What does it actually take to grow an eCommerce brand in the UK and Europe?

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman sits down with Drew Cooper, Head of Sales at Expandly, to break down the real difference between simply selling internationally and truly expanding into overseas markets.

If you are an eCommerce founder thinking about entering the UK or Europe, this conversation covers the operational and strategic realities most brands underestimate. Drew shares what it takes to build a sustainable international expansion plan, including how to think about VAT, customs, compliance, localization, fulfilment, inventory placement, customer experience, and marketplace readiness.

They also unpack one of the biggest mistakes brands make: assuming cross-border shipping is the same thing as real international expansion. From testing demand to deciding when to place stock in-region, this episode is packed with practical advice for brands that want to scale the right way.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The difference between selling cross-border and expanding internationally

• When shipping from your home country stops being the best model

• Why localization matters more than most brands think

• Common mistakes with VAT, customs, and compliance

• Why the UK is often the smartest first step for US brands

• How fulfilment speed and returns impact conversion in Europe

• What founders should do before committing to UK or EU expansion

Whether you sell on Amazon, Shopify, or both, this episode will help you better understand what international growth really requires before you invest time, money, and inventory into a new market.

🔗 Connect with Drew Cooper

Website: https://expandly.com

Email: drew@expandly.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-cooper-27361995

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andycooper9

Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheEcommExperts

👤 About Drew Cooper

Drew Cooper is the Head of Sales at Expandly and works with eCommerce brands navigating the operational and commercial realities of international expansion. He helps brands enter the UK and European markets with the right approach to marketplace strategy, localization, compliance, VAT, logistics, and fulfilment.

⏰ Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:05 Welcome to the episode

01:03 Who is Drew Cooper?

02:20 Why localization matters in the UK and Europe

05:40 Selling internationally vs expanding internationally

08:31 When cross-border shipping stops making sense

11:17 Is there a revenue benchmark before expanding?

13:35 Why the UK is often the best first step

14:58 The Netherlands, Germany, and EU market entry considerations

16:09 Common mistakes with VAT, customs, and compliance

22:45 How customer experience changes with local fulfilment

26:08 First practical steps before expanding into Europe

29:49 When it makes sense to pull back from Europe

30:20 Expandly’s free discovery call

31:32 How to connect with Drew

#TheeComGrowthShow #InternationalExpansion #EcommerceGrowth

KEEP IN TOUCH:

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danancoleman

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecomgrowthshow

👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeComGrowthShow

🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/eComGrowthShow

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eComGrowthShow

Danan Coleman is an expert in the Amazon field. He's been actively selling on Amazon since 2010 and in the SaaS and Service network for Amazon sellers since 2018. After helping companies like ManageByStats and Carbon6 scale and be sold, he started his eCom Triage [https://ecomtriage.com] to help sellers with solutions to complicated and seemingly impossible tasks like removing negative reviews and detecting critical and detrimental changes to your product detail pages. He also consults both brands and agencies in the Amazon space.

Most eCommerce founders don’t struggle with growth, they struggle with money.

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman sits down with Emily Reeves, VP of Capital Solutions at Bridge Marketplace, to break down the truth about eCommerce financing, what options actually exist, how lenders think, and where founders go wrong.

If you’ve ever considered taking a loan to scale inventory, fund ads, or grow faster… this episode is for you.

Emily walks through the real financing landscape for eCommerce brands: from revenue-based lending and inventory financing to traditional bank loans and explains why not all capital is created equal.

They also unpack how lenders evaluate your business, including how your revenue, inventory, and cash flow determine how much you can actually borrow and at what cost.

One of the biggest takeaways? The “easy money” that shows up fast is often the most dangerous. Many founders fall into the trap of high-interest loans that drain their cash flow daily or weekly, making it nearly impossible to scale sustainably.

Emily also shares a powerful rule: you can’t have money that is good, cheap, and fast all at once. The faster the funding, the more expensive and risky it becomes for your business.

Beyond financing options, this episode dives deep into financial literacy for founders. From understanding margins to actually knowing your numbers, Emily explains why relying on your accountant isn’t enough and how not knowing your financials can cost you opportunities (or worse).

They also explore what’s changing in today’s lending market, including stricter bank requirements, shifts in SBA loans, and why alternative lenders are becoming more common often at a much higher cost.

If you’re thinking about raising capital, funding inventory, or scaling your eCommerce brand, this episode will help you make smarter, more strategic decisions with your money.

🔗 Connect with Emily Reeves

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyelizabethreeves

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:24 What Emily Does at Bridge Marketplace

00:59 Financing Options for eCommerce Brands

02:10 How Much You Can Borrow

03:11 Understanding Loan Costs & APR

04:23 Emily’s Path Into Finance

05:15 From Factoring to CPG Lending

06:00 What Are Slotting Fees?

06:25 Amazon Pricing & Buy Box Risks

08:31 Biggest Financing Mistakes Founders Make

09:37 The “Good, Cheap, Fast” Rule

10:02 Why Founders Must Know Their Numbers

11:31 The Reality of eCommerce Margins

13:09 Using Data & AI for Financial Insights

14:54 What’s Happening in the Lending Market

15:49 What is the Prime Rate?

16:41 SBA Loan Changes You Need to Know

17:37 Why Bank Lending Is Getting Harder

18:29 The Rise of Predatory Lending

19:05 Why “Cheap Money” Isn’t Actually Cheap

20:36 When to Take on Debt

21:41 How Bridge Marketplace Helps Founders

#TheeComGrowthShow #eCommerceFinance #BusinessLoans

KEEP IN TOUCH:

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danancoleman

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecomgrowthshow

👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeComGrowthShow

🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/eComGrowthShow

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eComGrowthShow

Danan Coleman is an expert in the Amazon field. He's been actively selling on Amazon since 2010 and in the SaaS and Service network for Amazon sellers since 2018. After helping companies like ManageByStats and Carbon6 scale and be sold, he started his eCom Triage [https://ecomtriage.com] to help sellers with solutions to complicated and seemingly impossible tasks like removing negative reviews and detecting critical and detrimental changes to your product detail pages. He also consults both brands and agencies in the Amazon space.

What does it take to build a 7-figure beauty brand without Amazon, big box retail, or plastic packaging?

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman is joined by Kate Assaraf, founder of DIP, to talk about building a sustainability-forward haircare brand that’s thriving by doing things differently. From launching salon-quality shampoo and conditioner bars to championing women-owned refill stores across the country, Kate shares how she turned frustration with “greenwashed” products into a fast-growing brand with real impact.

This conversation goes beyond eCommerce strategy. Kate opens up about the plastic crisis, the hidden frustrations behind sustainable shopping, why most “eco-friendly” products fail to win repeat buyers, and how she built a loyal customer base by focusing on product performance first. She also shares why keeping DIP off Amazon was a values-based business decision, how understanding the customer shaped every part of the brand, and what founders should know before starting a product business today.

If you care about brand building, sustainability, customer psychology, retention, honest marketing, and building an eCommerce business with intention, this episode is packed with insights.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Kate built a 7-figure brand outside Amazon

• Why DIP focuses on refill stores and independent retail

• The real problem with many sustainable products

• What customers actually want from plastic-free beauty

• How to build a brand around values without sacrificing growth

• The role of AI in beauty marketing and product development

• Why customer understanding matters more than trends

• What it means to grow a business without losing your mission

🔗 Connect with Kate Assaraf:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-assaraf-b25a741a7/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dipalready/

Website: www.dipalready.com

⏰ Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:44 Meet Kate Assaraf and the story behind DIP

02:24 Why plastic-free haircare became her mission

07:32 How Kate built a 7-figure brand off Amazon

11:33 What pushed her to create DIP

16:03 The problem DIP was designed to solve

17:34 Kate’s goals for the company

19:04 Saving money with long-lasting haircare

21:20 Building products for every hair type in one household

24:29 Why daily-use haircare matters

28:55 How to build a business that lasts without pushing volume

31:55 Growing a company without losing the human side

35:08 The difference between fragrance-free and unscented

41:20 AI in beauty: opportunity vs. risk

47:24 Why ethical profit matters in business

52:18 Kate’s advice for anyone starting a brand today

56:30 How she studied real customer behavior before launching

59:22 Why DIP refuses to sell on Amazon

01:01:12 Building community through independent retail

01:05:10 Where to find DIP

01:06:21 Final thoughts

#TheeComGrowthShow #SustainableBeauty #HaircareBrand

KEEP IN TOUCH:

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danancoleman

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecomgrowthshow

👥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheeComGrowthShow

🐦 X (Twitter): https://x.com/eComGrowthShow

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@eComGrowthShow

Danan Coleman is an expert in the Amazon field. He's been actively selling on Amazon since 2010 and in the SaaS and Service network for Amazon sellers since 2018. After helping companies like ManageByStats and Carbon6 scale and be sold, he started his eCom Triage [https://ecomtriage.com] to help sellers with solutions to complicated and seemingly impossible tasks like removing negative reviews and detecting critical and detrimental changes to your product detail pages. He also consults both brands and agencies in the Amazon space.