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 interview Mina Elias of Trivium Group.
Mina Elias is a multiple seven-figure seller in the supplement industry, investor, Amazon PPC expert, and founder of Trivium Group, an Amazon Advertising agency. Mina excels at developing cutting-edge supplements for different target audiences and combines his passion for supplements, his background in chemical engineering and chemistry, and his expertise in PPC to crush the competition on Amazon. He has spoken on every major stage in the Amazon industry, consulted over 400 brands, consulted 3 aggregators worth $1.2 billion combined, has been on over 100 Amazon and E-commerce podcasts to share his knowledge, and continues to be a leader, innovating in the Amazon advertising space. His goal is to change the way people perceive Amazon PPC and empower them to take back control and dominate their ads.
We hope that you enjoy the interview and that it brings value to you as an eCommerce business owner.
Connor: Hey Mina, 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 Trivium Group and a little bit about how the company got started?
Mina: Trivium Group started in early 2021. In 2018, I started a supplement brand to get out of the 9-5 rut, and I got it on Amazon. After being completely obsessed with Amazon and making Amazon work, I realized that I had a knack for Amazon PPC. I began sharing my knowledge with people, and I quickly became very popular in the space. I was then approached in 2021 by an aggregator that had just raised 300 million dollars, and they wanted to hire me as a consultant to build their in-house PPC team. They asked me to run one of their brands to test my skills. I ended up beating 6 other really well-established agencies, and got the proposal. And that is when I realized that I have a gift when it comes to PPC, and that is when Trivium was born.
Connor: Thanks for sharing that! Can you dive a bit more into the services that you offer to help Amazon businesses improve? Our audience is always looking for reputable companies that they can lean on for specific parts of their eCommerce businesses.
Mina: We are an Amazon advertising partial team. We basically integrate with you or your team, and you get a team of 6 people to fully manage your Amazon advertising. We chat daily in Slack, and you really feel like you have an in-house division. We take over every single aspect of advertising, and provide the best in class analytics. We also are able to run Amazon DSP, that utilizes Amazon’s own audiences and first party data to track customers and advertise on and off Amazon, including retargeting.
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.
Mina: They sell high converting products (20% or more), doing $60k a month or more in revenue, with no more than 5 parent ASINs. They should also be selling in an English speaking marketplace ie USA, Canada or UK
Connor: For our audience to truly understand what makes you stand out from other in-house Amazon advertising teams in the space, can you share a story of how Trivium Group truly helped one of its customers?
Mina: We were able to grow one of our first clients from 0 – $320k a month in 13 months, with one single ASIN. We took a very systematic approach when launching campaigns. We started by doing keyword research, launching Auto, Broad, Phrase and exact campaigns. We then extracted profitable search terms every 3 days, and continued to launch with good campaign structure. We made sure every single keyword was getting spend, which also auditing all search terms multiple times per week. We created very clear analytics for him, which he used when we introduced him to our inventory lender, who helped him scale by getting a loan to buy more inventory. We continued to scale, but also to focus on ranking him organically on all major keywords. When he had an IP claim, we connected him to our lawyers and it was quickly resolved. Last month, our client, Joe, made $68k in PROFITS.
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 product or service for your customers?
Mina: We are looking to do one thing and one thing only. Become the absolute best Amazon PPC agency in the world. And we will do it the right way. By over-delivering so much and providing so much value, and by identifying all of our weaknesses and making them our strengths. We are relentless about continuous improvement and we will stop at nothing until we set the bar so high in this industry. We are not looking to “sell” anyone. We want to provide SO MUCH value that it would be silly not to do business with us. We are willing to outwork anyone to get there.
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?
Mina: That I was too good at sales, and resulted in a 12 week waitlist and my team literally yelling at me and saying “NO MORE CLIENTS”. I had made the mistake of not scaling my team fast enough. People wanted to work with us because we do not cut corners and the quality of work and innovation is incredibly high. And since I wont compromise on quality, we ended up with a massive waitlist and a full on pause for sales. Lesson learned!
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?
Mina: I totally see a recession affecting sales across all brands on Amazon. This means that brands will need to really get lean and improve their operational efficiency, their advertising efficiency, and prepare for things to get a bit worse before they get better. The best thing to do to prepare is get as lean as possible, think nimbly, and hustle like a scrappy startup.
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.
Mina: I think the biggest challenge especially for me when I started MMA Nutrition was knowing my numbers. I never really know how much my profits were. I tried to calculate it but never really built a profit and loss statement, and I think that really hurt me. I did not know when I could invest more and when I should have saved more. So now looking back, I think good bookkeeping is like air and water to a brand.
Connor: Okay, here’s an open mic opportunity. If there’s one thing that you’d want the EcomBalance community to hear from you, what would it be?
Mina: You will never fail if you never quit. That is a motto I live by that I learned in MMA. The only way you fail is if you quit. That is when you have a 0% change of winning. Until then, if you never quit, you will just keep learning and eventually you will make it.
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?
Mina: Here is a link to get a free PPC audit from Trivium – https://triviumco.com/get-free-audit/
My Instagram is @theminaelias and the company Instagram is @trivium_group
My linkedin is https://www.linkedin.com/in/mina-elias-52313772/
Feel free to DM me or connect with me on Linkedin!
