Most ecom brands are stuck between two bad options: a chaotic mess of Google Sheets, or an expensive off-the-shelf system that does far more than they'll ever need. Oliver Rhodes, Co-Founder of Nolo Apps, sat down to explain how we think about that problem differently — and why the answer usually isn't more software.
"If you want to be agile and respond to new demands in your business, the trick is to have as little tech as possible."
At Nolo, we build custom Airtable apps that give brands exactly what they need, nothing more. Whether it's product data, purchase orders, merchandising, or influencer gifting, we identify the 30% of functionality that actually moves the needle and build it in a way that's intuitive for the people using it every day. It's a stepping-stone approach — one that lets brands grow into their operations rather than being locked into systems they've outgrown before they've even started.
Having worked with brands like Jaded London, Passenger, and Wild Cosmetics on their journey from £20M to £60-70M in revenue, Oliver has developed a sharp understanding of what scaling ecom brands actually need behind the scenes. The lesson that comes up time and again: the brands that scale well keep their tech stack lean, make deliberate decisions, and avoid the trap of going through what Oliver calls "one-way doors" before they're ready. When the right moment comes, we're there to fill the gaps.
