22. Elevating Brands On and Off Amazon in 2022 with TJ Hyland, Director of Global Partnerships at Elevate Brands

TJ Hyland of Elevate Brands joins the E-commerce with Coffee?! podcast to talk about the aggregator model and the nuances of how businesses are acquired in order to “Elevate” brands in many different ways. Some entrepreneurs simply want to exit brands and cash out in a responsible manner, and some want to continue their growth but are limited by capital among other things. Aggregators can be a solution.

TJ joins Nate Svodoba on this episode and walks us through important details like what makes certain businesses attractive to the aggregator model, what entering the aggregator model looks like, and some interesting management points like how a strong Amazon presence pays off on other channels as well.

What to listen for:

• TJ runs through the aggregator model, its history, and some important examples like Elevate.
• Entering the aggregator model can be nuanced. Many times entrepreneurs will cash out in order to move onto another project with newly acquired capital, but the best transitions for the business often happen before the founders are ready to part ways with their business.
• Especially given our modern blockchain setting, giving sellers the option to cashout in cryptocurrency is just another way of giving sellers the freedom to handle their payout however they wish, and makes diversification just that much easier.
• The aggregator model doesn’t just look to acquire as many businesses as possible. There are certain indicators that make a business more attractive for acquisition, such as room for growth and a low amount of skews and variations. TJ dives into more details on this.
• The majority of online buyers are checking Amazon before they check anywhere else, and Amazon’s shipping infrastructure has become the standard for customer expectations, so a strong presence on Amazon is both crucial and beneficial for your brand off the platform, as well. That being said, depending solely on Amazon can also be dangerous.
• Every brand is different, and every entrepreneur has different wants and needs, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all to cashing out. At the same time, this certainly isn’t the business to be feeling around in the darkness for what feels right. Having somebody on your side that knows what direction to take can be what makes or breaks your business or exit.