Jon Derkits

BEST@AMAZON NEWSLETTER --> https://bestatamazon.ck.page/

QUICK CHAT --> https://tidycal.com/jonderkits/quick-chat
AMAZON COACHING & ADVISORY --> https://tidycal.com/jonderkits/amazon-coaching-and-advisory

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Hi, I'm Jon and I'm a builder. 

Over the course of my 15-year career in management consulting and technology companies, I've built teams, I've built processes, I've built products, and I've built businesses (the 10-figure kind). I'm at my best when I'm in a role with scope and significance, and my superpower is consistency.

Some things I'm GOOD at include dealing with ambiguity and making good decisions in fast-paced, uncertain environments. Some things I'm *GREAT* at include obsessing over customers and developing my people.

Follow me here on LinkedIn if you want to hear my thoughts on Amazon, building great teams, or the current state of Chicago sports.

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CLIFTON STRENGTHS
Harmony, Achiever, Learner, Positivity, Ideation

DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE
eCommerce, Marketplaces/Platforms, Valuation 

FUNCTIONAL SKILLS
Business Performance Measurement, Category Management, Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Financial Statement Analysis, Lean Six Sigma, P&L Ownership, Strategic Planning, Team Leadership, Written Communication

TECHNICAL SKILLS
Amazon Seller Central, Bloomberg, Capital IQ, Microsoft Office, SQL, Tableau

Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

How I'd fix LinkedIn

1) Add a Copilot button
2) When posts include multiple images, make them swipable carousels (like Instagram); not whatever this garbage UX is called
3) Make it easier to search your own activity history (posts, comments, etc)
4) Reduce AI slop by 50% in 2026, and then by another 50% in 2027. Suppress reach of AI posts and comments.
5) Reduce reach of "comment X for Y" engagement bait posts
6) Implement a Creator Revenue Sharing program, similar to X
7) Create different feed views. One for 1st connections only; one for 1st through 3rd connections (or whatever the feed algo is now); and one for "interests" as defined by the user.
8) Turn LinkedIn into a platform where experts can monetize their expertise more directly -- i.e., build an "intro.co" platform within LinkedIn
9) Fix InMail. At minimum, give me more filing/organizing options than "Focused" and "Other".
10) Get rid of the dumb games feature. If LinkedIn is really meant to be a space for professionals, don't muddy the brand by maintaining this little corner of the platform that is all about juicing user engagement metrics.

Buying & Building eCommerce Agencies | Ex-Amazon

Me, walking away from an otherwise smart LinkedIn post polluted with AI replies

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TWO (RELATED) PREDICTIONS for 2026 👇 

1) AI content will become indistinguishable from human-made content

2) Because of #1, consumers will crave truly authentic human outputs (the pendulum probably won't swing this direction until 2027 or later)

Tell me in the comments why I'm wrong about this 🫠

Lest you feel like you can relax now that Q4 is over, I'll remind you that consumers are sitting on BILLIONS in gift cards from various retailers, just itching to spend them. 

Amazon ALONE reports >$5 billion in unused gift card liabilities on its balance sheet each year.

Amazon hasn't yet filed its FYE Dec 31, 2025 annual report yet, but here's the gift card balances sitting on its balance sheet for the past 3 years:

Dec 31, 2024: $5.6 billion
Dec 31, 2023: $5.3 billion
Dec 31, 2022: $5.4 billion

To put this in perspective, if Amazon were a bank, this amount of "deposits" would put it in the Top 10% of largest banks in the country.

#amazon
#amazonfba
#amazonsellers

This is Amazon's 4th attempt at Making Retail Great Again.

Over the past decade, Amazon has tried (and mostly failed) with:

-Amazon Books (bookstores, duh)
-Amazon 4-Star (gift-focused outlet)
-Amazon Go (automated grab-and-go stores)
-Amazon Fresh (mainstream grocery)

I'll go on the record here:

👉  I don't think Amazon will succeed with the big box format.

I think the only shot that Amazon has at winning in physical retail is to copy the Costco warehouse club format, and create an exclusive bulk buying experience for its Prime members.

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#amazon
#ecommerce
#retail

The big news from CES 2026 that *no one* is talking about...

👉  Amazon is pivoting from a "hardware-first" strategy to an "AI-services-first" model

And the cornerstone of this pivot is the launch of Alexa.com, which brings the generative AI-powered Alexa+ directly to people's browsers.

Here's why this matters:

1) For the first time, users do not need an Echo speaker to enter the Alexa ecosystem. 

By launching a web-based chat interface at Alexa.com, Amazon is moving into direct, side-by-side competition with ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

2) Amazon's differentiator isn't just "smarter" conversation; it's the ability to execute workflows (particularly shopping-related workflows). 

Alexa+ is being positioned as a "personal chief of staff".

3) This will further fuel the Amazon Prime flywheel.

Alexa+ will cost $19.99/month as a standalone subscription. BUT: It is included for free with an Amazon Prime membership.

At roughly $240/year for the standalone AI vs. the $139/year Prime membership, Prime becomes an even more obvious value proposition for heavy AI users.

#ces2026
#amazon
#amazonalexa

Amazon's big announcement at CES is that it is pivoting from a "hardware-first" strategy to an "AI-services-first" model. 

Inari Medical

Principal Account Manager, Field Sales Trainer

Account Manager

Terumo Interventional Systems

Strategic Account Manager

Bard Davol

Territory Manager with C.R. Bard, a Surgical Division of BD

Territory Manager

Medtronic

Responsible for meeting and exceeding sales goals by advancing high quality medical supplies utilizing a solution based concept sell to the Acute Care marketplace within the Chicago territory.

- 2014 Regional Impact Salesperson of the Year

For a detailed list of accomplishments, please request my resume.

Account Representative

Cbeyond

Results driven sales leader, successful at creating partnerships and business development in a highly competitive marketplace, helping businesses to re-imagine IT through utilizing cloud solutions, managed services, and broadband technology. 

Responsibilities include prospecting opportunities to build strategic relationships with C-suite level executives that bring in revenue over and new business growth over an expanded sales cycle.

- #1 Top Sales March through June 2012
- #1 Top Sales Revenue Growth May 2012

Senior Account Executive

Responsible for managing sales team with expectation of revenue generation and customer retention through solution selling strategies. 

- Top Market Manager 2010 & 2011 
- President’s Club Annual Sales Trip Winner 2010 & 2011

Market Manager

Responsible for revenue growth, customer retention, corporate restructuring, sales training to new employees, and selling focus products into existing customer base.

- Ranked 2nd overall out of 40 reps FY 2009
- Achieved 134% to quota FY 2008

Solutions Advisor

Responsible for generating new business accounts through prospecting.  Ran professional B2B presentations with business owners. Built customer rapport quickly through needs assessment and relationship building while providing technical solutions to drive business growth.

- Promoted 3 times over 12 month period through consistently exceeding sales targets.

Sales Executive

High performing, extremely motivated sales professional with 15+ years of experience and specialized knowledge in how to successfully drive business strategies within Healthcare and Information Technology companies. 

Uncompromising ethics and integrity in supporting the business culture with marketing and sales instincts, extreme proactivity to seize market opportunities while building cross functional relationships. Trustworthy, ethical, detail-oriented, team worker committed to fulfilling work expectations to the utmost extent. Confident and poised in interactions with clients and co-workers at all levels. Expert relationship builder, channel developer, negotiator and sales strategist.

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Jon Derkits's LinkedIn Performance

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