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 Seth Hurd from Brand Expand, a launch service company based in United States.
Seth is a former financial accountant turned eCommerce entrepreneur. In 2015, he started his first online business with $1k and bootstrapped it to 7-figures in five years. During this time, he started Ecom Consulting which later became Ecom Enterprises. Today, “ECOM” consists of two subsidiaries, Brand Expand, which helps online businesses increase sales and brand awareness across multiple channels, and All Deals, which helps thousands of families save millions of dollars on discounted products.
In his free time, Seth enjoys spending time with his dog Lunabel, going to the beach, working out, and playing the cello. He also loves networking with like-minded individuals, so feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn or visit https://brandexpand.io/ to learn more!
We hope that you enjoy the interview and that it brings value to you as an eCommerce business owner.
Connor: Hey Seth, thanks for taking the time to chat with us here. We love getting to know our partners better so that our community can benefit from what our partners are offering and doing in the industry. To get started, can you give us a high level overview of Brand Expand and how it got started?
Seth: Brand Expand was created while I was still a third-party seller. While networking with many 7-9 figure sellers I noticed many of them didn’t have a reliable solution for driving external traffic to their listings. What started as a consulting agency (Ecom Consulting) grew into a launch service (Brand Expand) which later evolved into the SaaS we have today.
Connor: That’s awesome! Can you dive a bit more into the products and services that you offer to help ecommerce entrepreneurs grow? I’m sure our audience would love to know exactly what problems you could solve for them.
Seth: Sure! As I stated previously, we help third-party sellers drive external traffic to their listings and provide valuable feedback to improve conversion rates. Think of us as your partner in driving external customers to your product listings. Currently we have a large buyer-network that will purchase your product(s), answer questions to give you valuable feedback, and help expedite the sales flywheel.
Connor: Jumping off of that…if there was one problem you’d say that Brand Expand solves best for your clients, what would it be? Why?
Seth: Yep, expediting your product launch timeline. When I was a seller, it would take 6-12 months to organically launch a product, meaning you create a listing, stock the product, then maybe turn on PPC if your ACoS doesn’t break the bank. We shorten this window to 4-6 weeks. The launch can be a bit costly in the short-term, but the long-term ROI is worth it since you start seeing a boost in sales and keyword relevancy months before you normally would.
Connor: As the company continues to grow over the next year, what are your plans for expansion? Any new products or offerings or enhancements to your current products?
Seth: Absolutely! We are going to expand our networks and methods for driving traffic to listings. Most notably, we’ll help drive traffic from search-engines, social media, and affiliate networking. We’ll basically be a giant microphone to help brands expand their presence and sales.
Connor: And how specifically would you say that Brand Expand and your team is different from other launch and ranking agencies in the industry?
Seth: We actually have very few competitors, but what I’ve seen is many of them are focused on short-term wins and questionable, sometimes non-compliant methods of driving external traffic. Before every feature or decision is made we ask ourselves, “is this a long-term strategy,” and “will this be in the best interest of our sellers.” We also have a very challenging business model because what’s most effective for sellers is usually the least compliant so we continue to toe that line. We also have to simultaneously build a separate buyer network which is a whole new set of challenges. Basically, not many companies have, or are willing to venture down this rabbit hole.
Connor: What made you decide to get involved in the ecommerce agency space? What’s your starting eCommerce story? From what we’ve found, a lot of business owners in the space have fun stories of how they first started…
Seth: I got started as a third-party seller back in 2015, built a 7-figure business over five years then exited in 2021. I absolutely love what I do especially when I can share it with others and help them grow their businesses. That was the motivating factor to create the Brand Expand software, so I could solve the biggest challenge I had as a seller and share that solution with thousands of others to help them create million dollar businesses. We constantly have clients say “I love what you’re doing” and my response is always “I love what we’re doing too!”
Connor: Love it! Talking more about the eCommerce industry, where do you see it going in the next 1-2 years? Any unique predictions that you could share?
Seth: Aggregators have stopped gobbling up private-label brands due to unsustainable growth and increased rate hikes, so selling your business may be difficult over the next 1-2 years. A lot of shoppers will be more price-sensitive since we’re going into a recession. Price sensitivity will make it hard for sellers with narrow profit margins which is also why I think omni-channel will continue to grow.
I have been bullish on omni for years now and we’re just starting to see that take shape. Amazon is continuing to squeeze sellers’ profit margins (5%-10% on average) until they have no choice but to find another channel where their profit margins are closer to 20%-30%.
In the beginning, Walmart, Target, and Etsy, for example, may only account for 10%-20% of sales revenue but I think that will change in the coming years. Walmart and Target have a massive network of supercenters where they can distribute goods (1-hour delivery) and more shoppers want personalized goods and less “junk” which is why Etsy will continue to see explosive growth.
Connor: Giving you an open mic for a minute, what is something you’d want the EcomBalance audience to hear?
Seth: What I love about both EcomBalance and Brand Expand is that we’re run by formerly successful 3rd party sellers. We understand the difficulties building, maintaining, and successfully growing store fronts, and with that comes real insight. Sure, you can create a business having researched an industry, but actually being immersed in that industry for years and solving problems related to inefficiencies really puts you at an advantage.
Connor: Changing gears a little bit…When it comes to bookkeeping and accounting, what do you think the biggest pain points for business owners are? Feel free to speak from personal experience as well.
Seth: I love this question. I went to school for accounting and finance so I could use Xero and do my own bookkeeping, but 90% of sellers don’t have this knowledge and if they try to learn they’re bound to screw it up. Trust me, accounting is not something you pick up with a few Udemy courses. Things also happen 10X faster than they do in the real world so not having a reliable source and understanding your numbers can be catastrophic to your business. That said, I think the biggest pain points are:
- Not having accurate financials that are updated in near-real time
- Not having a consistent, reliable agency for bookkeeping, until now 🙂
- Never truly knowing your profit margins since the data provided by Amazon only shows gross profit
- Not knowing if your CGS is higher/lower vs. your competitors
- Not knowing how much your competitors are spending on PPC ads
- Not understanding your most important ratios (quick, working cap, gross/profit margins, etc.)
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?
Seth:
- Sellers can choose a subscription, or sign up for a discovery call at https://brandexpand.io/,
- Our affiliate partners can sign up for a free, affiliate-only account here: https://brandexpand.io/auth/signup-affiliate
For referrals, you both get $100 and the referee (e.g. Ecom Balance) will receive 10% of the referrals subscription revenue.
