AI Shopping Intelligence : Insights from Andy Elwood (CEO of Stretch AI) | Data Wars EP-13
Tue Dec 30 2025
What does it really take to build companies—again and again—when the highs are euphoric and the lows hit hard?
In this episode of Data Wars, we sit down with Andy Elwood, Founder & CEO of Stretch, a shopping intelligence platform reimagining grocery shopping by putting shoppers first. Andy shares hard-earned lessons from scaling Gowalla in the early App Store days (including a Disney partnership that landed them on the New York Times tech front page) to navigating privacy blowback (hello, pleaserobme.com) and ultimately being acquired by Meta (Facebook, pre-IPO).
We also go deep on what Andy is building now with Stretch—why grocery pricing transparency matters, why this is a “painkiller” problem, and how AI + collective intent can shift power back to consumers.
In this episode, we cover:
The mindset of repeat founders: expectations, incentives, and resilience
Building teams: why problem-obsession beats “can do the work”
“Borrowing audiences” and letting partners take the credit (Disney case study)
Why groceries lack a true “source of truth” (like Zillow, Kayak, GasBuddy)
Stretch’s 20% savings promise and the intelligence behind it
The data/engineering challenge: retailer-agnostic catalogs, product equivalency, personalization
Retail incentives, pre-purchase intent, and reducing food waste
The future: shopper-side agents vs retailer-side agents (and why it matters)
Andy’s advice when the PTSD kicks in: “You already have what you need.”
Connect with Andy:
Email: andy@stretch.ai
Jobs: stretchformore.com
Social: @AndyElwood
🎧 Watch/Listen Now:
▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/HEkkCIb6VJs
🎵 Spotify: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/YHACR0JRvZb
🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-shopping-intelligence-insights-from-andy-elwood/id1782784746?i=1000743192369
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What does it really take to build companies—again and again—when the highs are euphoric and the lows hit hard? In this episode of Data Wars, we sit down with Andy Elwood, Founder & CEO of Stretch, a shopping intelligence platform reimagining grocery shopping by putting shoppers first. Andy shares hard-earned lessons from scaling Gowalla in the early App Store days (including a Disney partnership that landed them on the New York Times tech front page) to navigating privacy blowback (hello, pleaserobme.com) and ultimately being acquired by Meta (Facebook, pre-IPO). We also go deep on what Andy is building now with Stretch—why grocery pricing transparency matters, why this is a “painkiller” problem, and how AI + collective intent can shift power back to consumers. In this episode, we cover: The mindset of repeat founders: expectations, incentives, and resilience Building teams: why problem-obsession beats “can do the work” “Borrowing audiences” and letting partners take the credit (Disney case study) Why groceries lack a true “source of truth” (like Zillow, Kayak, GasBuddy) Stretch’s 20% savings promise and the intelligence behind it The data/engineering challenge: retailer-agnostic catalogs, product equivalency, personalization Retail incentives, pre-purchase intent, and reducing food waste The future: shopper-side agents vs retailer-side agents (and why it matters) Andy’s advice when the PTSD kicks in: “You already have what you need.” Connect with Andy: Email: andy@stretch.ai Jobs: stretchformore.com Social: @AndyElwood 🎧 Watch/Listen Now: ▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/HEkkCIb6VJs 🎵 Spotify: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/YHACR0JRvZb 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-shopping-intelligence-insights-from-andy-elwood/id1782784746?i=1000743192369