The Challenge

When I joined Think Move Chess Academy in 2022, the organization was rebuilding its chess programs across schools and communities.

The digital experience needed to support much more than a basic informational website. Families needed to be able to:

• Discover chess programs

• Find their school or location

• Understand program schedules and offerings

• Register and pay online

• Receive important program communications

• Get answers to common questions

Behind the scenes, the organization also needed systems and processes that could support a growing team and customer base.

My role evolved into helping connect these pieces together—from the website and e-commerce experience to marketing, analytics, administration, day-to-day operations and long-term operations.

My Role

Over four years, my responsibilities expanded across several areas:

E-Commerce

• Managed online products, registrations, payments, refunds, and prorations

• Improved the online purchasing and enrollment experience

• Monitored e-commerce performance and customer behavior

• Used analytics to identify opportunities for growth

Web & Digital Experience

• Managed and updated Squarespace websites

• Built and maintained pages for schools, programs, products, and events

• Improved navigation and information architecture

• Created landing pages and promotional content

• Used HTML and CSS to customize the website experience

• Managed website content and integrations

Marketing

• Managed email and SMS marketing

• Created automated communications

• Managed Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business

• Created posts, videos, reels, announcements, and event promotions

• Developed messaging designed to speak clearly to parents and potential customers

Analytics

• Used Google Analytics and Squarespace analytics to evaluate performance

• Monitored revenue, orders, conversion rate, average order value, and revenue per visitor

• Used performance data to inform website and marketing decisions

Operations

• Created and supported school agreements, program setup, payments, customer service, and reporting

• Created processes and training structures for a growing organization

• Participated in hiring and interviewed and trained employees

• Helped establish systems that supported the organization's growth

Building the Digital Experience

One of my biggest priorities was making the website easier for families to navigate.

The website had to serve multiple audiences simultaneously—parents looking for after-school programs, schools and families interested in partnerships, existing customers managing registrations, and tournament players.

I worked on improving the structure and presentation of:

• School program pages

• Program schedules

• Registration pages

• Product pages

• Events and tournaments

• FAQs

• Promotional landing pages

• Customer information and resources

A major focus was reducing friction between discovering a program and taking action.

Instead of treating the website as simply an informational resource, I approached it as a digital storefront and customer journey.

E-Commerce Growth

The most measurable impact came through e-commerce.

I monitored performance over multiple years to understand how changes in the digital experience translated into revenue.

From 2022 to 2025, annual e-commerce revenue increased from $35.9K to $175.9K—approximately 390% growth.

The increase wasn't driven by a single campaign. It reflected the combination of a stronger digital experience, expanding programs, improved e-commerce operations, and continued optimization of the customer journey.

Key 2025 Metrics

$175.9K
Annual online revenue

1,328
Orders

7.06%
Conversion rate

$142
Average order value

$11
Revenue per visitor

Marketing & Customer Acquisition

I also managed digital marketing efforts designed to bring families back to the website and encourage enrollment and purchases.

This included:

• Email campaigns

• SMS marketing

• Automated communications

• Social media content

• Google Business updates

• Event promotion

• Program announcements

• Promotional messaging

I used performance data to understand which channels were actually contributing to revenue.

In 2025, Direct traffic generated approximately 82% of online revenue, while Search, Email, Referral, and Social contributed additional revenue.

This helped highlight an important opportunity: strengthen the channels beyond direct traffic so that more customers could discover Think Move Chess organically and through targeted campaigns.

Connecting Marketing, E-Commerce & Operations

One of the most valuable parts of my role was working across departments rather than operating within a single marketing function.

A website update could affect registration.

A registration process could affect customer service.

A customer-service issue could reveal an opportunity to improve the website.

A marketing campaign could affect enrollment and revenue.

I became comfortable looking at these pieces as one connected customer journey.

This experience shaped the way I approach e-commerce today:

Attract → Inform → Convert → Support → Retain

Building Systems for Growth

As the organization grew, I also helped develop internal processes to support that growth.

This included:

• Hiring and interviewing employees

• Creating training procedures

• Establishing program structures

• Training management on operational processes

• Creating documentation and reports

• Managing customer and vendor communications

• Supporting payment and registration workflows

The organization grew from a small group of contractors to more than 60 full- and part-time employees and contractors, requiring processes that could scale beyond individual people.

My role therefore became as much about building systems as completing individual tasks.

The Impact

Over my four years with Think Move Chess, I helped develop a digital ecosystem that supported a rapidly growing organization.

Business Impact

~390%
Increase in annual e-commerce revenue from 2022–2025

$175.9K
Annual online revenue reached in 2025

1,328
Online orders in 2025

7.06%
2025 e-commerce conversion rate

Organizational Impact

Beyond the numbers, my work helped create a more connected system for:

Website → Marketing → Enrollment → E-Commerce → Customer Experience → Operations

The experience gave me hands-on ownership across the entire digital customer journey—from the first website visit to the completed transaction and the operational work behind it.

What This Experience Taught Me

Think Move Chess was where I developed my approach to e-commerce and digital product management.

I learned that a successful website isn't simply one that looks good.

It needs to:

• Make information easy to find

• Make decisions easy for customers

• Reduce friction

• Encourage action

• Support the business operationally

• Generate measurable results

Most importantly, I learned to look at a digital experience from both sides:

What does the customer need?

and

What does the business need?

The intersection of those two questions is where I do my best work.

My Role

E-Commerce & Marketing Manager

2022–2026

I managed Think Move Chess Academy’s digital presence and day-to-day e-commerce operations, working across website management, customer experience, marketing, analytics, and business operations.

• Managed and optimized the Squarespace website and e-commerce experience

• Created and maintained program, school, and product pages

• Managed enrollment, payments, refunds, and customer support

• Developed email and SMS marketing campaigns and automations

• Managed social media content across Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business

• Used Google Analytics and website data to monitor performance and identify opportunities for growth

• Supported SEO, content creation, promotions, and conversion improvements

• Created hiring posts and managed recruitment through Indeed

• Interviewed and hired entry-level and mid-level employees

• Developed onboarding, training procedures, and program structures

• Trained managers on employee training and operational processes

• Helped establish systems and processes as the organization grew from 4 contractors to 60+ full- and part-time employees