For this episode of Expert Connect, I spoke with Natalia Ignacz, senior business development officer at AVASK. This episode was recorded at Prosper Show 2022 in Las Vegas. Watch or read our conversation below.
Alan Osetek: Well, tell us about yourself. Who do you work for? How’s the show?
Natalia Ignacz: Well, we’re here from AVASK. We’re based in London. We came all the way to Vegas this year and last year as well. We’re a tax provider, and we offer international VAT [value-added tax] services. So anyone that wants to expand their business into other marketplaces. We’re here to help.
AO: Very good. So we have sellers here, aggregators, we’ve got all sorts of different people in the Amazon ecosystem. What type of trends are you seeing this year?
NI: More providers than last year. But we’re happy to help them as well. We have a lot of aggregators help us. They bring in sellers into the company, and we help them get their books ready for when they want to exit and sell their company.
AO: Excellent. When you’re talking to people, either clients or prospects, what are the types of things you’re hearing this year that catch your eye or things that are new trends?
NI: New trends is expanding. Everyone wants to expand into Mexico, Canada, Europe, and it’s something that we can help with as well, and so many of our other providers can help with.
AO: So most of your clients today are Europe, U.S.?
NI: Yep. I mean, we cater for all the world. So anyone that needs help expanding, whether it’s into the U.S. or away from the U.S.
AO: And so as an example, if someone wants to expand to Mexico, what are the nuances of moving into a new market vis-à-vis the U.S. or Europe?
NI: Yeah, well, it’s all to do with tax. So we need to get the books in order, make sure that they’re registered wherever they need it, and then we can move on to shipping and start selling.
AO: Do you have the tax experts in-house, or do you have like a network of tax experts around the world?
NI: Everyone’s in-house.
AO: Very good. How many people work for the company?
NI: In total, about 500.
AO: Is the Amazon business core to who you’ve always been? Or did the company morph into being more focused on Amazon sellers?
NI: Anyone ecommerce. So from Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, whoever needs it.
AO: And are most of your clients online-only? Or do some of them also sell—
NI: Brick and mortar as well.
AO: What else have you seen at the show that’s kind of different or something you hadn’t thought of?
NI: It’s just great to see everyone. We have clients that have come up to us, and we finally get to meet them in person. So it’s great.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
