Joe Shelerud welcomes Will Fisher, CCO and co-founder of Amerge, fresh off the announcement that the global Amazon agency is joining Podean, the same group that acquired Ad Advance just weeks earlier. In this episode, Joe and Will pull back the curtain on what it really takes to build a world-class Amazon agency, and what joining a global group means for their teams, clients, and the future of retail media.
Key Takeaways:
- The Amerge origin story — Three ex-Amazon employees (spread across London, Bratislava, and beyond) who saw a gap.
- Tech-first DNA — Both Amerge and Ad Advance independently built proprietary technology before scaling their agencies.
- Cracking international markets — How Amerge expanded from the EU into the US by finding local leaders with boots-on-the-ground expertise.
- Non-endemic advertising as a DSP differentiator — Why working with non-endemic brands pushed Amerge to develop some of the most sophisticated DSP setups in the industry.
- Culture as a deal-breaker — Will and Joe both share how cultural alignment outweighed deal structure in their decisions to join Podean.
- Podean’s emerging global model — With Ad Advance (North America), Amerge (EU/UK), Commerce Canal (retail analytics), and now eight combined founders, what the group is building is something the industry hasn’t seen before.
- Advice for agency founders — Understand your clients’ gaps before you go looking for partners, and never underestimate the importance of values fit.
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