01
Stripe + logistics stalled 2 months
Building Shopify themselves, Stripe Connect / refund rules / international tracking each took weeks to nail. Ad spend couldn't even start.
Ecom / DTC·Cross-border ecom · 12-week build
Huaxing · Flower subscription DTC
Plenty of people do overseas flower subscriptions — few ship the first order in 12 weeks and clear $50K MRR by month 3. Huaxing is the fastest customer we've worked with.
12-week launch$50K MRR by month 338% repeat rate
Customer names + data are written-permission released. Some sensitive data masked.
The challenge
DTC isn't just a website.
02
No mature subscription stack
Flower SKUs + delivery windows + skip logic — Shopify subscription apps weren't a clean fit, and writing it custom was a rabbit hole.
03
Banking + tax foreign turf
US LLC + Mercury + EIN + quarterly tax filing — founder had no map for any of it, worried Stripe could get banned at any step.
What we shipped
We delivered entity → payments → site → ads, end to end.
Four things in 12 weeks: entity, payments, site, post-launch ads. Each one finished before the next started.
Express build Plus
Shopify theme + deep subscription customization · brand visual identity
See product pagePayments Pro
Stripe + Paddle dual channel · KYC pass-rate 100%
See product pageIncorporation Pro
US Delaware LLC + Mercury + EIN + annual filing
See product pageManaged ops Growth
Post-launch Google Ads + Meta · creative + monthly ROI report
See product pageTimeline
12 weeks from zero to first subscription.
01
Wk 1-2
Entity + payments
US LLC + Mercury + Stripe + Paddle accounts in parallel · KYC docs prepped.
02
Wk 3-6
Site + subscriptions
Shopify Plus theme · ReCharge integration · 7 subscription SKUs · delivery windows.
03
Wk 7-10
Logistics + content
ShipBob fulfillment · 17track tracking · landing copy · email sequences.
04
Wk 11-12
Ads launch
Google + Meta live · week 1 test $500 · week 2 tune bids on data.
Outcomes
The numbers speak.
$50K
MRR by month 3
Hit in 90 days post-launch — team's original target was 6 months
38%
12-mo repeat
Flower subs industry avg 22% · subscription engine added +16pp
$400K
ARR by month 18
ARR at $400K by month 18 · angel round closed in month 6
We were going to do Shopify ourselves. Realized just Stripe + logistics + refund flow alone would block us 2 months. Cloubay shipped it; we focus on marketing. Hitting $50K MRR by month 3 was not in our plan.
Want to ship a DTC subscription overseas?
30 minutes: product + target market + current state. We tell you what 12 weeks can ship + price.