Empire Flippers Podcast

For Amazon sellers, discovery determines everything. If customers can't find your products, nothing else matters.
What many sellers haven't realized is how quickly Amazon's discovery engine is changing.
Amazon is moving beyond traditional keyword-driven search toward AI-powered, intent-based answers through Rufus. This impacts how products are surfaced, compared, and ultimately purchased.
In this episode of The Opportunity Podcast, we're joined by Jon Tilley, CEO and co-founder of ZonGuru, to unpack what this change means for sellers.
For years, growth on Amazon centered around search volume, keyword placement, and ranking tactics. But Amazon is now interpreting intent, not just indexing terms. The platform is increasingly focused on understanding what shoppers are trying to accomplish, not simply what they typed into the search bar.
That changes how listings should be structured and how images communicate value. It changes how sellers approach visibility, conversion, and long-term positioning.
In our conversation, we discuss what sellers are getting wrong, which outdated techniques are still being used, and what it will take to stay competitive heading into 2026.

If you're building or scaling on Amazon, this episode will help you understand where the platform is heading and how to position your business for what comes next.
Topics Discussed in this episode:
How Rufus and AI-based discovery are changing the Amazon marketplace (04:59)
Rufus's big impact on Black Friday 2025 (09:23)
How Amazon sellers can convert more using Rufus (11:40)
How to make listing images more readable for Rufus (15:25)
The aspects of your listing that matter most for visibility and ranking (18:26)
Outdated techniques that Amazon sellers still use (21:10)
Services ZonGuru offers that can help sellers optimize for Rufus (24:25)
How to stay ahead as an Amazon seller in 2026 (27:52)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to optimize your Amazon listings for AI-based discovery.

Many entrepreneurs leave huge sums of money on the table because they don't understand business credit.
In this episode, Ty Crandall, CEO of Credit Suite, breaks down how business credit really works and how online business owners can use it as a serious growth and acquisition tool.
We start by unpacking the key differences between business credit and personal credit, and why separating the two is critical if you want to scale responsibly.

Ty explains the types of business credit you can access without personal guarantees and what actually goes into a business credit score.
From there, Ty walks us through how to identify which business credit cards truly count as credit lines, the four credit tiers businesses move through as they build credibility, and how tradelines function specifically for online businesses.
We also dig into how entrepreneurs can qualify for 0% interest cards and when it makes sense to use them.

Finally, we tackle how to use creative financing and business credit to acquire companies. We compare SBA loans and revenue-based financing and discuss when each option makes sense for acquisitions.
If you're an online business owner thinking about scaling, buying your first company, or simply becoming more fundable, this episode is packed with insights you can apply immediately.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
How business credit differs from personal credit (04:00)
The types of business credit you can get without personal guarantees (06:02)
What makes up a business credit score (09:44)
How to know which business credit cards count as credit lines (12:43)
The four business credit tiers for building credit (15:32)
How tradelines work for online businesses (21:25)
How entrepreneurs can gain access to 0% interest cards (28:47)
Is using business credit risky? (30:47)
Using creative financing to acquire businesses (36:48)
SBA vs RBF for business acquisition financing (48:39)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to fund growth and acquisitions without risking your personal finances.

No one works harder than a founder, but at what point does being the main salesperson for your business stop being a strength and start becoming a liability?
In this episode, remote sales expert Kai Law breaks down why founder-led sales often become a bottleneck and what to do before it hurts your revenue and eventually your valuation.

Drawing on his experience building and leading remote sales teams across multiple industries, Kai explains why you need to improve your own sales skills and processes first before expanding your team.
Kai then explains which roles founders should hire first to remove themselves from sales, how communication directly affects client retention, and how to reduce friction between lead flow and fulfillment. He also explains compensation models that drive real sales performance and the common hiring mistakes that cause sales teams to struggle.
For founders thinking about scale, Kai compares building an in-house sales team versus using a sales agency and explains when each option makes sense. He also shares what to look for when hiring sales reps and how to onboard them so they add momentum instead of slowing deals down.
If you want a business that can grow, operate, and hold value without the founder closing every deal, this episode gives you a clear place to start.
Topics Discussed in this episode:
Boost your own sales skills and process before outsourcing (04:09)
The hidden risks of founder-dependent sales (05:48)
Communication is key to client retention (08:53)
Early warning signs that a founder has become a revenue bottleneck (11:53)
The first hires that help founders step out of sales (15:24)
The best compensation models for your sales team (17:04)
Common mistakes founders make when hiring sales teams (19:44)
In-house sales team vs sales agencies (25:26)
Mistakes people make when trying to get a sales job (31:56)
The biggest habit that will make you a better salesperson (39:49)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to build a sales team that will skyrocket your growth.

Everyone is rushing to "optimize for AI." Most are doing it wrong.
In this episode, Tim Soulo, the Chief Marketing Officer at Ahrefs, cuts through the noise around AEO and GEO and explains why business owners are massively overcomplicating what visibility really means today.

While AI-powered search feels new and unpredictable, Tim argues that the same core SEO principles still apply. Create genuinely useful content for your audience, and the algorithms tend to follow.
We dive into how traditional SEO compares to AEO and GEO, and where AI actually changes the game. Tim breaks down how large language models decide what to surface and answers a question many founders are asking right now: how much should you realistically invest in boosting AI visibility before the returns flatten out?
Tim explains why creating content purely for AI is a mistake, and how updating existing content, improving clarity, and leveraging social media can increase AI visibility without risking long-term trust. He also challenges the idea that SEO has to be slow, showing how AI can help businesses move faster when used correctly.
If you want a practical, hype-free take on AI and SEO, this episode delivers.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
How traditional SEO compares to AEO and GEO (03:44)
Overcoming the pitfalls of AI overviews (06:44)
Understanding LLM algorithms (09:42)
Analysing how well you rank in ChatGPT (12:46)
How much should you invest in boosting your visibility? (19:33)
Creating content for people, not for AI (25:34)
Using social media to improve your AI visibility (27:34)
How to update your existing content to make it more AI-friendly (30:02)
Using AI to help you rank faster (38:47)
Will traditional SEO remain relevant or fade away? (42:51)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to optimize your brand's visibility in the age of AI.

When many entrepreneurs go to sell their business, they're more focused on their business than on the buyer.

Understanding how buyers approach an acquisition, particularly when it comes to funding and deal structure, can help you position your business for the most profitable exit.

In this episode of The Opportunity podcast, Greg breaks down how buyers actually think when evaluating an acquisition and why financing plays such a critical role in deal outcomes. While sellers often fixate on valuation, buyers are just as focused on how they will pay for the business and how much risk they are taking on.
Greg walks us through how SBA loans can allow buyers to bring more cash to the table, and why small mistakes with these loans by sellers often cause deals to fall apart. He also explores alternative funding options like revenue-based financing and how buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses more efficiently.
The conversation dives into seller financing and earnouts, not as compromises, but as powerful deal-making tools that can expand the buyer pool and unlock higher overall valuations. Greg also shares why setting up a US entity can make your business more attractive to buyers, especially for international sellers.
If you're thinking about selling in the next few years, this episode will help you start positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine that buyers can confidently finance and pay a premium for.

Topics Discussed in this episode:
Thinking like a buyer and understanding buyer financing tools (00:52)
SBA loans and how they dramatically increase money upfront (03:21)
The biggest SBA mistake sellers make and how deals fall apart (04:31)
Alternative funding options like revenue-based financing (06:31)
How buyers use leverage and other people's money to acquire businesses (08:19)
Seller financing and earnouts as deal-making tools (09:53)
Why setting up a US entity can dramatically improve exit outcomes (14:34)
Positioning your business as a scalable, buyer-friendly machine (16:03)
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Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to make your business 'funding friendly'.