I'm Rory McLaughlan, founder and CEO of Shirt in a Box. Out of the Box is where we open the business up: a weekly podcast, AI set-ups for other brands, tours of the warehouse and office, and calls with me.
Shirt in a Box warehouse, Belfast
On HQ since July 2026
Everything here comes from the day job. Shirt in a Box is a mid seven-figure e-commerce brand, growing 100% year on year, with ten people and two markets. We share how it runs.
We set up HQ for your brand the way we run it at Shirt in a Box, with the whole team on it. Prices are published and we take two build clients at a time.
Out of the Box with Rory. A mostly solo, behind-the-scenes diary on people, systems, finance and marketing experiments.
Two hours on the floor of a business that runs on lean and AI. The warehouse, the office, the systems and the team.
An hour with Rory on your business, your team and where to start. You leave with the three things we'd do first, and a straight answer on whether you need us at all.
A weekly founder diary from building Shirt in a Box. For e-commerce founders and operators who want the real decisions behind a growing brand.
Latest · 12 Oct 2026
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I got David from Opinly back to talk AI search5 Oct · Growth↗
What I took home from Commerce Roundtable San Diego27 Sep · Events↗
My first week in Austin has been rough20 Sep · Founder life↗
Why I've promised to give away a million shirts13 Sep · Brand↗
Why I set up an advisory board6 Sep · Leadership↗
Most people have heard what AI and lean could do for a business. A Lean tour puts you on the floor of one where they already do.
Next dates in Q1
Shirt in a Box, Belfast
The warehouse, the office, the systems and the people, plus the honest version of what it cost to get here. Every visitor so far has changed something in their own business within weeks.
Write-ups on the podcast, AI Solutions and lean. What we tried at Shirt in a Box, what it cost, and what we'd do again.
How stock robots on HQ paused 236 Shirt in a Box subscribers instead of wrongly charging them, in one cycle.
Use case→
Lean
PodcastHQ stalls when only the founder uses it. How we got 9 of 10 people building, and what a team day covers.
Use case→
LeanHow Shirt in a Box reconciles and preps bills every Friday through the Xero API, with a person approving every one.
Use case→
PodcastPodcastLeanThe two-hour running order, from the warehouse floor to the staff Q&A, and why it is timed to the minute.
Lean tours↓
Shirt in a Box · founded Belfast, 2021
Shirt in a Box sends mystery football, rugby and basketball shirts in a box, in the UK and the US.
In July 2026 we put the whole team onto HQ, an AI company brain with agents. By September, 9 of our 10 people had built their own improvement. Other founders started asking how, so we started sharing it.
The podcast is the diary. AI Solutions is the system we built for ourselves, set up for you. Lean tours are a look round in person.
