This Issue's TLDR...

• I'm giving away a list of lenders that can offer *non-predatory* debt capital for your Amazon business
• A new way to use Search Query Performance data
• The current market for Amazon business exits

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A few months back, I published a 3-part series in this newsletter on unlocking cash flow and smarter borrowing.

If you missed it, go get caught up now:

​Part 1: The Different Types of Debt Financing for your Business​

​​Part 2: A Side-By-Side Comparison of Debt Options (and How to Evaluate Them)​​

​Part 3: Insider Secrets from a Commercial Lender​

Around the same time that I published that series, I joined my good friend Josh Hadley on his Ecomm Breakthrough podcast to chat about different ways to unlock cash flow and be a smarter borrower.

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First of all, if you don't have the time or the patience to watch/listen to the episode, here are a few of the things that I said:

1. It's amazing how you can kind of hack together different solutions that expand your payment terms and reduce or maybe eliminate the need for debt.
2. Before you consider getting a loan, you have to first work with your supplier. That is your best inventory source; that is your best financing partner ever.
3. Finance and numerical literacy is going to be the skill that sellers and brands need to level up in.
4. A lot of sellers are realizing now, maybe a year or two years after taking a loan, that they are smothered by debt payments.
5. Part of the problem is you're chasing growth, and that growth needs capital and it causes you to overextend.
6. If you need to finance your business and you think your options are fintech versus traditional lenders, those are not the only two options.

I want to expand a bit on #6 above: Lender Options.

I have a rolodex of ~50 lenders across all of the different types of debt financing.

And it's not just a rolodex of names and emails. It's relationships with these lenders that I've built up over several years.

I don't share it widely because, well, honestly:

But, for all of you, my dear B@A readers, I'll offer a "snack".

Here are my Top 3 lenders, across 3 different debt types:

Asset-Based Lending

• Assembled Brands
• Dwight Funding
• Rosenthal

PO / Inventory Financing

• 8Fig
• ClearCo
• Settle

Revenue-Based Financing

• Stenn
• Uncapped
• Wayflyer

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If you're in need of capital for your Amazon or eCommerce business, or want to get connected to my contacts at one or more of these lenders, just reply to this message.

Note that, while I have relationships with these lenders, and many of them offer referral fees, in each case I've asked these lenders to apply "my" referral fees to better rates for my Capital Advisory clients. This avoids conflicts of interest and ensures that my clients receive "below market" offers.

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PS: If YouTube isn't your thing, here are some other ways to watch or listen to the episode:

• ​Ecomm Breakthrough Website & Blog
• ​Apple Podcasts​
• ​Spotify Podcasts​

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FRIENDS OF B@A EcomCrew There's no real call-to-action with this Friends of B@A shout-out. I just thought this data was cool/interesting. Also, why is AdBadger $400/month?? That can't be right... ​ Don't Want Software? Get Your PPC Professionally Managed

BEST from LinkedIn

To date, most Amazon thought leaders and practitioners have focused on the "customer journey" insights from the Search Query Performance report.

That's great and all, but it's just one application of SQP reporting.

I've previously written about how your can use SQP to inform your Prime Exclusive Discounts and eliminate Add-to-Cart Leakage.

Adding to the list of use cases for SQP is Alexander Swade (Sr Director of Amazon Ads at Thrasio), who shared an insightful approach to examining price data at the keyword level, and using that data to inform your PPC targeting.

Thanks, Alexander.

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BEST from X

If you're not using Search Query Performance, let alone *any* of the first-party data that Amazon makes available, you're falling behind.

A lot of sellers get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of market intelligence and customer journey data that Amazon now offers, and they simply ignore it.

Don't be that seller.

Follow folks like Bryan Porter from Simple Modern on X, and Mansour Norouzi from Incrementum Digital on LinkedIn. Go back and read some of my old posts on advanced SQP analyses.
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And, if you need someone to begin, start with this tweet from Bryan 👇

Bryan Porter @jbryanporter We don't pay for any Amazon data. Amazon gives everything you need for free. The SQP report tells sellers search volume, impressions, clicks and purchases for their top 1k keywords. How we use this report to understand what drives our Amazon business (+ a great free tool):… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1821528147411529844 7:45 AM • Aug 8, 2024 7 Retweets 54 Likes Read 4 replies

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The most common question that I get from Amazon brand owners and entrepreneurs looking to exit their business is:

I understand why the question is always top-of-mind, but it's difficult to answer.

I can give a range based on different data sources that I have, plus direct observations. But that broad range will always dilute important facts that drive value in an individual deal, like:

• Was the business priced to sell quickly?
• Who was the business marketed to?
• Is the business dependent on a single channel, or is it diversified?

And so on and so forth.

Point is...it's a nuanced question that is facts and circumstances based.

In our world of instant gratification, that's unhelpful to most, though.

So, when met with the "multiple range" question, I hee-haw a bit and then share a range, plus 1-2 data points that might be representative of what the brand that I'm talking to might expect.

I was recently talking to a small dog brand moving its assortment in the direction of pet food and pet treats.

They weren't ready to exit, but they nevertheless wanted to get a sense of the market.

This is the data point that I gave them as a potential "stretch" valuation for them 👇

Fan Bi (buying $5-30M DTC brands) @lifeofbi Good comp for folks interested in LMM consumer deals: SavourLife dog food, gets acquired by SunRice food conglomerate for $13.4m in cash, on $21.8m revenue (0.6x) and $1.8m in EBITDA (7.4x). The business was founded in 2014 and bootstrapped. Great outcome for the founders. 12:9 PM • Aug 8, 2024 0 Retweets 10 Likes Read 1 replies

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PS: If you want an indicative multiple range right now, based on deal sizes <$5mm and for Amazon-focused businesses, the range that I would give you is 2.9x - 4.1x.

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