Episode Summary
How to Grow and Accelerate Your Amazon FBA Brand – In this Prime Talk Podcast Video Sponsored by GETIDA – Vitalii Khyzhniak – CGO of Profit Whales – Exchange your performance with an innovative performance approach that accelerates businesses and helps brands to become Whales in their Ocean.
Profit Whales assists retail brands to become Whales in their ocean. We vote for AI but our performance goes far beyond it. For us, success is about the focused positive development of our clients. We believe in the sustainable and data-driven marketing approach based on the synergy of the machine and human decisions. The synergy of software and human intellect drives superior performance on e-commerce platforms. Our strategy is tied to the creation of long-term value for all our stakeholders.
GETIDA is actively dedicated to improving the overall operations of Amazon FBA sellers. We’ve developed robust auditing software that keeps track of your Amazon FBA inventory transactions, refunds, seller data analytics, and FBA reimbursements easily and clearly. We maintain an agreeable, established relationship with Amazon, and our dedicated case managers draw on that relationship when filing FBA reimbursement claims on your behalf.
Find the Full Transcript Below
Yoni Mazor 0:06
Hi everybody welcome to another episode of Prime Talk today I have a special guest today I’m having Vitalii Khyzhniak. We tell you the CTO of profit whales. Profit whales is an Amazon business accelerator for Amazon private label brands or Amazon brands. So Vitalii, welcome to the show.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 0:23
Hello Yoni. Nice to meet you. Thank you for having me today.
Yoni Mazor 0:26
Our pleasure Really? So today’s episode is going to be the episode of Vitalii Khyzhniak you’re going to share with us pretty much everything. Who are you? Where are you from? Where were you born? Where’d you grow up? Where’d you go to school? You know what kind of degree you got if you went to school, and How’d you end up in the world of e-commerce. So without further ado, let’s just jump right into it.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 00:49
Okay, perfect. So great. I guess Should start with a story. Right>
Yoni Mazor 00:54
Okay, because I think it’s gonna be interesting, a different direction. You know?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 0:58
Yeah. Yeah, that is true. That is very close. You know, I, I have a, I guess, like, a cool story about the, how they combine the culture and the like, all numbers thing. So like mathematic or sales, something like that. Because my family is like four of us. My parents, my sister, that older than me on 10 years, and me and they all like my parents to the theater. Yeah, they the actors. They’re the dancers. And they spend their whole life in the theater. And when it grew out, they’re
Yoni Mazor 1:37
Where. But which area? Which region? Tell us geography a bit? Oh, yeah.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 1:40
I’m from Ukraine from the, like the eastern east of that. It’s like the nickel f region. It’s around Nikolai region, Nikolayev here, right. It’s not a big city, but it’s close to the sea. So every time I’m surrounded around the rivers around the sea, and I spend all of the time it was water. All the stars. So
Yoni Mazor 2:09
When you say sea you mean the Black Sea? Right? Or the cast? Yeah.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 2:10
The Black Sea. Right. Right. Right. The black sea is close like Odessa. Maybe you know, something about that. And the Black Sea?
Yoni Mazor 2:19
Yeah, here is beautiful. Here. It’s very, very nice.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 2:22
Yeah, that is true this through. So it’s like the south of Ukraine that you can see. And there is amazing parts of the country. Because you know, you could combine it different, like climate for you that they could choose because right now I’m located in key for example, yeah, it’s, it’s like the central region of Ukraine. And it’s some kind of like different, but not so that we could feel for example, in the US in different states, something like that. But still, there is a cool, cool region,
Yoni Mazor 2:55
Right. So you yourself, were born in Nikolayev or you were born in Cuba?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 2:59
Yeah, I’m born in Nikolayev, and then just after the 20 years.
Yoni Mazor 3:07
The first 2o years of your life your Nikolayev and your parents you mentioned we’re in the world of theater in Nikolai even though what the local theatre Nikolayev.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 3:12
Right, local theatre is like the like National Theatre that we see now. And yeah, they expand the whole life of dancers then my father go to like the administration part when he did not like a dance. He started working with exact like enterprise companies.
Yoni Mazor 3:30
How old was your father wanted to transition to administration and basically stopped being a dancer. I wonder physically, what, what’s the lifespan of being a dancer in the theater? Was it 20 s, 40s?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 3:40
I guess? I guess like around 4os. Just over 40 years. Wow. It’s around like maybe like 37 or something like that. But lots just continue to do that. As to say like the bullets minister. I just hate the word, Master. Yeah. Yeah. For now. For now. Yeah. And my father now is like the chief, I guess like a sales officer if we could name it. In a case of like this theater part. Yeah. And yeah, he works exactly was a company’s in a case of dealing with a sale sell like this ticket stuff for a long term or short terms. And yeah, that’s why I just got all these things. In the case of this house, we are
Yoni Mazor 4:25
Very artistic. Yeah, very artistic and creative background. And your parents are still in that industry. Right? They’re still a theater business. Correct. Exactly. Exactly.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 4:33
Yeah, yeah, exactly. They do now. And when I grew up, I spent a lot of time inside like this theater, working with the actors every time playing with them. And I do not like just it’s some kind of like the hidden garden you know, when you every time your parent
Yoni Mazor 4:52
So this is your kindergartner the playground you wanted in the Korean meals you’re in the theater and living in the old world with the actors and dancers, but then Do you enter dancing or acting yourself on the stage? Or no?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 5:03
Yeah, I do the acting when I was young for some years, sometimes some are like, Acts, they just need like a like voice or something like that. They took me as a part. But it wasn’t too long, because my parents don’t like the idea that I will continue to do that data. In a case of like the dancing, or in the case of the theater as like the general one. That’s why that was the first thing that they did not allow me to do. So. Yeah. If I said, like, when I, like, was young that I would like to go to some dance club, they say, okay, you could do it, but no, you will go to the swimming. And, okay, I will do swimming.
Yoni Mazor 5:49
And what the reason they did, because it was a tough business for them or a tough industry for them. And they wanted the hope for you to be in an industry that has more opportunity, or something else.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 5:59
Yeah, they, they just leave this industry here, they understand how difficult this industry could be, and they understand what they will get after the 40 years inside this industry. So they have suffered, I understand how it’s like effects on you. When you work in such I guess too often not. Not, it’s not like it’s not about the profit here. But still, when you have like two children, you need to understand how to grow them up and how to, work with them in the right way. And the theater is some kind of when you should find every time the opportunities it’s like fighting for all the things so it’s difficult in…
Yoni Mazor 6:42
A lot of management. Yeah, you’re very attached to it. It’s very demanding. It’s constantly satisfying other people. But being in you know, in this industry is not always financially rewarding to the amount the level of dedication that you have. Because there are also ups and downs, sometimes it’s good shows, sometimes not so good shows it’s cyclical, right. So I guess they hope for a better future for you. So what they invested in your education and mathematics and science,
Vitalii Khyzhniak 7:06 proceed
Yes, they started investing in different parts of that I have now as the English for example, they I just got the English courses on the beginning. And I spent a lot of time and during the week after This cool on additional, like, courses, the English one, and then I started to the sports as swimming. And I like I’ve been involved for it now like 10 years when I just do the school when I studied in school and all this stuff and also my school. It’s like this special one. curious, what
Yoni Mazor 7:43
What the special school for what, swimming?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 7:46
No no, no, for like some mathematic kind of it. I do mathematic and I really like that. And I guess it’s some kind of that’s my parents provide me to do Yeah because I really like the idea of how to calculate the right things, how to predict how to do the forecasts, but I got it, I don’t know, like on 10s or nines here, when I was in the school. So that was really cool. Because I got a chance to combine everything that I got in my like, young here and childhood from the culture side here and combine it with the English and was mathematic that I get from this school.
Yoni Mazor 8:32
Interesting combination but small question but the swimming Did you compete or no?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 8:37
Yeah, they’re I do really like the streaming but I got some problems with my like heart. And I just post my professional career and my mother did not appreciate when I do some sports professionally. And when she saw that I started to like playing football, for example, was a big involving and I said hey, I would like just to go to some club and to spend time as a professional footballer, she said okay, but no, you will do the economics, you will do the mathematic, you will do the English and that’s…
Yoni Mazor 9:11
The only reason I’m asking about the swimming is because it’s interesting because we did have a meet Rosenthal in one of our episodes, he’s from Rosenthal, Rosenthal Logistics, he’s from Israel based out of Haifa. And growing up he was also a swimmer and he competed you know it’s a very I used to go three times a day to go train and everything but he still got an education and after you know he got his degree he went to work and actually video editing and now he has his own logistics company but it’s interesting because swimming the demands a lot of discipline and being focused and stuff like that and being very confident that we can do so.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 9:43
There is a great sport you know and right now is like one of the the main hobby that I have and I do swimming right now I really like like have these sports helps you to stay in the right feet, you know and it’s a great sport. When you could think when you swim, I guess it’s like some kind of like deamidation for you when you swing correctly. So I really like that. And yeah, I guess that that foresight creates, like, part of my life when I spent like a professional side of it. And yeah,
Yoni Mazor 10:20
So I guess there are four things now the culture, the theater, the English, the math and the sports, the physical sports, which is swimming. So you have these foundations built into you to create your character. But Alright, so let’s talk about how after high school, what do you do after high school you went to university and Nikolai or you want to somewhere else?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 10:38
On the beginning, like on my, the last year in school, I think that I will do the chemical stuff, I will spend a time [inaudible] It’s like two main universities that we have for this fear. But I like I just changed my opportunities and thinking that I would like to do the economics because, with the help of the economics, you could combine the mathematic and the English, English as some kind of the communication part. And the like numbers Yeah, that you’d like to do. The forecasts are the main understanding of the economics. That’s why I have I have choose like the our local university now with the opportunity to do and to have all studying like for the next four years in English, and it’s like this special course because in Nikolayev, I, you do not think that you will have an opportunity to do all your lectures and all your courses in English, but inside our university, I got this chance and there is perfect because, with the help of it, I got a chance to be as the international students for my next conferences that I have. Yeah, I have had during the next four years when…
Yoni Mazor 12:01
You’re saying that your local Nikolov university had a special program where you can, you know, become, you know, an international student, what does that mean? You go outside, you go to special summit meetings.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 12:12
So the main thing that you have a really great number of the professors that and teachers that working with you, they all have them they have the international experience was a different courses so or summit, or, like degrees from the international universities. According to that. I just started learning the economics in English that is like what some kind of like difficult for you on the beginning. But then you understand that all international conferences and opportunities, it’s like open to you, I mean that you have a chance to, for example, pass some exams, and God the internship in one country for a few months, for example. And after that, I just heard that.
Yoni Mazor 13:02
Got it. So tell me what year did you start basic learning in university? Let’s give it some let’s start by matching the years into the story.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 13:08
Yeah, so that’s I have started, I guess it’s like 2013, my, my first year. And it’s like, I just begin a career as a freshman. And I understand that I will do all things like Luckily, you know, and I think that I will be a good student, I will pass all needed exams and stuff like that. But no, after the first and a half year, no, I have a happy new year, like first six months, I do everything correctly. But after the first exams, understand that I would like to get some move. And to travel. For example, could I get some conferences and travel with the help of like, some international opportunities. And here I got my first like mentor, I guess my teacher for the English and the International communications. She helped me to choose the college, the University the practice University. In Yeah, program for the next University, which University. It’s the Carlow University in Karloff and we’re proud Prauge Yeah, yeah. Yeah, in Prague. Yeah. Got it. And I just had my first travel and course was the students in my group for the three weeks around that. And we started and I really liked that I had the opportunity to travel to study the same like study since the same courses that I have here in Nicolette but in Prauge in the Czech Republic, why not? And according to that, I just started my career as like the international one and I did not pass the right amount of the nice It courses inside the Nikolayev but I started my career as the international student traveling around Europe. And that was amazing. Because in the beginning, I couldn’t imagine that I will have a chance to do that and to catch the like international do Europe experience and the studying around the world? Yeah.
Yoni Mazor 15:23
Got it. Okay, so you went to Prague and what was the rest of the journey in terms of studying in Europe? There’s more places you visited or you started? Yeah, give us a breakdown. Give us a quick breakdown.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 15:35
After that I just got a Germany I just the France I just in Poland to the turkey? The Italy and yeah, I guess I guess that is all. In the end. I just visited the different cities and different universities.
Yoni Mazor 15:52
How many years. All this journey for how many years? One year? Three or four? No, no, it’s like four years. so far about 2013. All the way to about 2017.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 16:01
Yeah, yeah, I do like different courses for different time periods. Some of them were was like around like, the minimum was around like one week, the maximum that I had is around like half a year and you spend in travel for in different countries here to stay and leave and to work. Not like work you study. Yeah. And get some…
Yoni Mazor 16:22
So financially, how did you support yourself? if you’re traveling everywhere? I know, in Europe studying was this program paid for? or?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 16:29
Yeah, you like you got the grants from these programs, and they provide you with all needed financial support. But my first conference, my parents helped me to get as the, like, the first opportunity. Yeah, I just said, Hey, I need your support and help. And they every time helped me in incarcerations, like Samsung crucial today, it’s like, okay, yeah, let’s try. And they just pro allow me to do and after that, all our conferences, they like granted, yeah, with the help of these European Union or something like that the Erasmus plus programs. So yeah, that was like, amazing thing.
Yoni Mazor 17:08
Right. And so you were basically studying around Europe, but the subject was still what economics?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 17:15
Yeah, economics and marketing is the main two subjects that I have studied and been involved in in these programs, I pass some courses and exams for getting these grants. And yeah, I do a lot of like, the learning courses and the preparing some programs with analyzing some businesses or some marketing situations in the world or some companies for getting these grants. And yeah, that was awesome.
Yoni Mazor 17:46
Very, very cool and interesting experience. I haven’t yet met such an experience in terms of studying at University in so many places. So I think it’s it’s pretty awesome. So you have a lot of perspective on what’s going on and in many different cultures. But so in 2017 you got your degree and what did you graduate? Where did you go to back in Nikolayev or?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 18:03
Yeah I graduate in Nikolayev. It was not so easy because when it come back, I do have a loss of not close like studies. Yeah, I need to close them. It’s like a lot of Yeah, I just started, like, do all needed studies inside in eco life. And I do not have a lot of time for that. So I start to close all my lessons and things, thanks to I guess my like my head of the department of the economist, she helped me to close all the things in the college and I got my first bachelor’s degree in economics. And then I understand that I would like to like to continue to do what I do, but and get a salary for that, like start working.
Yoni Mazor 18:50
Yeah. Start companies. Yeah. So it was basically after graduating, you want to start becoming a paid professional. Right? Yeah. Take us there. What was the next question for you after college university?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 19:01
I got my first job when I was on the cert year of my university, and I just started to combine that. And I first, that was my first meeting with the international like the digital marketing as the Google AdWords, Google Analytics and LD stuff. I have. Yeah, Samsung guys and Nikolai of the just had, like three of them. They had a business, and they try to do the collaboration for creating the international marketing agency, that they will help us businesses to grow up and to build their own in-house team. So with digital marketing, as the Google adverts tend to Google Analytics was all the stuff. And I was like the first one in their startup.
Yoni Mazor 19:56
This was early 2016 when you’re still in school?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 19:58
Yeah, yeah. No, no in university.
Yoni Mazor 20:02
Yeah. So, remotely, you’re working for a company based in Nikolayev, but you’re working remotely, and you’re doing digital marketing.
Vitalii Khyzhniak 20:09
Yeah, I just, I have finished some of my conferences, I just come back, and I get a chance to be Nikolayev and to work and combine the university and work. And, yeah, I really liked this idea, because we spent a lot of time like, was a cold calling, you know, I’m so sorry, if somebody’s listening, and I have some time call you for that. That was a big, big like database, you know, with a phone call, when we just do the calling and saying, Hey, my name is and I just got a nickname, I say, James. And that that was funny. I really like that, because we do alike, certain 1000s of calls, you know, like, during, I guess, like half of the year or one year, and you every time on the call, I want the first weeks when we do like the testing and all this stuff. When I sleep, I saw my dreams when I call and repeat all the scripts. So I really liked that. Because after this, like all things and when we got our first clients, we started to understand their business. I like insight. And here, I understand that my main motivation for this job. And I guess for the next and that I have now is to help businesses to grow and to find the right business opportunities for them. And there is amazing because it’s some kind of optimization of processes. Sometimes there is about the team that is about the right using of your finance. And here I just combined like the server think of understanding, I just put here the mathematic approach that I do when I like, setup on YouTube campaigns inside the Google adverts, and the analytics that we use. I really like the communication that we like to have in English. Yeah. And every time try to understand your clients correctly. And here’s like, the third one is like the main motivation why you do that you want to achieve some good results for someone, for someone that, like, try to build something with you. And that there was some it’s really amazing because we started to grow up, say I were like the first one in their startup and it was Cooper and like five of us. And then we like grow up to like 1212 people. It’s a good result for the international company.
Yoni Mazor 22:37
Yeah. Okay, so So how long did you stay there for you started 2016? What were what was the next station after that?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 22:46
That we’re going to these companies horsing around, like up to two years, I guess around that. And after that, we just start focusing on the like, freelance experience about the same stuff. But I need more time for helping my family. Because I as I have mentioned, I do have my older sister that right now has helped like people as a psychologist that she just works with them, and I just start helping her with her business. And I will also be involved in one international like big, like NGO, for the international students around Europe. NGOs, non government organizations. Yeah, yeah, exactly the name of these organizations like the Ayesha it’s the if like to try to say it in English, it’s because it’s like the French name of the organization, some kind of the student’s forum, something like that. And very the students do the cultural exchange, by their own opportunities and their own, like availabilities to do that. And that was perfect because I brought the like, president of the Asia DSM. And you’re the president, for instance. Yeah, I was the president. So for some period of Iser, I say, Yeah, I guess
Yoni Mazor 24:20
What it is, yeah, like how do you spell it Asia, like, the continent. No, no, like A E G E E. Sounds like that. Got Asia, Odessa. Yeah. Right. Alright. So you’re the president of Asia. This seems like you’re the president of the whole Asia and Oh, that’s a pretty big Empire. Combined, you know economics, you know, marketing. In my 20, just a president of Asia.
Yoni Mazor 24:45
That’s pretty big. That includes China and Japan and everybody anyways. All right, very good. So this is around 2018 as I understand, You were involved with NGO, red with Asia, Asia, Odessa and helping your sister out, and what was the next stage For you,
Vitalii Khyzhniak 25:01
The next station was the key of I have, I got the job opportunity in one. As I think the innovation company that deals with AR like the augmented reality, and I got the job opportunity, opportunity from them on the position as the chief marketing officer. And when I get a chance to build as a department, because on my first job place, I do the same. I’ve just built the departments for the link, the sales, the marketing, 22 campaign, and like the business development for them, with all that,
Yoni Mazor 25:38
So what’s yours is when you are this is an I guess a very big four year for you because you changed from Nicola living there, too. Yeah, the big city, the big boom, the New York City of Ukraine, which is a good, big, beautiful business city. And what year was that?
Vitalii Khyzhniak 25:52
That I guess it’s like around 2018, 2019.
Yoni Mazor 25:56
Sp you go and you will become the CMO, the Chief Marketing Officer
