Matteo, 32At a glance
Who
Matteo. The Real World’s caption gives the age as 32 and shows an Italian flag; Matteo doesn’t state an age or a country in the video, mentions “a friend from Italy”, and gives the figures in euros.
Starting point
Matteo: “my knowledge in terms of business was zero”, and “I never had e-commerce experience before October last year”. Matteo also says “I believe I’m still a good engineer”.
Campus
Ecommerce. Matteo joined for “much more insight” on e-commerce and, “from a business point of view, how to run properly a business”. Matteo had done other courses before: “even if the course I’ve done, they were good”.
Timeline
First e-commerce experience in October; the store started “in late November last year”; Matteo joined The Real World “early this year”. The video doesn’t name the year.
Result (video)
“so far, I’m around 35,000 euros of sales”, in “more or less three months time”: “average sales of more than 10,000 per month”. Sales, not profit; Matteo gives no profit figure.
Order of events
The store came first: it started in late November, and Matteo joined The Real World early in the year, so part of the 35,000 euros was before joining. What Matteo credits the campus with is efficiency: “I’m still learning how to be more efficient”.
Result (caption)
The Real World’s caption: “New revenue: $4k/month”, and “Within 3 months” Matteo “generated $35,000 in revenue ($12,000 profit)”, “thanks to The Real World”.
Matteo gives the figures in euros and calls them sales. The caption puts them in dollars and adds a $12,000 profit that Matteo doesn’t mention, and its “$4k/month” headline is a third of that profit figure, not the more than 10,000 a month in sales that Matteo describes. The caption also says the result came “thanks to The Real World”; by Matteo’s account the store started in late November, before Matteo joined early in the year. Neither the video nor the caption names the year. The video was on The Real World’s home page by 8 June 2023. The figures are Matteo’s and The Real World’s own; this site hasn’t seen the store’s accounts.
What Matteo said
7 lines from the interview, copied exactly, each with what it means in plain English. The times are where they fall in the video.
“my knowledge in terms of business was zero”
What it means: Where Matteo started: an engineer (“I believe I’m still a good engineer”) who came to e-commerce through a friend, with no business knowledge.
“I never had e-commerce experience before October last year”
What it means: Matteo was new to e-commerce, not an experienced seller. The video doesn’t say which year “last year” was.
“that’s how I started to join The Real World early this year”
What it means: Matteo had followed The Real World on Instagram and joined for e-commerce insight and “how to run properly a business”. That was after the store had started, in late November.
“it’s easy to make good numbers, but it’s more difficult to be efficient”
What it means: What Matteo credits the campus with: it “helped me a lot to optimize my campaign”. Efficiency, not the sales themselves.
“so far, I’m around 35,000 euros of sales”
What it means: Sales, not profit, and Matteo gives no profit figure. The Real World’s caption says $35,000 in revenue and $12,000 profit. This site hasn’t seen the accounts.
“So in a few months, more or less three months time, I made more than 35,000.”
What it means: Counted from the store’s start in late November, so it includes the weeks before Matteo joined The Real World.
“average sales of more than 10,000 per month”
What it means: An average over about three months, of sales. The caption’s headline, “New revenue: $4k/month”, is a much lower figure; see the note above.
What Matteo did, step by step
Matteo came to e-commerce through a friend
Matteo “started to get approached towards the e-commerce world from a friend from Italy”, then realised “my knowledge in terms of business was zero”.
In the video at 0:00
Matteo started a store in late November
Matteo’s first e-commerce experience was in October, and the store started “in late November last year” (2:44). Matteo: “I really decided to go all in on this.”
In the video at 1:14
Matteo joined The Real World early in the year
“I was always following on Instagram” The Real World, Matteo says, and joined for “much more insight” on e-commerce and “how to run properly a business”: “that’s how I started to join The Real World early this year.”
In the video at 0:27
Matteo compared it with other courses
Matteo had done other courses: “even if the course I’ve done, they were good”. The e-commerce course “gives a methodology that can be tailored to your business plan”.
In the video at 1:36
Matteo worked on efficiency
The campus “helped me a lot to optimize my campaign”, Matteo says: “it’s easy to make good numbers, but it’s more difficult to be efficient.”
In the video at 2:04
Matteo reports around 35,000 euros of sales
“more or less three months time” after the store started: “average sales of more than 10,000 per month”. Sales, not profit.
In the video at 2:38
Full transcript
Read the full interview transcript (4 minutes)
Transcribed on 25 and 26 October 2026 from the interview audio with Whisper speech recognition (run locally), then checked against two more full passes and a re-run of every quoted part: punctuation fixed, nothing added; “[unclear]” marks words the passes don’t agree on. Speaker labels are ours. The interviewer is from The Real World and isn’t named. The video starts with Matteo’s first answer; the question isn’t in it. “I’m rolling the e-commerce campus” is as heard (probably “enrolling”). The $49 mentioned was the price at the time; today it is $99 a month on the official checkout.
0:00 Matteo: So, basically, I started to get approached towards the e-commerce world from a friend from Italy. But then once I realized how is the e-commerce world, I realized that my knowledge in terms of business was zero. So, I believe I'm still a good engineer, but in terms of business knowledge, I didn't know anything.
0:27 Matteo: So, the reason why I approached The Real World is because I was always following on Instagram the [unclear] from The Real World. I was always fascinated about them. And in particular, I decided to join The Real World because I believe that really gave me, would have given me much more insight in terms of [unclear] e-commerce side. And that's why I'm rolling the e-commerce campus. And also from a business point of view, how to run properly a business. And that's how I started to join The Real World early this year. And I can still say that it's giving me a lot of insights and things I never thought about. So, that's how I basically started my involvement into The Real World.
1:14 Matteo: I never had e-commerce experience before October last year, so I'm quite new on this world. So I really decided to go all in on this. And I'm still pushing myself to work my 100% every day, facing new challenges every day. So that's my personal approach towards the e-commerce world.
1:36 Matteo: And even if the course I've done, they were good, but I believe that the e-commerce course in The Real World, that's perfect, because it gives in detail and very interesting point of view for each part of the e-commerce, things that even before I didn't know about. And it also gives a methodology that can be tailored to your business plan. So it's very, very good. I believe that that also helped me a lot to optimize my campaign, because on the e-commerce side, sometimes it's good to, I mean, it's not, sometimes I was saying it's easy to make good numbers, but it's more difficult to be efficient. And in The Real World, I really learn and I'm still learning how to be more efficient, I would say.
2:31 Interviewer: How much have you made through your e-commerce store since starting it? And what time zone would that be in?
2:38 Matteo: Yeah, so basically, so far, I'm around 35,000 euros of sales. I started actually, it was late last year, so in late November last year. So in a few months, more or less three months time, I made more than 35,000. So average sales of more than 10,000 per month.
3:03 Interviewer: For people who might be on the fence about joining The Real World, I'm sure maybe for all the value they've heard about it, what if it's still a scam for $49? What would you have to say to them?
3:17 Matteo: So guys, if I have to be honest, okay, at the beginning I wasn't really sure because I didn't know, but many things in life you don't know and you just have to risk. So if you're not willing to risk and try, then nothing good can happen. Of course, maybe nothing bad, or people believe that nothing bad can happen without risk. But in this case, I think it's very important to take a risk, because I didn't know The Real World, to be honest, for a long time. But since I'm in, it's actually kind of an iceberg. So you see things from the outside, it's one thing. Then if you put the head under the water, you see everything. You really see how the world works. For $49 a month, it's really, really worth. So it's from every point of view. So there are so many business opportunities, experience also from people who really have done it. So it's not just lessons from school, lessons from something. There are actually people who really made it and they can teach something which you cannot find almost anywhere. So I think it's really, really good for, and I'm still wondering why this course is so cheap, to be honest, for what it's offering. So I'm really happy to have joined.
- Conquer: $99/month
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E-commerce in context
Matteo’s store is one business in a market that governments measure every quarter. The figures below are the latest official ones on 25 October 2026, with the date each was checked, because they move.
What it is
- E-commerce is selling goods or services where the order is placed online. The US Census Bureau counts sales “where the buyer places an order, or the price and terms of the sale are negotiated over an Internet, mobile device … or other comparable online system. Payment may or may not be made online.”
- Dropshipping is a way of running a store without holding stock: the supplier ships each order after the customer pays. Shopify’s definition: “Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method where online stores sell products without keeping them in stock.” The campus’s first course is named for it: “Start Here: Learn how to start dropshipping”.
- Where Matteo fits. Matteo runs an online store (the interviewer asks about “your e-commerce store”, 2:31) and ad campaigns (“optimize my campaign”, 2:07), and reports sales, not profit (2:38 to 3:02). The campus teaches the store and the ads: its Store Setup course is “Learn how to build a high-converting Shopify store” and its Paid Traffic course “Learn how to get sales with Meta Ads”. Matteo doesn’t name the platform or the ad network.
A short history
- 1999: the first official count. The US Census Bureau’s first estimate of retail e-commerce was $5.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 1999, 0.64% of US retail sales (released 2 March 2000).
- 2007 to 2025 in the UK: internet sales went from 3.4% of all retail sales to 27.5% (Office for National Statistics, series J4MC, released 23 October 2026).
- 2026: US e-commerce was 17.1% of retail sales in the second quarter (Census Bureau, 18 August 2026), and 28.3% of UK retail sales were online in September 2026 (ONS).
How much is spent
US online sales, Q2 2026
$340.2 billion (seasonally adjusted), 17.1% of all US retail sales. US Census Bureau, 18 August 2026; checked 25 October 2026.
UK retail sales made online
28.3% in September 2026; 27.5% for 2025 as a whole. ONS series J4MC, 23 October 2026; checked 25 October 2026.
Sales through Shopify
“$1 trillion+” of sales made by businesses on Shopify (Shopify’s own about page, checked 25 October 2026). Its Q2 2026 results reported “more than 30% growth in GMV” (5 August 2026).
What a new store earns
Nobody publishes it. The figures above are market totals, not what one store makes. The only member figures on this page are Matteo’s and the posts below, each one person’s own account.
The Census Bureau’s third-quarter figure is due on 19 November 2026 and the next ONS release on 20 November 2026.
What The Real World offers for e-commerce
What the Ecommerce campus looks like from a member’s account, how a new member starts, and what the support is like. The Ecommerce campus page covers what it teaches, and the Ecommerce campus review covers the costs and what can go wrong.
How you get started
Join and pick the Ecommerce campus
One membership covers every campus: $99 a month or $996 a year on the official checkout. Inside the app you choose a campus; the Ecommerce card reads “Learn how to start and scale an ecommerce business”.
Read #start-here
The first channel you see. Prof. Shuayb’s pinned post: “Start going through the courses by clicking below. More channels will open once you complete the COURSES.”
Work through the Learning Center in order
Six courses: Start Here (“Learn how to start dropshipping”), Branding (“Learn how to find winning products to sell”), Store Setup (“Learn how to build a high-converting Shopify store”), Paid Traffic (“Learn how to get sales with Meta Ads”), Artificial Intelligence Masterclass and Knowledge Hub. The later courses stay locked until the earlier ones are done.
Unlock more chats as you go
The roadmap in #start-here shows three stages, Introduction complete, Branding complete and Paid traffic complete, each opening more channels: “Complete courses to unlock more chats”.
Build, launch and test
Matteo started the store in late November (2:44) and joined The Real World early in the year (1:00), then used the campus to “optimize my campaign” (2:07). The member behind this site found the first product rarely works, so budget for more than one test.
What support is like
- Chats. From day one you see #start-here, #new-student-chat, #wins and #GM-daily; more open as you complete courses. Matteo doesn’t describe the chats or how fast questions get answered, but values the “experience also from people who really have done it” (4:11): “There are actually people who really made it”. The Real World publishes no response-time promise.
- Professor. Inside the app the Ecommerce campus is run by “Prof. Shuayb”, whose pinned post opens #start-here; the public campus page names no professor. Matteo doesn’t mention the professors, but says the e-commerce course “gives in detail and very interesting point of view for each part of the e-commerce” (1:45).
- Other campuses. One membership covers every campus. Matteo also wanted to learn “how to run properly a business” (0:56) but doesn’t name a second campus. See the Business Mastery campus.
- #wins channel. Members post their results there, and every post has to include a screenshot. The five posts below come from it.
- No guarantee. The Real World’s Terms of Use say it doesn’t guarantee any financial outcome. Every campus starts from the fundamentals and assumes no prior knowledge.
Real wins and reviews
Posts from the Ecommerce campus’s #wins channel, captured on 25 October 2026 from the owner’s own member account. Each is that member’s own post with its date; names and avatars are blurred. Tap any screenshot to see it full size. They are individual results, not typical ones, and not a promise: The Real World doesn’t publish average member earnings.
The next screenshot is so far today. The bounce back happened and I didn’t have to mess with anything. Sometimes less is more…
What members said on Trustpilot
Trustpilot has since removed The Real World’s profiles. These excerpts come from archived copies of those pages, read on 25 October 2026, with the reviewer’s first name, country and date as shown; “Invited” is Trustpilot’s label for reviews that came through a business link. The jointherealworld.com.de profile was not run by The Real World; reviewers used it anyway. They are other people’s words, not this site’s findings.
“The biggest thing for me, besides the lessons and the professors, is the community. You have a problem, ask a question in chat, fixed in 5 minutes.”
“after a month, I informed them that their services were not suitable for me. Despite my clear communication, they attempted to withdraw a significant amount of money from my credit card for an additional two months.”
The Real World replied: “turn off auto-renew before your next billing date.”
“Most the informaton you could find for free online in other places but you'll spend more time trying to find a simple step by step guide then using this platform.”
“Despite paying $49 per month (around $300 total), I didn't make any money or gain valuable insights. Much of the content was outdated and U.S.-focused”
“the campuses are also perfect if you are completely new to these methods of wealth creation but it'll take you some time before you see results.”
“The courses themselves are okay, but they're difficult to apply, and getting real clients is even harder. Overall, I don't think this works.”
For the record, the scores on 27 February 2025: the profile at trwstudent.com showed 2.9 from 23 reviews, and therealworldeducation.com showed 4.4 from 82, most of them invited through a business link over two days. Both profiles have since been removed.
Is this path for you?
It may suit you if
- You are starting from zero. Matteo had no e-commerce experience before October and says “my knowledge in terms of business was zero”.
- You have a small budget for a store and ads. The Real World groups Ecommerce with “a small budget and an interest in products”, and Matteo ran paid ad campaigns (“optimize my campaign”).
- You care about efficiency, not only sales. Matteo: “it’s easy to make good numbers, but it’s more difficult to be efficient.”
- You already run a store and want a method for it. Matteo joined after starting one, and says the course “gives a methodology that can be tailored to your business plan”.
- You are patient and willing to test more than one product. The member behind this site found the first product rarely works.
It may not suit you if
- You have no budget at all. Hosting and ads cost money before any sales arrive; for no budget, The Real World points to Client Acquisition, Strategic Marketing or AI Automation instead.
- You want quick results. Testing products takes time, and one of the #wins posts above lost $450 on ads before its first orders.
- You won’t put the hours in. Matteo “decided to go all in on this” and is “still pushing myself to work my 100% every day”.
- You need a guaranteed return. The Real World’s Terms of Use say it doesn’t guarantee any financial outcome, and Matteo’s figures are Matteo’s own.
Matteo’s numbers are one student’s account, given in an interview The Real World chose to publish, and the store started before Matteo joined. For the campus itself, read the Ecommerce campus review, written by a member who built a Shopify store with it.
What happens after you join
The member behind this site went through these steps himself. This is his own account, from 25 October 2026.
Choose a plan on the official checkout
You go to the official checkout and choose a plan. Only Conquer ($99 a month, or yearly at 17% off) can be bought now: Vanguard ($499 a month) shows “Sold Out” on the checkout (checked 25 October 2026).
Get the sign-in email
After you pay, you get an email with a link to sign in.
Set your password and log in
On the sign-in page you click “Forgot password”, which emails you a link to set your password. Then you log in.
Choose the Ecommerce campus
You choose your campus: Ecommerce, the one this page is about. Every campus is included.
Start the courses
You start the courses: watch the lessons and take notes. Finishing lessons unlocks the next sections and chats.
The choice is yours
Includes the Ecommerce campus and every other campus.
Take action
Don’t wait for tomorrow.
$99 / month
Conquer plan · or $996 a year (saves $192) · every campus included
- Simple step-by-step tutorials
- 12 business models
- Access to millionaire mentors
- Community chat groups
- No experience needed
- Custom-made learning app
- Cancel anytime
Spaces available at $99 for October 26th. Act fast.
Sources
- The Real World: Matteo’s student interview video (Cloudflare Stream) — transcribed October 26, 2026
- jointherealworld.com home page with the interview and its caption (Wayback Machine, June 8, 2023)
- Inside The Real World app: the Ecommerce campus Learning Center, #start-here and #wins channel (screenshots from the owner’s member account) — captured October 25, 2026
- The Real World: Ecommerce campus page — checked September 12, 2026
- The Real World Terms of Use (no guaranteed outcome) — checked September 14, 2026
- US Census Bureau: Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales, 2nd Quarter 2026 (release CB26-133, August 18, 2026) — checked October 25, 2026
- US Census Bureau: Retail E-Commerce Sales for the Fourth Quarter 1999 (release CB00-40, March 2, 2000) — checked October 25, 2026
- Office for National Statistics: Internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales (series J4MC, released October 23, 2026) — checked October 25, 2026
- Shopify: about page (“$1 trillion+” sales made by businesses on Shopify) — checked October 25, 2026
- Shopify: second quarter 2026 financial results (August 5, 2026) — checked October 25, 2026
- Shopify: What is dropshipping (updated November 21, 2025) — checked October 25, 2026
- Trustpilot reviews of trwstudent.com, archived February 27, 2025 (Wayback Machine) — read October 25, 2026
- Trustpilot reviews of therealworldeducation.com, archived February 27, 2025, pages 1 and 2 (Wayback Machine) — read October 25, 2026
- Trustpilot reviews of www.cobratate.com, archived December 28, 2022 (Wayback Machine) — read October 25, 2026
- Trustpilot reviews of jointherealworld.com.de (not run by The Real World), archived February 27, 2026 (Wayback Machine) — read October 25, 2026