u/No_Variation_3605

I have been working over 7+ years in e-commerce and started myself in dropshipping which wasn't very successful but learned a lot. I've now worked for 4+ years as e e-com manager at a supplement brand. I've been doing a bit of everything at this company.

- SEO
- Meta/Google ads
- Managed 3+ marketes
- Building internal tools using Claude, revamping product/collection templates
- Affiliate / Influencer management

I'm craving to start my own business but my biggest issue is currently, whether I can start something without getting issues with my current employer. My contract allows side businesses except anything "similar to or in any way competitive" with my employer — that lane requires their prior written consent, which they could reasonably refuse for anything in my category. My employer sells supplements/wellness.

I know exactly which products sell well but wouldn't copy the exact products, I know another guy in the business has started his own supplement brand a while ago and don't think he has any significant issues.

Also, my base is currently in Asia but I am from Europe, I'm wondering if I should start selling there.

I've been an e-commerce manager at a health/wellness brand for 5+ years, managing Shopify Plus stores across three markets I own a lot: bol.com launch with a real media budget, Klaviyo from scratch (segmentation, flows, LTV), building a Reddit community channel with a full compliance/approval workflow, Shopify automation with AI-assisted development, on-page optimization, new product page templates.

Scope-wise I feel ready for the next step, but I keep hitting two walls in every senior job description:

1. CRO experience. My company doesn't invest in A/B testing tools — no Optimizely, no VWO, nothing. I have GA4 and Microsoft Clarity. I've done friction analysis (dead clicks, scroll depth, checkout issues) but honestly our Clarity data turned out unreliable, so I couldn't validate real wins. Every Head of/Growth role asks for "deep CRO expertise" and I genuinely don't have it.
2. Leading a team. I've managed exactly one person. Every senior role says "experience building and leading a team." I don't have that, and I can't get it at my current job.

So my question for people who've been in this spot:

• How did you get CRO experience (or at least credible CRO stories) when your employer wouldn't fund testing tools? Side projects? Freelance? Just learning the methodology?
• How do you handle the "managed a team" requirement when you haven't? Did you spin contractor/agency management as leadership? Did you apply anyway?
• Am I wrong to think these two gaps are dealbreakers, or are senior e-commerce roles more flexible than the JDs suggest?

Genuinely curious how people navigated this. Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

Loving hermes agent, cancelled my Claude subscription for it, I've created a Jobscout dashboard which works amazing so far. But there are a few issues. I am currently using a mix of different providers to scrape data.

- Adzuna,
- Serpapi
- Apify

I'd like to know if a job is remote but I suppose this will be difficult to get working?

Also, I'd like to custom tailor my resume based on each application, is there a way to automate this whilst still getting a resume that looks visually good?

Many thanks!

Hello guys,

Can anyone recommend a good model to use?

I am currently using deepseek V4 flash and overall happy with it but wondering if this is the best model as of July and which models should be set as auxiliary models?

Hi guys,

I am running Hermes through Hostinger VPS and used their one-click installer with docker.

However, I keep running into issues using the desktop app:

- The restart gateway / update hermes command does not work it always fails, I go to Hostinger and click the three dots to update it manually but then the remote port automatically changes for example 32678 becomes 32679 after the update which is annoying as I need to change it in the remote desktop app.

Does anyone know a solution for this or would it be better to backup my agent and reinstall it without Hostingers config?