Hey, thanks for tuning in to another Partner Interview at EcomBalance. At EcomBalance, we’re all about creating win-win partnerships where we are able to grow with other companies in the ecommerce space.
In this exclusive interview, we have a conversation with Brent Zahradnik, founder of AMZ Pathfinder.
Brent Zahradnik is an Amazon advertising management agency. He started the company in the summer of 2015 and it has since worked with hundreds of brands selling in the North American and European Amazon marketplaces.
Pathfinder manages millions of dollars in ad spend per month and is a team of 20 advertising experts who speak 12 languages and live all over the planet. Brent lives in Southern France with his wife, their cat, and entirely too many bicycles.
Connor: Hey Brent, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. As a company, one of our goals is to highlight our partners so that our clients can benefit where it makes most sense. To get started, can you give us a high-level introduction to AMZ Pathfinder and a little bit about how the company got started? 
Brent: Yeh sure thing. Pathfinder is an Amazon advertising and growth agency. We are focused on driving overall business growth for our clients through 3 main avenues: Amazon platform advertising, content and conversion rate optimization, and external paid traffic directed to Amazon – primarily with Google at this point. We work with the North American and European marketplaces and our team is mostly in Europe where I’m also located.
We’ve been around since the summer of 2015 when I started off on my own consulting for Amazon sellers I’d help in Facebook groups. I found all of our earliest clients that way. It wasn’t until the end of 2016 that I started hiring people and growing the team.Connor: Thanks for sharing that! Can you dive a bit more into the advertising services you offer? Our audience is always looking for reputable companies that they can lean on for specific parts of their eCommerce businesses. Brent: When I say “Amazon platform” advertising what I mean is any type of advertising that amazon offers that 3P sellers would be interested in using to spread the word about their catalog.
This includes the classic Sponsored Products found in Advertising Console but more complex display advertising like ADSP, and Sponsored Brands and Display campaign variations that make heavy use of image and video creative. Since the end of last year we’ve also dove headfirst into the world of AMS and to some extent, AMC. Amazon continues to level up what they offer for anyone who wants to advertise with them, so its a lot to keep up with.Connor: Jumping off of that…when you’re thinking about your ideal customer, who is that? Where are they selling online? Where are they located in the world? How much sales do they typically have in a year? If there’s any other qualities, please include them as well. We’re all about making introductions where it benefits both parties. Brent: We are a fully distributed company since day 1, so where our clients are based geographically are isn’t super important. What is important is that they wish to communicate to the level that we require to work together successfully. Our client profile is straightforward: 3P Amazon Brands that are in excess of 100k USD (or equivalent) a month in overall revenue that sell in the markets we work with and need help with one of our 3 areas of expertise. We work with a few Brands that are a 3P/ Vendor hybrid model too. These brands need to have unique products with a strong value proposition and USPs, and a clear grasp on what advertising can and cannot do for the business.Connor: For our audience to truly understand what makes you stand out from other companies offering advertising services, can you share a story of how AMZ Pathfinder truly helped one of its customers?Brent: Sure, we’ve helped a good number of clients grow their brands towards life-changing exits but one that stands out was a UK-based apparel company that we engaged with just before COVID and worked with for 3 years until they sold to one of the better-run aggregators for a massive sum. We took them from zero, running no ads at all, to making millions each month with greatly amplified exposure on the Amazon marketplace. This contributed to their positioning and exit multiple when selling and was one of our favorite partnerships. Connor: As you and your company think about the next year ahead, what does it look like? Are there any specific initiatives that you’re working on as a team to better your services for your customers?Brent: One thing comes to mind right away which is that we are moving fast with our Google to Amazon (G2A) external traffic service after seeing great traction with it during the first half of this year. We firmly believe that with the incentives that Amazon has put in place such as the Brand Referral Bonus and the Connor: How about this…everyone loves a company’s growth story. We all naturally go through ups and downs as a company. What was one of the biggest challenges that the company faced in its growing stages? Brent: I suffered from the classic problem that agencies run into when the founder is themselves a practitioner. There is a built-in resistance to letting go of things that you are skilled at doing well or even ENJOY doing. Theres a reluctance to hand those things over to others on the team so they can go forward and take the responsibility and initiative for them. This certainly limited our growth in the earlier days as I was acting as a bottleneck getting in the way of my team. Thelesson here is Delegate and Elevate as soon as its possible.Connor: Thanks! Let’s talk some eCommerce! Where do you see the industry heading in the next 1-2 years? Any big changes that you’re predicting for the industry? How can eCommerce companies prepare for it?Brent: This is a white-hot topic at the moment and a bit of a predictable answer, but I think Generative AI will represent a huge shift in the eCom industry. What is your advantage as an American or Europen company if factories in Asia can use AI tools to swiftly iterate on branding, logos, copy and help them with social media while also beating you on price? Unless we see a reversing in globalization in general that puts a stop to that, it means that existing brands will have to prepare by finding and clearly building more robust moats around their businesses. The wild west days of Amazon are over when you could list something and easily rank and sell in no time are long gone.
For the record I never said the same about either blockchain or what I understand as a popular only in Asia model of livestream shopping, both of which i think are either solutions searching for a problem or something that simply doesnt resonsate in the West. Connor: Changing gears a little bit…When it comes to bookkeeping and accounting, what do you think the biggest pain points for eCommerce business owners are? Feel free to speak from personal experience as well. Brent: Well one thing i can remark on from my own journey is that one of my first hires was a part-time bookkeeper who really saved my bacon, and shes now the head of finance at Pathfinder (hi Regine!).
The lesson being this is one of the first things you should outsource or hire for if its not a passion of yours. Having that healthy financial basis from early on really helped me focus on other things while running a business that always been in the black.
Connor: As we close this out, I just have one more question. Where is the best place to find and follow you and the company online? Also, if you have one, is there any special offer that you’ll be offering to the community today? Brent: At the company level www.amzpathfinder.com particularly our blog which we are committed this year to posting A LOT more content on including in-depth guide and how-to posts.
For me personally just visit www.brent.bike (yes, that is a URL) I’ve put everything there so I’m easy to find.
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