How I Launched My Merch Store in 7 Minutes Using AI Tools — Silicon Valley Girl Podcast

Marina Mogilko: This year I turned 35. Last year I was looking myself in the mirror, and I was regretting not doing enough in my 20s. And then I asked myself, what will my thoughts be when I'm 45 about who I am now? And of course, I was like, I would regret that I haven't done more in my 30s. And I decided that this year is the year when I take a lot of action, when I make a lot of bold moves and rebrand myself and go into different directions. I give myself a year because I also want a third kid, and rather sooner than later.

Part of my overall strategy was rebranding. As you know, I was Lingua Marina on Instagram, but I realized Lingua Marina is still part of me—this person who loves learning languages—but it's been 10 years since I moved to the US. So I'm really digging deeper into this business personality called Silicon Valley Girl. And I rebranded on Instagram and I'm doubling down on this channel. I might even start another channel for the podcast. Like I'm still debating how to do that, but we're planning a big launch for the podcast in June. And this is when we're going to release these babies.

This is merch. So this hoodie says Silicon Valley State of Mind by Silicon Valley Girl. And this is actually the first time that I release merch as a creator because basically this channel represents people who approach everything that they do with a Silicon Valley state of mind. They're innovators. They like to do things differently. They like to change industries. And I give this hoodie to all the guests who come to my podcast and we only have 50, and I think I've given away 15 already. It's really high quality. They're made in Los Angeles. I wear it all the time. It's really heavy. I feel like when it comes to merch, heavy merch means quality. So they're really high quality and they're going to last years.

What I like a lot about this product is that it's a physical product. I'm launching my snack brand later this year, but this is something that's coming out now, and there's this feeling that I'm launching a physical product that people will be able to touch. And another thing that's super important for me as a creator—you will be able to shop from my product while watching these videos because if it's a digital product, you can't add it as a product here on YouTube.

I actually feel that in 2025 everything should be done this way. Like you have an idea, you just deploy because otherwise the market moves so fast. You just have to be able to do everything so quickly. I think we copied Louis Vuitton design when we first started but it's just crazy how much progress it only takes a couple of minutes to add the YouTube channel banner and update the necessary text and just like that my branded store is ready to go.

Anyway, guys, this all looks super professional, clean, and it's mobile optimized. And because it's built on Shopify, I can easily manage products and optimize it further if I want to. The launch date for the podcast is June 5th, and this is the date when I will connect this store to this YouTube account so that hoodies become shoppable. And I will be excited to see the first people who order the hoodies. I will send it to you with a personal note. Again, this is the first time I'm launching something physical as a creator, not for my companies, but like for me, for my channel brand. So I'm super super excited about that.

I feel like 2025 is a perfect time to launch something on your own, whether it's AI or a physical product. And again, getting back to the thought with which I started this video, I want that in 10 years you look at yourself in 2025 and be like, "Oh my god, I am so glad I acted. I am so glad I achieved a lot of things and launched a lot of things and some things are going to fail and some things are going to work out."