Jen LaForge 0:00

Welcome to Stacked. I'm Jen LaForge. This is a show about how real people and real brands are stretching value in today's economy. Not theory, not generic money advice. We're getting into how rewards, loyalty, partnerships, and digital tools actually work and how they're being used in real life. Let's jump in. Welcome to Stacked. I'm Jen LaForge. I've spent the last decade building and scaling a business in the loyalty and e-commerce space, working with brands, partners, and millions of consumers trying to answer one simple question. How do you actually get more value out of what you're already spending? And the truth is, most of what's out there doesn't really answer that. It's either overly simplified advice or it's built for marketers and operators, not real people trying to navigate everyday situations. But if you look a little closer, something interesting is happening. People are becoming a lot more intentional. They're comparing more, they're stacking offers, they're using rewards, cashback memberships, and digital tools in ways that actually change how far their money goes. At the same time, brands are under pressure too. Margins are tighter, expectations are higher, and the systems behind loyalty partnerships and digital campaigns are getting more complex and more important. This is where the show comes in. Stack is about understanding how value is really created on both sides. We'll get into real stories of how people are stretching their dollars in practical ways. We'll go behind the scenes with the operators building these systems, what works, what breaks, and the trade-offs that no one's talking about. And we'll explore how digital and rewards are being used, not just for growth, but for real impact. This isn't about hacks. It's about understanding the system so you can make better decisions inside of it. If you care about getting more value out of what you're already doing, you're in the right place. Let's get into it.

Matt McCoy 1:48

What brings us here today? What's the uh goal of what we're trying to achieve?

Jen LaForge 1:52

Well, today's exciting. Today is the first official shoot for our podcast, Stacked. Today we're really here to examine the system behind loyalty and answer those questions that have persisted for over 14 years since I've been in the space and help our Canadian consumers at a time when holding every dollar in their pocket is uh more critical than ever. And we have all the secrets. So I'm done gatekeeping, I'm here to share, and uh and we're gonna put more money back in more Canadians' pockets.

Matt McCoy 2:21

I like it. So most people think of loyalty programs as points and perks, not very clear. When did you first realize they actually impact life in a meaningful way?

Jen LaForge 2:33

Yeah, so the runway, the time frame is not that long. If you think about 12 years ago, e-commerce in Canada was still so new and people were just trying it out. And now it's something we just do without syncing, and that's a short time frame. And over that 12 years, my perspective on value has changed quite a bit. You've seen loyalty programs who have kept up that speed of change with e-commerce and is now expected to work seamlessly with the overall experience. But what people, you said it right there, people think it's points and it's perks, but it's really to me more emotional and it's behavioral. Um, a lot of people want to have that one big bang value, and they got that best deal and that dopamine hip or a society of dopamine. But at the end of the day, it is about being smart, that behavior of looking for the right value at the right time and putting into practice so that it becomes as seamless as e-commerce and loyalty programs themselves really are. So at the end of the day, um, you know, value is about saving not just money, but time and effort and maximizing the money that you are spending in every purchase that you make.

Matt McCoy 3:42

Makes sense. So, how do you personally think about getting value in your own life? Are you someone who, you know, sta stacks everything or keeps it simple?

Jen LaForge 3:51

Well, so I'm a pro, but I'm also very intentional. As I was thinking through this question earlier, I I have to give you the example. I am not the person who is going to sit at a gas station in a lineup for 45 minutes because gas is two cents cheaper here than it is across the street. But I did purchase my gas gift card with cash back on it, and I will be using my credit card that earns me 2% on all of my gas purchases. So I'm not wasting time to get that value. I'm getting the same value in 45 minutes back. And so it's really intentional and understanding what value means. Value is not just cents or points or savings. Value is time is money, your effort is money. Um, all of these things make up value. And once you understand that and you see that, it helps with creating that everyday behavior. That makes sense.

Matt McCoy 4:46

You've been with RacQ10 since the early days. What did it actually look like when the business was being built from scratch here in Canada?

Jen LaForge 4:54

Yeah, those the good old days. Um it was it was so fun, Matt. So we weren't here creating something brand new. I mean, we were ebates at the time. Ebates had existed in the US for about 15 years. But what we were doing is we wanted to bring it to Canadians for Canadians. So um we were building, I think at the time, belief, not a playbook. We had the playbook, cashback worked, but how does it work in Canada and how can we get Canadians to really, really love cashback shopping? So it was about what mattered to Canadians. And so it was three people in the back corner of a shared office space with a lot of hopes and a lot of of elbow grease, kind of building out this engine. And, you know, 14 years later, we've been acquired by Rakutin. We became Raccutin uh to the consumer in 2019. There is still a large handful of individuals from 14 years ago that are still here with me today because we did build a belief and we turned that belief into something pretty remarkable. And we get to tell everyone in our personal lives that we spend every day putting money back in Canadians' pockets. And so startup scrappy, really small inside this largest machine, but really the uh the story is we built belief in the Canadian market.

Matt McCoy 6:10

I love that. What was the hardest phase of growth to navigate getting where you are today?

Jen LaForge 6:16

I think if you if you've ever worked in a startup environment, it's a very different world. And we were this startup within this established uh business, but then when we became Rakutin, um, you know, most people when they're scaling the challenges, how do you have that clean scale and growth and make sure that your expenses and your processes don't balloon with your membership and your revenue? But really the challenge was becoming a global company, part of Rakutin. And suddenly this small scrappy startup became part of this really big machine with a lot of processes. And so the challenge was how do we keep this beautiful culture, this fail fast, have fun, startup-y culture in this global organization and still be giving the best possible user experience for our members. So that that was a challenge. I'm happy to say I think that we we were able to maintain that that feel here in Canada, um, and we still have a lot of fun and we still really focus on failing fast so that we can we can get it right sooner.

Matt McCoy 7:22

Yeah, speaking of failing fast, you talk a lot about scaling with discipline. Um what does that actually mean in practice for you?

Jen LaForge 7:29

Yeah, you know, it's um it's really easy to throw money or throw hands uh at things as they're growing. You get really busy, and so a lot of people tend to, you know, we're growing really fast, we can afford all these things, let's throw it in there. Um there's there's part of it where there's shiny things and there's so many opportunities, you know, there's this sometimes appetite to try and grasp them all. But when you're talking about scaling cleanly, it is everything from that app operational aspect to me to the focus in what we're actually delivering to the market. And so you're not throwing money and hands at to find solutions, you're creating leaner processes, you're creating efficiencies, you're developing your team and their skill sets. And then at the same time, you're gonna make those hard choices in terms of these are the opportunities we need to focus on now, these we can do later, and these, you know what, by the time uh we get there, the moment has passed. And that takes a lot of discipline in a lot of different areas, but it's uh I it's a Rubik's Cube, it's fun.

Matt McCoy 8:33

That sounds great. That sounds like a lot of fun. You've struck a good balance here. Um, so moving on to the core idea behind what we're doing here with stacked. When you hear value right now, what do you think most people misunderstand about it?

Jen LaForge 8:46

Yeah, I think so. Value, we talked a little bit about this earlier. Most people think value means something cheap, or value is getting the best deal. Sometimes it means that it's a lesser product. But value is about, again, that the bigger picture built over time. Are you getting the best product for the best dollar with the best savings, not just money, but also the best savings of your time and your effort? And if you can build um that system in your day-to-day shopping habit, and it takes time, but once you get it, you get it. That's where value is. It's not in saying I need to go down a couple of brands or I need to compromise on the quality of this product. It's saying I still want this brand and this product, so how am I going to make sure that I can do it with the time, energy, and money that I have in my pocket?

Matt McCoy 9:41

What does stacking look like when it's done right by both the consumer and the brand?

Jen LaForge 9:46

Great question. Uh so for first, friction, frictionless. There's no friction, okay? If you're doing it right, it is not, there's no effort, you don't feel like you've gone out of your way, you're not waiting 45 minutes at the gas station, is frictionless. And that's both on the consumer side as well as on the business brand side. So on the brand side, it's about creating that efficiency without additional noise. And so you have that value and you're stacking those savings, you're retaining those customers, but it's not costing you in other areas of your business. Um, it's just happening, it's working, you've got a strong return. On the consumer side, the stacking without that friction is you have found the great deal, you have earned the cash back, you have earned the loyalty points at the rewards partner, and you've gotten the additional cashback or points on the credit card you used. And all of that happened at checkout, and you did absolutely nothing to make it except for an extra click and some smart decisions ahead of time.

Matt McCoy 10:49

Do you have any real-world examples, whether it's in your own life or a client's life or a friend's life where they've successfully stacked and it's made a genuine difference in their lives?

Jen LaForge 10:58

Yes. So I I mean here at Racquetin, I have an entire team who has stories galore. Um we compete sometimes in our lifetime cashback amount. So how much have you earned and how much have I earned? I think we see it the most in the holidays. That's where a lot of our shopping and cashback earning um happens. Um, but one real life example that I like to give is not necessarily cashback with Racqueton, but it's tied in. So you can purchase grocery gift cards through Rackuton and earn cashback on that. And then when you're using at checkout at the grocery store, you're using that gift card and you're getting your points, whether it's optimum or whatever those points are. I'm an individual, and every single point or reward or cashback dollar that I earn in a year, again, I'm building slowly in every behavior I make, and then at the end of the year, it essentially pays for all of Christmas. So I'm using my optimum points at the grocery store, I'm using my cashback from my credit card that comes in November. I've got my cashback from Raccuton that I get paid out quarterly, and my gifts are paid for, my dinner is paid for, and I go into the new year with a new email from Raccutin saying I just earned all this cash back on my Christmas shopping. It starts again, but I'm not in debt. I'm not sweating that credit card coming on Blue Monday. Um, it is again become a part of my DNA and how I bring Christmas magic to uh my family.

Matt McCoy 12:23

What actually makes a loyalty program work versus just exist?

Jen LaForge 12:27

That's a good question. I think it comes down to that friction. I think what makes Rack Chin uh work so well is that it is so easy. It is one click uh from our site to earn that cash back. We're doing all of the work in the background, um, and then we're gonna send you that payment. The fastest, easiest way is for Interact. If you have to think, if you have to keep track, if you have to be chasing those points or putting extra effort in order to get it, and I have to give my email, and then I have to give you my phone number, and then I have to give you my firstborn child, and then those are the things that make loyalty don't work. They're loyalty programs. There's a store I won't say, it's my absolute favorite store. I go there all the time. I will not join their loyalty program because it is too frustrating. I've tried twice to join it, and it was frustrating, and I walked away from it. I shop there all the time and I know I'm leaving money on the table, but that's a perfect example of how a loyalty program just won't work if you have friction.

Matt McCoy 13:28

That makes sense. What trade-offs do people not see behind the scenes? The consumer often sees, you know, the loyalty program, the points they get. Um, I guess from an organization perspective, you obviously have to put that together. What are some of the things that you see, maybe not trade-offs, but just these discussions that happen behind the scenes that make these programs go into effect?

Jen LaForge 13:48

I love talking about this from the Rack Chin perspective at least, and I'm sure it's the exact same in any loyalty partner I've worked with. The premise is simple, and we work very hard to create that very seamless experience. But at the end of the day, the machine behind it is very complex. The technology that runs it, the amount of tracking, the amount of partners and pixels, it's also hyper complex. And no one ever sees that, no one ever knows that. And you think, just give me my hashback on my new shoes. But to make that happen is a lot of people, a lot of analysis, a lot of technology, constant upgrades. I mean, look at how AI is changing the consumer experience. We have to keep up with that to make sure that we're seamless and and we're growing with loyalty, we're growing with the behavior, um, being driven by retailers. There's a lot going on behind it. So the more simple we make it look, the more you know we're doing in the background to make it all happen.

Matt McCoy 14:49

Love it. And from uh your experience as a business operator, I'm sure there's some partnerships that look really good on paper, you know, make good for PR, and then some that really work well. Um, what do you think is the thing that separates that when you're looking at uh you know business relationships and programs that you've built out?

Jen LaForge 15:09

I think um we take the word partnership very seriously in that it's winning together. And obviously you need to have value, your partner has to have value. They have they should be somewhat equal in terms of what that value is. And again, it could be revenue, it could be time, it could be effort. Um, but what makes that partnership truly, truly work is that third element, that third win, which is your customers. Are you both committed to the customer first and what you're doing together for them and what you're trying to bring to them? If you are just looking at your gains and trying to keep that balance between the partnership there and you're not thinking about your customer every second, that that partnership is gonna fail. Maybe not fail, but it's certainly not gonna hit any records or get any trophies.

Matt McCoy 16:06

That makes sense. What will listeners start to understand about the value as they start to listen to the episodes of this show that they aren't seeing today?

Jen LaForge 16:15

I think Canadians are leaving money on the table every time they spend. And once you see it, you can't unsee it. And I think part of why I wanted to come here and do this, Matt, was because I've been doing this for 14 years and I get asked the same questions today that I did in 2012 when we launched this business. The same questions about how it works, the same questions about what happens in the background. Everyone thinks it's a scam because nobody just gives you free money for doing the simplest things. And so what I'm hoping for is that we open up conversation and we really dive deep into how this system works. It's not just going to be me. We're gonna be bringing in industry leaders across the loyalty and e-commerce space to talk about that system so that we can show people where that money they're leaving behind is and help them go get it.

Matt McCoy 17:09

Love that. So to close things off, what is one simple thing people could start doing today to get more value out of what they're already spending?

Jen LaForge 17:20

So obviously subscribe to the podcast because we're gonna tell you how.

Matt McCoy 17:24

Yep.

Jen LaForge 17:25

Um, but I I I want everyone to uh not feel as though it's a switch that gets flipped, and suddenly you wake up and you are this value-seeking super shopper who captures every point and dollar. We're gonna start and we're gonna start small and we're gonna eat that elephant one bite at a time, and you're gonna pick one repeat category um in your life, whether it is your travel or your groceries. We're gonna hone in there and we're gonna learn how to save and earn in that space, and then we're going to continue to build from there. So by the end of uh, you know, episode 12, you're gonna be feeling like that uh that perfect shopper who's who's gotten every penny.

Matt McCoy 18:08

I'm excited. Thanks for the conversation, say looking forward to seeing what we do here.

Jen LaForge 18:12

Thank you. And that's it for this episode of SACT. If you found this useful, follow along as we interview leaders shaping the future of retail and learn how value really works behind the scenes. And if there's a topic you want us to unpack, I'd love to hear from you. See you next time.