Jon Derkits

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

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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)

One common trait among true “A” players 👇


Regardless of whatever bar or standard you set for them, their *internal* standard for themselves will always be higher.

This type of intrinsic drive and pressure doesn’t come without costs though (see: Four Burners Theory).

So make sure that you proactively take care of these folks, and look out for the whole person; not just the work part.

Buying & Building eCommerce Agencies | Ex-Amazon

I woke up at 5am today to listen to the recording of Amazon's Q4 2025 earnings call, so that you don't have to. Here are the 4 most important takeaways: 👇 

1) CAPEX is exploding to $200B in 2026(!)

This is Amazon's all-in bet on AI dominance, and they are prioritizing data centers, custom chips, and infrastructure.

🔑 Quote: "We expect to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across Amazon, but predominantly in AWS, because we have very high demand. Customers really want AWS for core and AI workloads. And we are monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it."

2) AWS is roaring back with 24% growth, reclaiming its cloud throne amid AI frenzy. 

Hitting a $142B run rate, it's accelerating at its fastest rate in 13 quarters, and it's being driven by migrations, custom silicon like Trainium, and a $244B backlog.

🔑 Quote: "AWS growth continued to accelerate to 24%, the fastest we've seen in thirteen quarters. Up $2.6 billion quarter over quarter and nearly $7 billion year over year. AWS is now a $142 billion annualized run rate business."

3) Advertising hit $21.3B with 23% growth, becoming one of Amazon's biggest profit engines. 

The growth here was fueled by Prime Video expansion and AI-driven targeting, where Amazon continues to make investments. 

🔑 Quote:  "Our ads team is also innovating with AI. We recently announced our ads agent, which lets brands use AI to create and optimize campaigns at scale, implement effective campaign targeting, and quickly create actionable insights. And our creative agent lets advertisers research, brainstorm, and generate full funnel ad campaigns from concept to completion using conversational guidance in Amazon's retail data transforming what was a weeks long process into just hours."

4) Customers are rapidly adopting Rufus.

Nearly 300M customers have used Rufus in the past year. And, in 2025, Rufus generated $10B in incremental GMV.
 
🔑 Quote: "Our Agentic AI shopping assistant, Rufus, is rapidly expanding. Customers who used Rufus are about 60% more likely to complete a purchase."

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#amazon
#aws
#amazonads

In case you haven't been following the social zeitgeist and internet discourse...

Yesterday, Claude pre-released its Super Bowl ad set, which took a BIG swing at AI companies that plan to monetize through ads (*cough* OpenAI *cough*).

The ads were...kinda funny. 

Even Sam Altman lol'ed at them. But, then went on to intellectualize and defend OpenAI's decision.

And there are internet warriors on both sides, arguing in support of Claude's ads or arguing in support of OpenAI's decision to monetize through ads. 

But, while the professional marketers, media intellectuals, and AI evangelists debate whether the ads were good or bad, right or wrong, pretty or ugly, I can't help but notice...

The average person: 
1) Likes them
2) Likes them enough to tell their friends

There's a lesson in there somewhere, if you're a marketer.

What if the key to disrupting a stale $100 billion category just came down to...

...Innovative packaging

I don't know if that is true in every category, or at all.

But, as a consumer, I love seeing brands differentiate with their packaging.

I’m a data-loving nerd with an entrepreneurial spirit and engineering background.  

My Amazon journey started back in 2014 when I started selling molecular model kits. I quickly learned there was a lot of potential with Amazon Ads so I teamed up with Matt Wiklund - a colleague from my current employer at the time and who happens to be a automatizing whiz. We forged ahead with the idea that we could build the right tools to make sense of Amazon Ads.  

And we did! Since 2017, Ad Advance has grown and expanded our services, building all our software in-house with our clients in mind. Our team is made up of expert relationship managers who are savvy data divers. 

We currently offer ad management for Amazon Sponsored Ads, Amazon DSP, Walmart Connect, and Google. We work with established Amazon brands as well as ecommerce companies, service providers, and organizations who don’t sell on Amazon.  

Let’s connect!

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