Partnerships & Collaborations

In this episode of the eCommerce Podcast, host Matt Edmundson welcomes Scott Overbeck from Seacoast Consulting Group to explore the intricacies of customer success strategies and monetising subscriber lists. Scott shares insights from his extensive experience with global corporations, revealing how small to medium-sized businesses can leverage strategic alliances to boost growth and revenue. The discussion delves into the concept of a customer success roadmap, illustrating how businesses can identify and introduce complementary products to their existing customer base, thereby enhancing value and increasing profits. Scott also offers practical advice on forming effective partnerships and avoiding common pitfalls. Whether you're a business owner with a substantial subscriber list or a high-quality product, this episode provides valuable strategies to maximise your eCommerce potential.

Mario Lanzarotti reveals why eCommerce entrepreneurs burn out and shares his Zenpreneur framework for scaling businesses without sacrificing wellbeing. From recognising burnout symptoms to implementing service-first approaches and building essential support systems, discover how prioritising wellbeing actually enhances business performance rather than competing with it.

Amazon has fundamentally shifted from an organic marketplace to a "pay to play" advertising ecosystem, creating new challenges and opportunities for sellers. Jon Tilley reveals how enterprise brands with deep pockets now dominate competitive categories, while specialist Amazon agencies experience explosive growth serving both traditional retail brands and individual sellers. Despite increased competition, significant opportunities exist in emerging international markets and niche categories, with unprecedented exit potential through the aggregator boom—but success now requires sophisticated strategy, substantial capital, and data-driven decision making rather than casual product launches.

Discover how smaller eCommerce businesses successfully acquire larger competitors through strategic financing and expertise. Stephen Speer, who has funded over half a billion dollars in eCommerce acquisitions, reveals the counterintuitive patterns, critical valuation factors, and preparation strategies that create acquisition success. Learn why growth through acquisition remains underutilized, how to evaluate potential targets, and the essential team structure required for deal success in this comprehensive guide to building your eCommerce empire through strategic purchases.

Discover why three quarters of agency work is managing expectations, not building websites. Robert Giovannini from Ironplane reveals the Stakeholder Matrix Framework that prevents costly project failures, explains the platform complexity paradox trapping mid-market businesses, and shares uncomfortable truths about agency relationships—including when agencies fire clients. Learn the pre-agency checklist that sets partnerships up for success and why being your agency's favourite client matters more than you think.

Most eCommerce businesses chase revenue targets that inspire nobody and create no competitive advantage. Mike Jones, organizational psychologist and former British Army officer, reveals why strategy is about choices, not forecasts. Discover the fundamental question every founder must answer, why clear purpose beats profit doubling, how mission command creates genuine empowerment, and why culture doesn't actually eat strategy for breakfast. Learn to develop strategy that fits on five pages, aligns your entire organization, and creates sustainable competitive advantage in crowded markets

Discover what your eCommerce business is actually worth and how to position it for successful sale. Brad Wayland from Quiet Light Brokerage reveals why 95% of traditional eCommerce businesses sell between 2.5-3.5 times annual profit, the three prerequisites before considering sale, and why "reckless honesty" about valuations leads to more deals closing at asking price. Learn when you should actually sell, when you should keep building, and how their 120-day listing approach differs from typical 6-12 month broker contracts.

Discover three battle-tested tips for startup success from Heikki Haldre, who's built six companies and sold four—including one to Rakuten. Learn why getting a co-founder (structured properly with vesting schedules) matters more than you think, why solving your own problem creates sustainable competitive advantage, and how embracing the courage to try transforms "silly" ideas into world-changing innovations. These aren't theoretical concepts—they're practical strategies that have generated millions in revenue and successful exits.

One supplier policy change cost Matt Edmundson £38 million in lost sales, nearly destroying his eCommerce business. This episode reveals how over-reliance on key suppliers creates catastrophic risk, why the shift to direct-to-consumer models threatens traditional retailers, and the practical framework for building supplier relationships that withstand market changes. Learn the hard-won lessons from someone who survived supplier disruption—so you don't have to learn them the expensive way.

Matt Edmundson launches a new eCommerce podcast built on 17 years of genuine experience—including spectacular failures alongside successes. Unlike highlight-reel content, this show features honest conversations with eCommerce experts, real-time coaching calls, and documentation of the ambitious Collab Project: building 100 eCommerce sites through collaboration. Discover practical insights on competing with Amazon, sourcing profitable products, and building sustainable online businesses through authentic dialogue that shares what doesn't work alongside what does.