Benzinga
Benzinga · 2024
Robert Nikic Featured in Benzinga
Robert Nikic in Benzinga on telling legitimate online-selling businesses from scams, and why integration, product access, data and support matter.
At a glance
- Outlet
- Benzinga
- Format
- External contributor
- Published
- February 2024
- Topic
- Telling a legitimate business from a scam
- Robert's role
- Founder and CEO
- Audience
- New online sellers
Last updated
What Robert Nikic told Benzinga readers
The question
Benzinga's February 2024 piece takes on a question new sellers ask often: how do you tell a legitimate business model from a scam?
An honest admission
Robert starts by admitting the problem. "Like any industry, dropshipping has its share of bad actors." Rather than defend the whole sector, he acknowledges that some offers are built to take money from beginners.
What to check
He then lays out what a reliable model needs: real integration with the marketplaces you sell on, access to in-demand branded products, real-time data and support at every step. If any of those is missing or vague, he suggests, a new seller should be careful.
Related: Dropping Bombs on advice for new sellers · The Guardian on no overnight riches
"Like any industry, dropshipping has its share of bad actors."
In Robert's words
"Like any industry, dropshipping has its share of bad actors." I said it because pretending otherwise helps nobody. When my family came from the Balkans as refugees we started over with nothing, and people with nothing are exactly who bad actors target. I failed at startups as a teenager and worked 18-hour shifts, so I know how much a beginner's money means. We built our company without outside investors and made the Inc. 5000, and I wanted sellers to know what to check before they trust anyone, including us. Since 2026 I've worked on SDG 8 & 9, where clear rules protect new founders.
Robert Nikic
Key takeaways
01
Admit the bad actors
Robert acknowledged that scams exist in the industry.
02
Know the checklist
Integration, branded products, real-time data and support.
03
Protect beginners
New sellers are the most exposed, and need the clearest information.
Where this fits in his story
2011
First platform launched
2018
Relaunched as a full platform
2023
Inc. 5000 debut at #418
2024
Climbs to #35
This feature
2026
Steps away to work on SDG 8 & 9
Where it led
Then, he warned sellers about bad actors. Now, under SDG 8.3, he pushes for simpler, more trustworthy rules for small businesses. Clear, simple rules make it easier for a first-time founder to tell a real opportunity from a bad one, which is the same goal as his Benzinga checklist.
Then
Then, he warned sellers about bad actors.
Now
Now, he pushes for simpler, more trustworthy rules for small businesses under SDG 8.3.
See Robert's SDG 8 & 9 workQuestions
When did Robert Nikic write for Benzinga?
February 2024, as an external contributor.
What did he say?
That the industry has bad actors, and that a reliable model needs integration, branded products, real-time data and support.
What does Robert Nikic do now?
He works on United Nations SDG 8 & 9 as Advisory Council Chair at Reseated Councils.
Original article
Read the original article · Published in Benzinga, February 2024
Benzinga external contributor
About Benzinga
Benzinga is a financial news and data company founded in 2010. Wikipedia
About Robert
Robert Nikic is an entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and Advisory Council Chair at Reseated Councils (United Nations SDG 8 & 9). He came to the United States as a refugee, and from 2011 to 2026 he built and led an e-commerce company that was twice named to the Inc. 5000. Today he works to make it easier for anyone, anywhere, to start a business and grow it.