Carlos Cashman – Lessons from the Amazon Ecosystems – [Founder’s Field Guide, EP.15]

My guest today is Carlos Cashman,  co-founder and co-CEO of Thrasio an acquirer of third-party Amazon sellers. In a surprising departure for a high growth company, Thrasio has been profitable since its founding in 2018 and was most recently valued at $1 billion. In our conversation we discuss the full spectrum of the Amazon third party seller ecosystem, the effects of globally commoditized manufacturing, and the terms of Thrasio's acquisitions of Amazon businesses. I hope you enjoy this great conversation with Carlos Cashman.  

 

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content check out https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/28372673/cashman-lessons-from-the-amazon-ecosystem

 

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Show Notes

[00:02:44] – [First question] – Origin of Thrasio

[00:07:27] – The types of business they work with

[00:11:19] – Challenges for smaller businesses selling on Amazon and when they need a Thrasio

[00:15:31] – How the Amazon ecosystem has changed since they started

[00:18:14] – The capital sourcing side of their business

[00:19:49] – Future of the ecommerce space that has them excited

[00:27:20] – What makes the major online powerful so powerful for DTC companies

[00:32:18] – How edge erodes on spend when people crowd into a platform

[00:34:46] – Building the recognition of the Thrasio brand

[00:44:06] – His history as an entrepreneur and what was the common thread in these businesses

[00:45:47] – Getting customers early on

[00:46:47] – Knowing when something will fail

[00:48:48] – Downside of MBA’s

[00:50:07] – The importance of people in building a company

[00:51:01] – Effectively hiring people

[00:52:37] – What has to remain with the founder

            [00:52:50] – The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

[00:53:53] – Other places in ecommerce that fascinate him

[00:56:36] – What are the risk factors that he worries about

[00:59:12] – Kindest thing anyone has done for him