# Robert Nikic > Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9, working to make it easier for anyone to start and grow a business. From 2011 to 2026 he built a two-time Inc. 5000 company (#418 in 2023, #35 in 2024) before stepping away from operating roles to focus on advisory work. Site: https://robertnikic.com/ ## FAQ ### Who is Robert Nikic? Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. A former refugee from the Balkan wars, he founded and led a company from 2011 to 2026, without outside investment, that made the Inc. 5000 list twice, debuting at #418 and climbing to #35 on a reported 7,191% three-year growth rate. ### Is Robert Nikic still running a company? No. In 2026, after more than 20 years of starting and building companies, Robert stepped away from operating roles at the company he founded, a two-time Inc. 5000 honoree that reached #35 nationally. Today his work centers on United Nations SDG 8 & 9: making it easier for anyone, anywhere, to start a business and grow it. ### What is Robert Nikic's connection to the United Nations? Robert Nikic is an advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9: SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). His work focuses on opening global markets to small and medium-sized businesses through digital trade, workforce development, access to credit and cross-border commerce. He does not speak on behalf of the United Nations. ### What was Robert Nikic's TEDx talk about? At TEDxCoral Springs, an independently organized TED event, Robert Nikic gave the talk "Unlocking Success: Second Chances Can Change Your Life." It argues that a second chance, plus the right tools, can change a person's life. He also spoke at TEDxParkland on how to weaponize failure; that talk is public and can be watched on the Media page. ### Where is Robert Nikic from? Robert Nikic was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 21, 1992. His family is from the former Yugoslavia and fled the Balkan wars, arriving in the United States with almost nothing when he was a child. ### How old is Robert Nikic? Robert Nikic was born on June 21, 1992, which makes him {age} years old. ### What is Robert Nikic's net worth? Robert Nikic has not published a net worth figure, and the numbers that appear on third-party websites are estimates he has not confirmed. What is on the record is his work: the company he founded and led from 2011 to 2026, without outside investment, made the Inc. 5000 list twice, reaching #35 nationally on a reported 7,191% three-year growth rate. ### Where can I follow Robert Nikic? Robert Nikic shares his work across these official profiles: ### What has Robert Nikic written? Robert Nikic writes about what builds and breaks companies, including cash flow, pricing, hiring and growth, and about SDG 8 and 9 for small businesses. His articles are published in the Journal on robertnikic.com and on Medium, and he answers founder and small-business questions on Quora. ### How did Robert Nikic get started in business? Rather than pursue formal higher education, Robert went straight to work, taking long shifts in restaurants and hotels while teaching himself technology. He launched a series of early ventures that failed before they taught him what entrepreneurs actually need — lessons that directly shaped the platform he would eventually build. ### What is Robert Nikic's approach to employees? Robert built his company on the belief that a company's success starts with its people. He has said that investing in people first is the only way to build something lasting — that reinvesting in the team is what builds a company that endures. ### Has Robert Nikic taken outside investment? No. Robert has publicly declined outside investment, arguing that the discipline of building without a safety net is what makes a company durable. He believes that building without outside capital forces a focus on the fundamentals — no shortcuts, no safety nets — and that this is what creates lasting value. ### What is the company's Inc. 5000 ranking? The company Robert Nikic founded and led from 2011 to 2026 was a two-time Inc. 5000 honoree. It debuted at #418 in 2023 on the list of America's fastest-growing private companies, then climbed to #35 nationally in 2024 on the strength of a reported 7,191% three-year growth rate. ### What company did Robert Nikic found? From 2011 to 2026, Robert Nikic founded and led a technology company that made e-commerce accessible and profitable for sellers from all walks of life, enabling everyday entrepreneurs to sell brand-name products on major marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. In 2026, Robert stepped away from operating roles at the company he founded. Today his work centers on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. ### Why does Robert Nikic care about global commerce access? Because he lived it. Robert arrived in the United States as a child fleeing a war he did not start. Every advantage he has built since rested on someone giving him a chance: to work, to learn, to fail and try again. His SDG 8 & 9 advisory work is driven by the belief that decent work and innovation are not abstractions; they are the difference between a life of survival and a life of contribution. ### What are UN Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 9? SDG 8 is Decent Work and Economic Growth — promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. SDG 9 is Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure — building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. Robert's advisory work is framed around both, as pathways to opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses worldwide. ### Has Robert Nikic appeared on television? Yes. Robert has made television appearances on CBS News, Daytime TV, Great Day Live Tampa Bay, and WFLA Daytime, where he discussed his entrepreneurial journey, the growth of his company, and his work as an advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. ### What professional organizations is Robert Nikic a member of? Robert has been admitted as a member of the Forbes Agency Council and the Fast Company Executive Board — both invitation-only communities for accomplished executives, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders. ### What podcasts has Robert Nikic appeared on? Robert Nikic has been a guest on podcasts and shows including On with Mario Lopez, The Tai Lopez Show, Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly and Dropping Bombs with Brad Lea. The conversations cover failure, second chances, starting over and building a business. ### What media outlets have featured Robert Nikic? Robert has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fatherly, CEOWORLD Magazine, Benzinga, the European Business Review, Business Insider, GlobeNewswire, Digital Journal, and The Guardian Nigeria, among others. Coverage spans his entrepreneurial journey, leadership philosophy, and the growth of his company. ### How can I contact Robert Nikic for press or speaking inquiries? For press, media, or speaking inquiries, please visit the Press page where you'll find an official bio, downloadable headshots, brand assets, and a contact form. For podcast or interview requests, the Press page is the best starting point — all submissions are reviewed by the team. ### What does Robert Nikic mean by 'building without a safety net'? Robert has publicly declined outside investment, arguing that the discipline of building without a safety net is what makes a company durable. Without external capital cushioning every decision, a company is forced to focus on fundamentals — on real revenue, real customers, and real value. No shortcuts, no safety nets — that discipline is, in his view, what makes a venture durable. ### Why does Robert Nikic believe in second chances? Because he lived the alternative. Robert arrived in the United States fleeing war, with nothing. Every advantage he built since rested on someone giving him a chance — to work, to learn, to fail and try again. That conviction carries into everything he builds, and it is the message at the heart of his TEDx talk: a second chance, plus the right tools, can change a life. ### What is Robert Nikic's business philosophy? Robert believes that durable economic growth is built from the ground up, by everyday people — not handed down by capital. He operates on the conviction that technology removes human error, that building without outside investment forces discipline, and that investing in people first is the only way to build something lasting. A chance, not capital, is what changes a life. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/blog/small-business-credit-gap ## Why Small Businesses Can't Get Credit, and What SDG 9.3 Says Robert Nikic explains SDG target 9.3 and the small business funding gap: who gets turned down for credit, what the UN data shows and what founders can do. **In short:** Robert Nikic explains SDG target 9.3 and the small business funding gap: who gets turned down for credit, what the UN data shows and what founders can do. Most of the good small businesses I've seen fail didn't fail because nobody wanted what they sold. They failed because they couldn't get the money to make more of it at the moment it mattered. That gap has a name in the UN's goals. Here are the questions I hear most about it, and straight answers. ### What does SDG target 9.3 say? SDG 9 is the UN goal on industry, innovation and infrastructure. Target 9.3 is short and specific: increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets ([United Nations](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9)). In plain English: small businesses should be able to borrow at a fair price, and plug into the supply chains of bigger companies. ### How big is the small business funding gap? Big. The UN tracks how many small-scale industries have a loan or a line of credit. Across the countries with data, the global average is 32.7%. In the least developed countries, it's 18.8%. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 19.1%. Compare that with 61.7% in Australia and New Zealand and 47.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean ([UN Statistics Division](https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2026/extended-report/Extended-Report-2026_Goal-9.pdf)). In money terms, the SME Finance Forum, part of the World Bank Group, estimates the finance gap for micro, small and medium businesses in emerging and developing economies at $5.7 trillion in 2019, up from $4.4 trillion in 2015 ([SME Finance Forum](https://www.smefinanceforum.org/news/11541348)). That's the difference between what these businesses could productively use and what they actually get. ### Is this only a developing-country problem? No. It's worse there, but it shows up everywhere. In the US, the Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey found that 60% of firms applied for financing in the prior year. Only 42% of applicants got the full amount they asked for, and 22% got nothing. The most common reason firms looked for money was to cover operating expenses, at 56% ([Federal Reserve Banks](https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/2026-report-on-employer-firms/)). So even in the world's largest economy, more than half of small firms that apply walk away short. ### Why do good small businesses get turned down? From what I've seen, it's rarely about whether the business is good. It's usually one of these: - **Thin records.** Lenders want years of clean financial statements. A lot of small companies have a shoebox and a bank account. - **No collateral.** Software, services and online businesses often don't own the buildings or machines a bank can secure a loan against. - **Mixed money.** When personal and business finances run through the same account, a lender can't tell what the business actually earns. - **Bad timing.** Founders often apply in their worst month, when they need the money most and look the riskiest. - **Small loans cost the same to process.** A $40,000 loan can take nearly as much paperwork as a $4 million one, so many lenders don't bother. None of those say anything about whether the founder can build something. ### What's your connection to this work? I'm an advisor on innovation and economic growth with an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. My part is bringing the view from inside small companies into conversations that are usually dominated by large institutions and governments. I'm not a UN employee, and I don't speak for the UN. I bring what founders actually run into. ### What can a founder do right now? You can't fix global finance on your own. You can make yourself much easier to say yes to. - **Separate your accounts.** One business account, one personal account, no exceptions. - **Close your books every month.** Clean monthly numbers are the single best thing you can bring to a lender. - **Meet lenders before you need them.** Build the relationship while things are good, so the first conversation isn't a request. - **Apply from strength.** Open a line of credit in a good quarter, then leave it alone. I go deeper on this in [six cash mistakes that sink profitable companies](/blog/cash-mistakes-that-sink-profitable-companies). - **Know what you'll use it for.** A clear plan for the money, with numbers, beats a general request for "working capital." ### What would actually move the number? A few things I'd like to see more of: - **Lending based on cash flow, not just collateral.** Payment and sales data can show a business is healthy, even if it doesn't own a building. - **Cheaper ways to make small loans.** If a small loan costs nearly as much to process as a big one, small businesses will keep losing out. - **Big companies paying small suppliers on time.** Long payment terms force small firms to borrow to cover money they're already owed. Access to credit isn't a nice-to-have. It's the difference between a business that grows and a business that stays small because it has to. **Good businesses don't need charity. They need a fair shot at the same money everyone else can get.** ### What is Robert Nikic's view on small business credit? Robert Nikic's view is that the credit gap is one of the biggest brakes on the growth SDG 9.3 is meant to drive. Good small companies get turned down for reasons that have little to do with how well they're run, and closing that gap is one of the most practical ways to support jobs and growth. ### Related reading - [Six cash mistakes that sink profitable companies](/blog/cash-mistakes-that-sink-profitable-companies) - [Robert Nikic's story, from refugee to founder](/blog/from-refugee-to-inc-5000) Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth. He writes about what he has seen build and break companies, and about the rules that decide whether small businesses get a fair shot. Read his writing on [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic), the Open Doors newsletter on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) and daily posts on [X](https://x.com/robertnikic). --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/blog/the-customer-too-big-to-lose ## The Customer Who's Too Big to Lose Robert Nikic on customer concentration risk: when one customer is too much of your revenue, and how to reduce the risk without losing the account. **In short:** Robert Nikic on customer concentration risk: when one customer is too much of your revenue, and how to reduce the risk without losing the account. The best day in a small company's life and its most dangerous day are often the same day. It's the day the giant customer signs. Everybody celebrates, and they should. A name like that changes everything. Revenue jumps. The team grows. Other customers start taking you seriously because the giant did. Then, quietly, the company starts to rearrange itself around one relationship. ### How it usually goes Here's a pattern I've watched more than once, in different industries, with different people. The details change. The shape doesn't. A small supplier lands a large retail or corporate account. Within a couple of years, that one customer is more than half of revenue. The company hires to serve it, builds features for it and staffs a whole team just to keep it happy. Then the customer's procurement team calls. Payment terms are moving from 30 days to 90. Prices need to come down 8%. There's a new compliance requirement, and the supplier pays for it. The founder agrees to all of it. Saying no would mean risking half the company. A year later, a new buyer at the big customer decides to consolidate vendors. The supplier is out. The team that was built to serve one account has nothing to do, and the cash flow that paid for it is gone. Nobody did anything wrong, exactly. The supplier did great work. The customer made a normal business decision. The risk was in the structure the whole time. ### Even public companies have to say it out loud This risk is serious enough that US public companies have to describe it in their filings. SEC rules require a company to disclose its dependence on a single customer, or a few customers, when losing them would have a material adverse effect on the business ([eCFR, Regulation S-K](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/chapter-II/part-229/subpart-229.100/section-229.101)). If a public company with thousands of employees has to warn investors about it, a 15-person company should at least be warning itself. ### The signs I watch for You don't need a formula to know you're exposed. These are the signs I've seen show up first: - **One customer's name comes up in every meeting.** Strategy, hiring and product decisions all start with "what will they think." - **You've stopped selling.** The big account keeps everyone busy, so new business development quietly stops. - **You agree to terms you'd refuse from anyone else.** Longer payment windows, free extras and penalties only flow one way. - **Your prices are set by them, not by you.** Every renewal is a discussion about how much lower you can go. - **A single email from them can ruin your week.** That's not a relationship. That's a dependency. My rough rule: once any one customer passes about a quarter of revenue, it's time to plan for the day they leave. Not because they will. Because they can. ### How to reduce customer concentration risk You don't fix this by turning away big customers. You fix it by refusing to let one of them become the whole company. **Keep selling while you're busy.** This is the hardest one, because the big account fills every hour. Protect time for new business anyway. The best time to land your next customer is while the current one is happy. **Price the risk in.** A customer who demands long payment terms is borrowing from you. A customer who demands dedicated staff is asking you to make a bet on them. Both of those have a cost, and it belongs in the price. **Get the contract right.** Notice periods, minimum volumes and clear payment terms protect both sides. A long notice period won't keep a customer who wants to leave, but it can give you the months you need to adjust. **Build the "if they leave" plan now.** Write down what you'd cut, who you'd keep and how long your cash would last. Doing it while things are good is calm planning. Doing it after the call is panic. **Watch the cash, not just the revenue.** A big customer paying in 90 days can make a growing company feel rich and act broke at the same time. If that's starting to sound familiar, the [six cash mistakes that sink profitable companies](/blog/cash-mistakes-that-sink-profitable-companies) is a good place to start. ### Quick answers #### What is considered high customer concentration? There's no single legal line. US public companies have to disclose dependence on a single customer when losing that customer would have a material adverse effect on the business ([eCFR, Regulation S-K](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/chapter-II/part-229/subpart-229.100/section-229.101)). My own rule of thumb is that any one customer above about 25% of revenue deserves a written plan. #### How do you reduce customer concentration risk? Set a ceiling for your largest customer's share of revenue, put part of every month's sales effort into new accounts, get the big relationship into a longer written contract and build enough cash to get through losing them while you replace the revenue. #### What is Robert Nikic's advice on customer concentration? Robert Nikic's advice is to treat a customer who's too big to lose as a risk, not a trophy. Keep serving them well, and keep growing other revenue until losing any single account would hurt without ending the company. ### The real cost The biggest cost of a customer who's too big to lose isn't the risk they'll leave. It's everything you stop doing while they stay. You stop setting your own prices. You stop building for the rest of the market. You stop saying no. **A customer you can't afford to lose is a customer who sets your prices.** ### Related reading - [Six cash mistakes that sink profitable companies](/blog/cash-mistakes-that-sink-profitable-companies) - [Building a company without outside investment](/blog/building-without-a-safety-net) Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth. He writes about what he has seen build and break companies, and about the rules that decide whether small businesses get a fair shot. Read his writing on [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic), the Open Doors newsletter on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) and daily posts on [X](https://x.com/robertnikic). --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/blog/cash-mistakes-that-sink-profitable-companies ## 6 Cash Mistakes That Sink Profitable Companies Robert Nikic on why profitable businesses run out of cash: six common cash flow mistakes, what the data shows and how to fix each one. **In short:** Robert Nikic on why profitable businesses run out of cash: six common cash flow mistakes, what the data shows and how to fix each one. A company can be profitable on paper and broke by Friday. I've watched it happen to good operators with real customers, strong margins and a product people loved. None of them were lazy. Most of them were growing. That's the part people miss. Cash problems rarely look like failure while they're forming. They look like success with a delay. The numbers back this up. When the JPMorgan Chase Institute studied the bank accounts of 597,000 small businesses, it found the median one held enough cash to cover 27 days of normal spending if money stopped coming in. A quarter of them had less than 13 days. Restaurants had 16 ([JPMorgan Chase Institute](https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/all-topics/business-growth-and-entrepreneurship/report-cash-flows-balances-and-buffer-days)). Less than a month. That's the cushion between a normal company and a crisis. Here are the six cash mistakes I've seen sink companies that should have made it. ### 1. Treating profit as cash Your profit and loss statement says you made money. Your bank account disagrees. Both are telling the truth. Profit counts a sale when it happens. Cash counts it when the money lands. If your customers pay in 60 days and your suppliers want payment in 15, every sale you make opens a hole before it fills one. The faster you sell, the bigger the hole. I've watched founders celebrate a record month while their accountant quietly called the bank about an overdraft. **The tell:** you're profitable every month and still stressed every payroll. **The fix:** run a simple 13-week cash forecast. Every Monday, list the cash you expect to come in and go out, week by week, for the next quarter. It takes an hour. It will show you the hole weeks before you fall into it. ### 2. Saying yes to the order you can't afford to fill The big order is the most dangerous kind of good news. A national buyer wants five times your usual volume. To fill it, you need to buy materials, hire temps and maybe rent space, all before the buyer pays a cent. And big buyers almost always pay slowly. I've seen companies take the order of their dreams and run out of cash halfway through making it. The order wasn't the problem. Funding it out of the checking account was. **The tell:** you're excited about an order and haven't worked out when you'll actually get paid for it. **The fix:** before you say yes, map the cash: when you pay suppliers, when you pay people and when the money actually arrives. Then fund the gap on purpose, with a deposit, better payment terms, a line of credit or a smaller first order. ### 3. Letting invoices get old Every unpaid invoice is a loan you made to your customer at zero interest. Nobody approved that loan. It just happened. I've watched companies with millions in revenue carry months of unpaid invoices because nobody owned collections. The founder didn't want to be pushy. The team assumed someone else was on it. Meanwhile, the company borrowed money at real interest to cover cash that customers owed it. **The tell:** you can't say, off the top of your head, how much customers owe you and how much of it is overdue. **The fix:** send invoices the same day the work is done. Put a follow-up schedule in writing: a friendly reminder on the due date, a call at 7 days late and a hold on new work at 30. Make one person responsible. Polite and consistent beats awkward and occasional. ### 4. Buying inventory on optimism Inventory is cash sitting on a shelf. It feels like an asset until it stops selling. The pattern I've seen most often goes like this. A product sells well, so the founder orders big to get a better unit price. Then demand slows, a trend fades or a competitor drops their price, and the company is sitting on months of stock it already paid for. The discount on the big order was real. So was the cash it locked up. **The tell:** you're ordering based on how a product felt last season, not how fast it's actually selling now. **The fix:** reorder based on sell-through, the share of stock that actually sold in a given period. Order smaller and more often, even at a slightly higher unit cost. A slightly higher price per unit costs far less than a warehouse full of last season's best idea. ### 5. Running without a buffer Most companies don't decide to run with no cushion. They just never decide to build one. Every extra dollar goes back into growth, which feels responsible. Then a big customer pays late, a key supplier raises prices or a slow month shows up, and there's nothing to absorb it. The JPMorgan Chase Institute measure is a good one to steal. Divide your cash balance by your average daily spending. That's how many days you could survive if every customer stopped paying tomorrow. **The tell:** you've never calculated that number. **The fix:** pick a target and write it down. For a lot of the companies I've seen, 60 to 90 days of spending is a reasonable floor. Treat the buffer like a bill you pay yourself every month, before the extra money goes anywhere else. ### 6. Asking for credit when you're desperate Banks lend most easily to companies that don't need the money. That sounds unfair. It's also how it works. The Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey found that 56% of firms looking for financing wanted it to cover operating expenses. And 22% of firms that applied got none of what they asked for ([Federal Reserve Banks](https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/2026-report-on-employer-firms/)). I've watched founders walk into a bank in the worst month of the year, with messy books and a payroll due in a week, and get turned down. Same founder, six months earlier, with clean numbers and no urgency, would have been approved. **The tell:** you've never talked to a lender while things were good. **The fix:** open a line of credit when the business is strong, and don't touch it. Keep your books clean every month, not just at tax time. The best time to borrow is when you could walk away from the offer. ### Quick answers #### Why do profitable businesses run out of cash? Profit is counted when you make the sale. Cash arrives when the customer pays. A company can book strong profits while its money sits in unpaid invoices and inventory, then come up short on payroll. Growth makes it worse, because every new order needs cash before it pays back. #### How many days of cash does a typical small business have? JPMorgan Chase Institute found the median small business holds about 27 days of cash buffer, and a quarter hold fewer than 13 days ([JPMorgan Chase Institute](https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/all-topics/business-growth-and-entrepreneurship/report-cash-flows-balances-and-buffer-days)). The businesses I've seen survive a bad quarter built well past that, a little at a time, out of profits. #### What is Robert Nikic's advice on cash flow? Robert Nikic's advice is to manage cash, not just profit. Map when money goes out and when it comes in before saying yes to a big order, collect invoices on time, buy inventory against real demand and line up credit before you need it. ### What these six have in common None of these mistakes are about being bad at business. They're about letting good news run the company without checking what it costs. Here's the short version: - Forecast cash every week, not just profit every month. - Fund big orders on purpose before you accept them. - Invoice the same day and chase with a schedule. - Order inventory by what sells, not what you hope will sell. - Build a buffer and treat it as a bill. - Set up credit before you need it. **Profit tells you whether the business works. Cash tells you whether it survives.** ### Related reading - [Building a company without outside investment](/blog/building-without-a-safety-net) - [Investing in people first](/blog/investing-in-people-first) Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth. He writes about what he has seen build and break companies, and about the rules that decide whether small businesses get a fair shot. Read his writing on [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic), the Open Doors newsletter on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) and daily posts on [X](https://x.com/robertnikic). --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/blog/biography ## Robert Nikic: Biography Robert Nikic (born June 21, 1992, Stuttgart, Germany) is an American entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. **In short:** Robert Nikic is an American entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. He was born on June 21, 1992, in Stuttgart, Germany, to a family from the former Yugoslavia, came to the United States as a child after the Balkan wars, and lives in Tampa, Florida and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Robert Nikic is an American entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to a family from the former Yugoslavia. The Balkan wars cost his family their home, and when he was a boy they arrived in New York with almost nothing. He failed at his first companies as a teenager, then founded and led a Florida-based e-commerce company from 2011 to 2026 that was named to the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies in 2023 and again in 2024, when it ranked No. 35 in the country. His advisory work centers on e-commerce as an economic development pathway for small and medium-sized enterprises, aligned with SDG 8 and SDG 9. This is the official biography of Robert Nikic, published on his own website. The facts below are the ones he confirms on the record. ### Fast facts | Full name | Robert Nikic | Born | June 21, 1992 | Birthplace | Stuttgart, Germany | Family roots | The former Yugoslavia (Bosnia) | Citizenship | United States | Residence | Tampa, Florida, United States and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Occupation | Entrepreneur, advisor and public speaker | Current role | Advisor on innovation and economic growth, United Nations SDG 8 & 9 (October 2025 – Present) | Previous role | Founder of a two-time Inc. 5000 company (2011–2026) | Known for | Building a two-time Inc. 5000 company without outside investment; his TEDx talk on second chances | Recognition | Inc. 5000 No. 418 (2023) and No. 35 (2024); Inc. Best Workplaces | Memberships | Forbes Agency Council; Fast Company Executive Board | TEDx talk | "Unlocking Success: Second Chances Can Change Your Life," TEDxCoral Springs | Focus areas | E-commerce, digital trade, small business growth, workforce development, cross-border commerce, SDG 8 and SDG 9 | Official website | [robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/) | ### Where is Robert Nikic from? Robert Nikic was born on June 21, 1992, in Stuttgart, Germany. His family's roots are in the former Yugoslavia. When Yugoslavia broke apart and war reached Bosnia, the family lost their home, their possessions and the life they knew. Robert, his mother, his father, his grandmother and his brother arrived in New York with what fit into five suitcases ([Fatherly](https://www.fatherly.com/life/robert-nikic-tech-ceo); [VC Post](https://www.vcpost.com/articles/123986/20230210/robert-nikic-how-he-went-from-five-suitcases-to-the-american-dream.htm)). The family started over from zero. The adults took whatever work they could find, learned English as they went, and leaned on the few people willing to give newcomers a chance. Robert has said that coming from war and having nothing taught him the real value of perseverance and hope, and gave him a determination to build a better future for himself and for others who are struggling ([Fatherly](https://www.fatherly.com/life/robert-nikic-tech-ceo)). He is a citizen of the United States. ### First jobs and first companies As a teenager, Robert went to work to help support his family. His first jobs in the United States were in restaurants and hotels, including work as a restaurant server, banquet server and front desk manager at luxury resorts ([VC Post](https://www.vcpost.com/articles/123986/20230210/robert-nikic-how-he-went-from-five-suitcases-to-the-american-dream.htm)). At the same time, he taught himself technology and started his first companies. Several of them failed ([Fatherly](https://www.fatherly.com/life/robert-nikic-tech-ceo)). There was no family money to fall back on and no investor to cover the losses, so each failure meant starting again with a little more knowledge: how to price, how to sell, how to hire and how to keep going. He calls those years his real business education. You can read more in [What Early Failures Taught Robert Nikic](/blog/what-early-failures-taught-robert-nikic). ### The founder years (2011–2026) Robert went on to found a Florida-based e-commerce company, which he founded and led from 2011 to 2026 ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic)). The company gave everyday sellers a way into online retail on major marketplaces in the United States, Mexico and Canada. In 2026, Robert stepped away from operating roles at the company he founded. Today his work centers on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. He built it on revenue from customers rather than money from investors, and kept the upside with the people who did the work. Under his leadership, from 2011 to 2026: - The company was named to the **Inc. 5000** list of America's fastest-growing private companies at **No. 418 in 2023** ([robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/recognition)). - It returned to the list at **No. 35 in 2024**, with 7,191% three-year growth ([robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/recognition)). - It was named one of **Inc. Best Workplaces**, with a team of more than 100 people ([IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14573073/bio/)). His approach to that company is set out in [Build Without a Safety Net](/blog/building-without-a-safety-net) and [Principles: How Robert Nikic Builds Companies](/blog/principles). ### Robert Nikic's SDG 8 & 9 work Since October 2025, Robert Nikic has worked as an **advisor on innovation and economic growth** on **United Nations SDG 8 & 9**. He brings advisory experience on innovation and economic growth, with work centered on advancing e-commerce as an economic development pathway for small and medium-sized enterprises. His advisory contributions span digital trade accessibility, workforce development and cross-border commerce frameworks aligned with SDG 8 and SDG 9 ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic)). SDG 8 is the UN goal for decent work and economic growth. SDG 9 covers industry, innovation and infrastructure. Both include targets aimed at small businesses, from access to financial services to fair access to markets and credit ([UN, Goal 8](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8); [UN, Goal 9](https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal9)). Robert's contribution is the operator's view: what actually stops a good small company from growing, and what would change it. More on that work is at [Robert Nikic and United Nations SDG 8 & 9](/blog/un-sdg-8-and-9). ### Robert Nikic's TEDx talk Robert gave the TEDx talk **"Unlocking Success: Second Chances Can Change Your Life"** at TEDxCoral Springs ([YouTube](/media)). He has also spoken at [TEDxParkland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULiZNclGKtY) on how to use failure, in a talk titled "How to Weaponize Failure." The talk draws on his family's escape from war, his early failures and his later success to make one argument: second chances are how people, companies and whole economies find out what they are capable of. He speaks about entrepreneurship, building without outside investment, second chances and small business growth. His appearances include: - **Television:** WFLA Daytime and Great Day Live Tampa Bay ([robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/recognition)), and First Coast Living in 2023 - **Podcasts:** Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly, Dropping Bombs with Brad Lea, The Tai Lopez Show, On with Mario Lopez and The Wolfe Den Show with MJ Wolfe ([Sean Kelly](https://seankelly.io/robert-nikic-digital-social-hour/); [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exposing-the-truth-about-drop-shipping-episode-749/id1260808808?i=1000672524496); [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14573073/bio/)) ### Recognition and memberships - Inc. 5000, No. 418 (2023) - Inc. 5000, No. 35 (2024) - Inc. Best Workplaces - TEDx speaker, TEDxCoral Springs - Forbes Agency Council, member - Fast Company Executive Board, member His story has been covered by Fatherly, USA TODAY, Entrepreneur, CEOWORLD, Business Insider, Benzinga and European Business Review. The full list is on his [recognition page](https://robertnikic.com/recognition) and [press page](https://robertnikic.com/press). ### What he believes Robert's views come down to a few short rules. Build without a safety net. Share the upside with the people who build it. Say the true thing about your own industry. Give second chances, and earn yours. Open the doors you once found closed. In his words: "A chance to learn. A chance to fail and try again." ([robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/)) ### Quick answers #### Who is Robert Nikic? Robert Nikic is an American entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, came to the United States as a child after his family fled the Balkan wars, and founded and led a Florida-based e-commerce company from 2011 to 2026 that was named to the Inc. 5000 in 2023 and 2024. #### When and where was Robert Nikic born? Robert Nikic was born on June 21, 1992, in Stuttgart, Germany. His family's roots are in the former Yugoslavia. #### How old is Robert Nikic? Robert Nikic was born on June 21, 1992. He turned 34 in June 2026. #### What is Robert Nikic's nationality? Robert Nikic is a citizen of the United States. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to a family from the former Yugoslavia, and came to the US with his family as a child. #### Where does Robert Nikic live? Robert Nikic lives in Tampa, Florida, United States and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. #### What is Robert Nikic's SDG 8 & 9 advisory work? He serves as an advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9, focusing on e-commerce as a development pathway for small and medium-sized enterprises, aligned with SDG 8 and SDG 9. #### What is Robert Nikic known for? He is known for building a two-time Inc. 5000 company without outside investment, his family's story of starting over in the US after the Balkan wars, and his TEDx talk "Unlocking Success: Second Chances Can Change Your Life." #### Where can I find Robert Nikic online? His official website is [robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/). He is on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic), [X](https://x.com/robertnikic), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/robertnikic), [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic) and [IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14573073/). ### Where to follow Robert Nikic - Website: [robertnikic.com](https://robertnikic.com/) - LinkedIn: [linkedin.com/in/robertnikic](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) - X: [x.com/robertnikic](https://x.com/robertnikic) - Instagram: [instagram.com/robertnikic](https://www.instagram.com/robertnikic) - Medium: [medium.com/@robertnikic](https://medium.com/@robertnikic) - IMDb: [imdb.com/name/nm14573073](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14573073/) - TEDx talk: [YouTube](https://robertnikic.com/media) Press and media requests: [press page](https://robertnikic.com/press). ### Read more - [From the Balkan Wars to Building Companies](/blog/from-refugee-to-inc-5000) - [Principles: How Robert Nikic Builds Companies](/blog/principles) - [Build Without a Safety Net](/blog/building-without-a-safety-net) Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and advisor on innovation and economic growth to an international council working on United Nations SDG 8 & 9. He writes about what builds and breaks companies, and about the rules that decide whether small businesses get a fair shot. Read his writing on [Medium](https://medium.com/@robertnikic), the Open Doors newsletter on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertnikic) and daily posts on [X](https://x.com/robertnikic). --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/its-not-the-capital-its-the-rails ## Robert Nikic: It's Not the Capital, It's the Rails Robert Nikic on WFLA Daytime: most businesses don't fail for lack of capital, marketing or innovation. They fail because of the rails it takes to start. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/its-not-the-capital-its-the-rails ## Transcript How can we make businesses start faster? How can we make them start with less capital? And that all comes down to the actual rails of the business. Because a lot of people think, hey, businesses fail because of lack of capital, lack of marketing, or lack of innovation. No, it really comes down to the policy of what it actually takes to start that business in the first place. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/policy-isnt-about-picking-winners ## Robert Nikic: Policy Isn't About Picking Winners Robert Nikic explains why good e-commerce policy isn't about picking winners. It's about faster payments, cheaper shipping and fewer roadblocks for founders. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/policy-isnt-about-picking-winners ## Transcript So a lot of people think that e-commerce policy, or policy in general, comes down to picking winners or regulating platforms. A lot of it, you'll hear on the news, right? It's the sole focus. But you see, what it comes down to is how we can actually enable people to start accepting payments faster. How can we get products shipped out the door faster, for significantly less cost than retail, right? So my goal through that is to work on those policies, eliminate a lot of those roadblocks for entrepreneurs, and really make it much simpler to start a business. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/the-red-tape-keeping-founders-out ## Robert Nikic: The Red Tape Keeping Founders Out Robert Nikic on the red tape that keeps founders out: getting set up on payments, starting a store and getting access to high-demand products. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/the-red-tape-keeping-founders-out ## Transcript Any of my policies that I plan to advocate for really come down to the groundwork of faster payments. Number one, what does it take for an entrepreneur to get set up on payments and start accepting high volumes of payments? Number two, what does it take to actually start a store? What does it take to actually get access to high-demand products? A lot of red tape is in the industry right now. A lot of entrepreneurs can't go out there and purchase a subset of, let's say, 500,000 products, right? They don't have that capital, but there's also a lot of policy that's prohibiting them from doing that in the first place. I'm here to cut that red tape. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-bad-news-wakes-me-up ## Robert Nikic: Why Bad News Wakes Me Up Robert Nikic on Digital Social Hour: why he failed proudly, why bad news wakes him up, and how to turn a $100,000 loss into an opportunity. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-bad-news-wakes-me-up ## Transcript Throughout my entire life, I failed, and I say that proudly. And a lot of entrepreneurs really don't embrace failure, don't leverage failure, don't really want to recognize that it is a good thing. I personally love when bad things happen. When I get a phone call with the worst news, I wake up. If there is nothing bad happening, whether it be at the office or in life in general, I'm not content, because I look at them as opportunities, and maybe entrepreneurs should look at it that way too. Oh, this happened. You lost $100,000. What did you learn from it? How are you going to take that $100,000 loss and turn it into an opportunity, revenue, whatever it may be? How can you now take that and duplicate it and grow it? That's the mindset a lot of entrepreneurs should have. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/the-supplier-who-disappeared-saved-my-business ## Robert Nikic: The Supplier Who Disappeared Saved My Business Robert Nikic tells the story of a supplier who vanished with orders still to fill, and why he's grateful it happened. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/the-supplier-who-disappeared-saved-my-business ## Transcript If you can master the trait of not folding under pressure, and learn how to leverage failure and take problems... We had a small supplier years ago. The supplier just disappeared. They dipped on us. We had customers we had to deliver for. We had orders to fulfill. This was years and years ago. At the end of the day, what do you do? What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? If that situation hadn't happened, we would never be in the position we are today. I am thankful to God that that supplier disappeared. Whoever was behind it, whatever the reason was, if you're watching this podcast, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, because it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. If it hadn't happened, there would be no change. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/my-first-company-at-13 ## Robert Nikic: My First Company at 13 Robert Nikic on starting a hosting company at 13, years of failed startups, and why his refugee family's reliance on him pushed him into entrepreneurship. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/my-first-company-at-13 ## Transcript I started a little hosting company when I was 13 years old. Okay. So I was 13. What did I know? And at the end of the day, along that journey, I've had just so many failed startups, and I just kept failing and failing and failing. And nothing worked, plain and simple. When I look back now, the timing wasn't right. And I got really torn down about it, because my family came from nothing. We came from the Balkan War, immigrated to Germany, then immigrated to the States. So my family really relied on me. I was the oldest sibling in the house, and my parents didn't speak English. So the only reason I got into startup culture, or entrepreneurship in general, is because I had to, not because I really wanted to. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/when-its-too-calm-i-get-nervous ## Robert Nikic: When It's Too Calm, I Get Nervous Robert Nikic on why a problem at the office excites him, why calm makes him nervous, and how to turn a setback into something useful. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/when-its-too-calm-i-get-nervous ## Transcript I come into the office and someone tells me, hey, there's this going on. I'm like, that's wonderful. They look at me like I'm crazy. Like, what's wrong with you? This is very serious. There are consequences for this and that. We're going to take the situation, and we're not just going to fix it. We're going to pull out perspective and make use of it in many different cases and scenarios. That's what a lot of people don't do. People say, oh, my advertising campaign's not doing so well. I'm failing. I'm going to lose all my money. And they just sit there in the corner. They don't understand how to leverage that and turn it into something. Every time my phone rings, I'm excited if there's a problem. When it's too calm, I'm stressed. If things are going great, I'm terrified. At that point, there are signals in my head telling me that you might fail, and not in the good way. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/we-came-to-america-with-five-suitcases ## Robert Nikic: We Came to America With Five Suitcases Robert Nikic tells Tai Lopez how his family arrived in America with five suitcases, why he learned English first, and the second chance that changed everything. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/we-came-to-america-with-five-suitcases ## Transcript The story is, we had nothing. Zero. We came here with five suitcases. And my grandma got hit by a bus. She was in a coma in Germany, actually, during the transition to the United States. So we were just in true despair. We didn't have anything to our name. We didn't speak English. I was actually the first one in my family to learn English. So I looked for a way out for my family. A lot of people don't take the second chances they're given. My family was given a second chance by coming to the United States after everything that happened in the Balkans. So I worked 18 hours a day. I still do to this day. I was waiting tables, you name it. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/my-parents-were-from-opposite-sides-of-a-war ## Robert Nikic: My Parents Were From Opposite Sides of a War Robert Nikic on growing up with a Serbian mother and a Croatian father, and why he looks at people as people rather than where they're from. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/my-parents-were-from-opposite-sides-of-a-war ## Transcript My mother was Serbian. My father was Croatian, right? So I know what it's like when two sides are against each other, opposing each other, supposedly, during the war. Yet my dad escaped that war, went to Germany, I was born, and we came to the United States with nothing. So when it comes to where someone's from, I tend to filter that out entirely. I look at people as people. I don't profile people by where they're from. For example, there's a lot of stigma between Serbians and Albanians. You respect me, I respect you. That's the approach I take. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/nobody-wants-to-sell-toothpaste ## Robert Nikic: Nobody Wants to Sell Toothpaste Robert Nikic on why nobody wants to sell toothpaste, why everyday products drive the economy, and why founders should sell what the market wants. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/nobody-wants-to-sell-toothpaste ## Transcript When we started selling toothpaste, we were mocked for the longest time, because a lot of entrepreneurs fail simply because they want to sell what they want to sell. Or sexy stuff. That's what they want to do, right? No one wants to sell toothpaste. But toothpaste is what drives our economy, because everybody uses it. Why a lot of people fail in dropshipping, the traditional method, is: oh, I want to start a clothing store, I want to sell all the fashionable clothing that I like. No one cares about what you like. You should care about what the market wants. So my advice would be to take emotion out of the decisions that dictate your success. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/should-you-become-an-entrepreneur ## Robert Nikic: Should You Become an Entrepreneur? I Usually Say No Robert Nikic on why he usually tells people not to become entrepreneurs, and what to do after losing money you were counting on. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/should-you-become-an-entrepreneur ## Transcript I get asked a lot, should I get into entrepreneurship? I usually say no to people. If you have to ask, I don't know if you're really designed for it. You'll know. You'll be so driven that nothing can stop you. You don't have to ask the question. I didn't ask it. Okay, I failed. I lost tons of money. What am I going to do about it? Am I going to sit here and cry about it? No. Okay, great. I lost $28,000. I really depended on this money. My family depended on it. How am I going to take that lesson now, apply it, and make sure it never happens again? That's what people need to do: actually learn from and leverage failure. That's what's worked. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-i-talk-about-my-failures-publicly ## Robert Nikic: Why I Talk About My Failures Publicly Robert Nikic on why he talks about his failures in public, and why the perfect picture of entrepreneurship makes building a business look easy. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-i-talk-about-my-failures-publicly ## Transcript A lot of people don't speak about their failures publicly. I love to, in any case, because everyone just paints this perfect, perfect light when it's really not. Not at all. And it makes other people want to get into entrepreneurship and e-commerce, because it looks so easy, when actually starting and building a legitimate business is very hard. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/dont-just-fix-the-problem ## Robert Nikic: Don't Just Fix the Problem Robert Nikic's advice for the next time something goes wrong: don't just fix the problem, use it to make things better and solve other problems. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/dont-just-fix-the-problem ## Transcript Anyone that's watching this podcast, I really encourage you: the next time you experience a problem, the next time something happens, your husband comes to you, your wife comes to you, your boss comes to you, you need to sit there and analyze. Okay, this is happening. There's nothing I can do to change it. I can get stressed, I can feel many different types of emotions. What can I do right now? Take the situation and not just fix it. I'm going to fix it, of course. I'm a problem solver. But how am I going to take this, after I fix it, and apply it to make things better, more efficient, and solve other problems along the way? That's the perspective people need. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/how-to-pick-what-to-sell ## Robert Nikic: How to Pick What to Sell Robert Nikic's test for picking a product to sell: has the market proven it, who else can sell it, and are you entering a saturated market? - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/how-to-pick-what-to-sell ## Transcript There's not one category that's better than another. It comes down to this. Has the product been proven by the market? Is it available for others to sell? And if so, is it limited, or can anyone just go ahead and sell the product? If it's available to everyone, you're just entering a saturated market. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/growth-doesnt-come-with-comfort ## Robert Nikic: Growth Doesn't Come With Comfort Robert Nikic on the comfort trap, why he creates problems when things get too calm, and why what you want doesn't come with comfort. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/growth-doesnt-come-with-comfort ## Transcript A lot of people just get stuck in that same cycle: comfort, right? And genuinely, at that time, I was comfortable. A lot of people chase comfort. But once you're at that comfortable lifestyle, it's almost like, what's the purpose from there? Some people actually enjoy the comfort. Personally, when it's too calm, like I said, I get stressed out. I'll create a problem, and then that problem will solve 30 other problems that would have happened. So you've got to fight for what you want. You've got to fight for what you believe, and that doesn't come with comfort. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/i-failed-as-much-as-i-succeeded ## Robert Nikic: I Failed as Much as I Succeeded Robert Nikic on failing as often as he succeeded, and why the same failure that he can absorb could bankrupt someone just starting out. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/i-failed-as-much-as-i-succeeded ## Transcript Was I successful? Absolutely. Did I fail as much as I succeeded? Absolutely. And you see, it's different when I fail at the level I'm at right now versus the common man. It could completely tank them and bankrupt them. Those are the risks that come with entrepreneurship. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-i-walked-away-from-dropshipping ## Robert Nikic: Why I Walked Away From Dropshipping Robert Nikic explains why he walked away from dropshipping, what the few winners did differently, and why the model isn't a real business on its own. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-i-walked-away-from-dropshipping ## Transcript We used to do dropshipping. It is not the way to make money or build a long, sustainable business, in any circumstance or any case. But it's still being pushed every single day, which is crazy. There are a few winners, and they're winners because they built the business the right way. They built relationships with suppliers that are credible. They've vetted the products. They've seen the warehouse. They've done QA on the products. They've actually tested the products themselves. Maybe they even created the product themselves, with some R&D on the other side of the world. They put actual effort into building a business. And then, sure, it's dropshipping, because they're fulfilling from the other side of the world. But they took those extra steps. Now it makes it seem like dropshipping is a business that can make multimillionaires, which it is not, in my opinion. The same core values of business apply in every single business, in every single case. You can't just ship products from China that you've never seen, never touched, never vetted. And at the end of the day, guess who pays the price? You do. Chargebacks come back, processors start blacklisting you, and you end up on a terminated merchant list. No more selling for the next five years. So that wasn't a business model. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/compare-the-price-before-you-hit-buy-now ## Robert Nikic: Compare the Price Before You Hit Buy Now A consumer tip from Robert Nikic: before you hit Buy Now, compare the listing price to retail. Most shoppers never check. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/compare-the-price-before-you-hit-buy-now ## Transcript Sometimes when you're doing that, just compare the price. See what the actual listing gives you, and then compare that price to retail and see if it's the same price. Most people won't do that. They'll just hit Buy Now, because Amazon's so easy. Fast, fast, fast. We've been programmed that way, because we just want it now. We want it fast. We don't want to wait. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/second-chances-and-failure-supercut ## Robert Nikic in 20 Seconds: Second Chances and Failure Who is Robert Nikic? A 20-second supercut from his Tai Lopez and Digital Social Hour interviews on second chances, failure and fighting for what you want. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/second-chances-and-failure-supercut ## Transcript A lot of people don't take the second chances that they're given. Throughout my entire life, I failed, and I say that proudly. I personally love when bad things happen. When I get a phone call with the worst news, I wake up. When it's too calm, I'm stressed. You've got to fight for what you want. You've got to fight for what you believe, and that doesn't come with comfort. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-the-manufacturer-wouldnt-sell-it-themselves ## Robert Nikic: Why the Manufacturer Wouldn't Sell It Themselves Robert Nikic asks the question most new sellers skip: if the product is so good, why won't the manufacturer sell it themselves? - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/why-the-manufacturer-wouldnt-sell-it-themselves ## Transcript With the failed dropshipping model, what do you do? You buy products from overseas: Alibaba, AliExpress, you name it. Or you source them through private suppliers, right? Why do you have to source them in the first place? Why doesn't the manufacturer want to sell the product themselves? Because they don't believe in it. They're just pushing it out the door. I'm not speaking for every supplier and every product out there, but a large majority. Now you've got this guy who wants to get into e-commerce. He's looking for a way out. He's looking for a second chance for him and his family, and he's selling a product the manufacturer won't invest in. Now he's taking his money and putting it into building a brand around this no-name product, taking all the risk. He's never even touched the product. He's never even seen the product. --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/entrepreneurship-is-an-overused-term ## Robert Nikic: Entrepreneurship Is an Overused Term Robert Nikic on why entrepreneurship is an overused term, and the one trait that matters: not folding under pressure. - Published: 2026-10-16 - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/entrepreneurship-is-an-overused-term ## Transcript A lot of people fold under pressure or tough circumstances. A million percent. That's why entrepreneurship is just an overused term. If you can master the trait of not folding under pressure, and learn how to leverage failure and take problems... --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/digital-social-hour-interview ## Robert Nikic on Digital Social Hour: Failure as Fuel Robert Nikic joins Sean Kelly on Digital Social Hour to talk about failure: the startups that didn't work, losing $28,000, why he left dropshipping, checking prices against retail, and why he gets nervous when things are too calm. - Show: Digital Social Hour - Host: Sean Kelly - Published: 2026-10-15 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGUGl_4Epdc - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/digital-social-hour-interview --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/tai-lopez-interview ## Robert Nikic x Tai Lopez: Five Suitcases to Founder Robert Nikic sits down with Tai Lopez to talk about starting over with five suitcases, the second chance his family got after the Balkan wars, and the idea that shaped his career: instead of investing in the stock, become the stock. - Show: Tai Lopez - Host: Tai Lopez - Published: 2026-10-15 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3sF1kqNsXI - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/tai-lopez-interview --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/wfla-daytime-interview ## Robert Nikic on WFLA Daytime: It's Not the Capital Robert Nikic joins WFLA Daytime in Tampa to talk about his work on SDG 8 and SDG 9, and why most businesses don't fail for lack of capital, marketing or innovation, but because of the policy rails that make starting a business slow and expensive. - Show: WFLA Daytime - Host: WFLA Daytime - Published: 2026-10-15 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lGuJWkUIhM - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/wfla-daytime-interview --- Source: https://robertnikic.com/media/on-with-mario-lopez ## Robert Nikic on On with Mario Lopez: Why I Love Failing Robert Nikic on On with Mario Lopez: how a kid who left the Balkans learned to leverage failure, and why he says "I love failing. If I don't fail, something is going wrong." - Show: On with Mario Lopez - Host: Mario Lopez - Published: 2026-10-15 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_LP6v8Bg0I - Watch: https://robertnikic.com/media/on-with-mario-lopez