetings

Super Relevant

Meeting Clusters

Key Networkers

Super Relevant Meetings

These 8 get your full attention. The rest are pocket-card level.

Alex Cordahi CDP

Cordial — Cross-channel messaging, real-time personalization

Super

Kyle Warczak Media

GSTV — Ex-Amazon Ads, retail media architecture

Super

Mo Rafati Analytics

Mixpanel — Product analytics, FLX loyalty cohort analysis

Super

Sandeep Chandrasekhar CDP

Netcore Cloud — AI search, product discovery, ex-sporting goods founder

Super

Mollie Miles CDP

Nosto — AI personalization, recs, search, merchandising

Super

Christienne Benz CDP

Optimizely — DXP, experimentation, Opal AI agents

Super

Danielle Talamini Media

Rakuten — Affiliate, Creator Storefronts, sneaker culture

Super

Ellie Ronning Ops

Signifyd — AI fraud protection, sneaker drop fraud, guaranteed chargebacks

Super

Top 5 Networking Picks

Valuable beyond the vendor pitch. Stay in touch regardless.

Amit Patel (MyFitnessPal) — Built Drizly Ads from scratch, scaled Uber Grocery retail media.
The move: Treat as peer conversation. Ask what he'd do differently building an RMN today.

Kyle Warczak (GSTV) — Amazon Large Customer Sales, 18 years ad tech.
The move: Mine Amazon experience. Ask about org structure that makes RMN work internally.

Lindsey Levich (Making Science) — 15+ years at Google in programmatic.
The move: Ask about Google's roadmap for retail media. Where is the puck going?

Tom Ellingson (Signifyd) — Former TikTok Brand Partnerships, Walmart, Zappos.
The move: Social commerce + fraud lens. Ask about TikTok Shop's impact on traditional retail.

Sandeep Chandrasekhar (Netcore) — Co-founded sporting goods tech. MS Sports Sciences.
The move: Candid operator conversation. Ask what vendors always get wrong about athletic retail.

Compound Learning Sequence

Retail Media Cluster (7 meetings)

1. Kyle (GSTV) → Get the strategic framework from Amazon experience
2. Amit (MFP) → Compare notes, he built RMNs from scratch
3. Lindsey (Making Science) → Validate both frameworks against Google's view
4-7. Rakuten, Capital One, Salsify, Rocketium → Evaluate where each fits in the framework

CDP & Personalization Cluster (6 meetings)

1. Alex (Cordial) → Operator + vendor, honest about integration reality
2-3. Nosto, Netcore → Probe whether "personalization" means the same thing
4-5. Insider One, Maestra → Ask what Cordial and Nosto couldn't answer
6. Optimizely → Sits above CDP layer, how experimentation + CDP connect

Business Problems to Map Against

From the March 17 product workshop. When a vendor pitches, check: does this address one of these?

Employee Discount UX

Hype release access, broader eligibility, simplified experience

Inventory Allocation

Data-driven channel allocation vs gut-feel quarantining

Data Management

Single source of truth, automated workflows, no duplicate entry

Customer Identity

One profile across in-store, app, web, FLX loyalty

Vault files: Shoptalk/Meeting Prep | Strategic Brief | Pocket Cards | Post-Meeting Capture
Generated March 22, 2026 | Overnight session: vault cleanup + security quarantine