Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology · Riding Unicorns Productions

The future of Social Commerce with Sam Jacobs, Co-Founder @ Go Places

October 15, 2025·42 min·2 clips

Sam Jacobs says social commerce is “going nowhere” and will become ubiquitous across e-commerce.

1. Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology focuses on the future of social commerce with Sam Jacobs and Go Places. 2. Sam Jacobs is co-founder of Go Places, and James hosts the interview while asking about entrepreneurship, TikTok shop, and the company’s growth. 3. The episode asks what social commerce looks like in the West when brands treat TikTok shop as a serious operating channel rather than a side add-on. 4. Sam says Go Places started in April 2024 with a simple insight: help brands unlock social commerce in the West. 5. He describes Go Places as a “social commerce operating system” and a “TikTok shop operating system” built in the UK. 6. The company combines executional tools with technology so brands can understand the value of the channel. 7. Sam explains that Go Places originally thought it would be a marketplace accelerator for Amazon, TikTok shop, Sephora, and Tesco marketplaces. 8. He says an Amazon-style memo session made clear that TikTok shop is not just another marketplace, but “its whole world and ecosystem.” 9. The trip to China at the end of the previous year was the turning point that changed the company’s thinking. 10. Sam describes seeing people on trains watching live shopping and spending hundreds or thousands of pounds across fashion and beauty brands. 11. He also describes a Westfield-sized mall with about 550 stores where every store could stream live shopping at the same time. 12. Sam says that experience showed him China is not driving something alien, but is simply ahead of the UK and Europe. 13. He argues that live shopping will be ingrained into e-commerce, including brand websites, Amazon, and major retailers. 14. Sam says enterprise clients now understand the channel is needed to access new consumers and create both commerce and marketing experiences. 15. He says Go Places’ software is not the whole product, because it also powers operations and decision-making. 16. Sam introduces OnePlace, a self-serve reporting, analytics, and AI tool that helps brands query data and understand channel uplift across other sales channels. 17. He says AI is being used for performance and pricing elasticity studies, plus detailed analysis of live shopping events. 18. Sam says Go Places is also using AI with in-house content creators, while still keeping content authentic and on-brand. 19. The interview is practical and operator-led, with specific examples, fast-moving answers, and frequent references to numbers, brands, and workflows. 20. People working in consumer brands, e-commerce, or creator-led commerce will get the most from this conversation, while listeners who want a light trend overview may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical look at Go Places' TikTok Shop operating system and the work behind it.

Sam Jacobs uses the conversation to explain how Go Places is building a TikTok Shop operating system for brands in the West, while also pointing out that social commerce has already been part of the playbook in Asia for some time.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Hear how Go Places is building a TikTok Shop operating system for Western brands.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology