$15M
GMV at Launch
CBDistillery's: From De-Banked to $40m
CBDistillery was at risk of losing the ability to process cards. Despite millions in revenue, BC's payment partners wouldn't touch them, and without a banking solution the company would die instantly. I led negotiations that secured Square, forced a custom BigCommerce, Square & OrderGroove integration, and turned a payments rescue into $40m.
At-a-Glance
Payments Rescue, Then Scale
This was a commerce build, a subscription launch, and a banking rescue all at the same time. I helped CBDistillery get banked, negotiated Square as the long-term processor, and designed a stack where one-time orders, subscriptions, and wholesale could all run on one clean commerce and payments model.
$40M
GMV After Scale
20K+
Orders Per Month
89%
Retention Uplift
Problem Statement
High-Growth Brand Nobody Would Bank
CBDistillery had real volume, real demand, and a real business, but it was one of the hardest merchant categories to bank. Approved payment partners refused to underwrite the account, CBDistillery needed to move off WooCommerce, and subscriptions were a critical growth lever that depended on token vaulting & recurring billing. If payments failed, none of the rest of the commerce strategy mattered.
Client
CBDistillery
Industry
CBD • Fintech • Subscription Commerce
Timeline
2020
Tools Used
BigCommerce
Square
Order Groove
MS Dynamics
“
“Despite their millions of dollars in revenue, none of our approved payment partners would touch them. Jim worked tirelessly to find CBDistillery a payment provider and then convinced the C-levels at BC to support a custom integration with Square on a short timeline.”
Adrian Sorapuru
Director, Strategic Business Development, BigCommerce
My Role
Senior Product Manager & Solutions Architect
I owned the fintech negotiations + the commerce & subscription architecture required to get CBDistillery banked & scaling. That meant negotiating the processor relationship, aligning BigCommerce, Square, and OrderGroove around a custom integration, and designing one stack that could support one-time orders, subscriptions, and wholesale without fragmenting the business.
FintechProgram LeadershipSubscriptionsSolutioning
9 mo
Program Timeline
$3M
Program Budget
15
Team Size
2
Custom BC Integrations
I Solved the Payments Problem
CBDistillery didn’t need another storefront conversation. It needed a banking partner. I pushed the issue, worked back channels, and called in favors until Square agreed to bank the business, which gave the company a real path to scale subscriptions.
I changed the trajectory in three places. I got Square in place when most providers wouldn’t touch the business, drove the BigCommerce, Square, and OrderGroove integration that unified one-time and recurring billing, and helped shape one operating model across DTC, subscriptions, and wholesale.
1
Negotiated Square as the long-term payments processor for a high-risk merchant category.
2
Forced a custom BigCommerce, OrderGroove, and Square integration so tokenized recurring billing would actually work.
3
Designed the architecture for one-time orders, subscriptions, and wholesale.
I turned political red tape, payments risk, and platform limitations into a growth engine that scaled to $40m.
Solution
Scalable & Revenue-Driving Commerce Stack
Got Square over the line, drove the integration stack, and helped turn three revenue streams into one operating model.
This Took Negotiation + Solutioning
Chris drove the brand. Adrian helped reinforce the commercial path. I pushed through the politics, lined up the right executives, and got a skeptical ecosystem to support a merchant most providers wanted to avoid.
We didn’t just launch a better store. We built the fintech and commerce rails that let CBDistillery scale subscriptions, improve retention, and grow on a much stronger foundation.
1
The hard part was convincing BigCommerce to support the business, not just wiring systems together.
2
The launch worked because payments, subscriptions, and commerce were custom-built for the global tenant system.
The real win was getting CBDistillery live AND getting them banked, stable, and ready to grow.
Impact
Revenue, Retention & Subscription Scale
Once payments were solved, the business could finally grow. The new stack supported subscriptions, retention, and real order volume.
Subscriptions
Retention
$40m GMV
Subscriptions
Retention
$40m GMV
Subscriptions
Retention
$40m GMV
$15M–$40M
GMV Growth
18%
New Visitors Subscribed
89%
Retention
20K+
Orders per Month
Before & After
From payments fragility & platform limitations to a stable commerce & subscription engine.
Before
Unbanked + Constrained
- Approved payment partners wouldn't underwrite.
- WooCommerce wasn't scalable and was development heavy.
- Subscriptions couldn't exist w/o tokenized payments architecture.
After
Scalable
- GMV grew to $40M w/ stronger payments & commerce foundation.
- New site visitors subscribed (18%).
- The store handled 20K+ orders per month.
1
Got Them Banked
I worked the ecosystem until CBDistillery had a real processor willing to support the volume, category risk, and long-term commercial model.
2
Forced the Integration
I pushed the custom BigCommerce, Square, and OrderGroove work that made one-time and recurring billing behave like one coherent customer & revenue system.
3
Scaled on Stronger Rails
Once the fintech and subscription stack held, the business could focus on growth, retention, and volume instead of constantly worrying whether payments would collapse.
Implementation
Delivery Phases
How I Turned the Payments Crisis Into a Launch
The program cut across processor negotiation, architecture, integrations, subscription alignment, and launch.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped risks: WooCommerce limits, processor refusal, subscription needs.
Phase 02
Negotiate
Worked through 10+ processors, gateways, and banks until Square emerged.
Phase 03
Architect
Negotiated the BigCommerce, Square, OrderGroove stack for subscriptions.
Phase 04
Integrate
Forced custom BC & OrderGroove work needed for recurring billing & subscriptions.
Phase 05
Scale
Launched a stronger fintech & commerce foundation that let CBDistillery grow.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped risks: WooCommerce limits, processor refusal, subscription needs.
Phase 02
Negotiate
Worked through 10+ processors, gateways, and banks until Square emerged.
Phase 03
Architect
Negotiated the BigCommerce, Square, OrderGroove stack for subscriptions.
Phase 04
Integrate
Forced custom BC & OrderGroove work needed for recurring billing & subscriptions.
Phase 05
Scale
Launched a stronger fintech & commerce foundation that let CBDistillery grow.
Phase 01
Diagnose
Mapped risks: WooCommerce limits, processor refusal, subscription needs.
Phase 02
Negotiate
Worked through 10+ processors, gateways, and banks until Square emerged.
Phase 03
Architect
Negotiated the BigCommerce, Square, OrderGroove stack for subscriptions.
Phase 04
Integrate
Forced custom BC & OrderGroove work needed for recurring billing & subscriptions.
Phase 05
Scale
Launched a stronger fintech & commerce foundation that let CBDistillery grow.
“
“Jim saved the day with this Square deal. The team is happy.”
Chris Van Dusen
CBDistillery Stakeholder
Recognition
Press & Accolades
The strongest validation here is that the public case studies documented the exact commercial outcomes the new stack unlocked, from fast subscription growth to stronger retention and high order volume on the new platform.
Book a Call