NBC
NBC
Robert Nikic Featured on NBC
Daytime · WFLA News Channel 8, Tampa Bay
Robert Nikic on NBC's WFLA Daytime on SDG 8 & 9, and why most businesses don't fail for lack of capital, but because of the rules to start them.
At a glance
- Network
- NBC
- Station
- WFLA News Channel 8
- Show
- Daytime
- Market
- Tampa Bay, Florida
- Topic
- SDG 8 & 9 and why businesses fail
- Robert's role
- Advisor on innovation and economic growth
Last updated
What Robert Nikic said on NBC's WFLA Daytime
Segment summary
This is Robert's most recent TV appearance and the first about his current work. On Daytime, the lifestyle show on NBC station WFLA in Tampa Bay, he discussed United Nations SDG 8 and SDG 9 and what he learned from the founder years that came before.
The argument
Robert's point was that most businesses don't fail for lack of capital. Leading a platform used by thousands of sellers showed him where the gaps were. As he put it, "It really comes down to the policy of what actually it takes to start that business in the first place."
From technology to policy
For years he tried to close those gaps with software. In this interview he explains why he moved to policy: faster payments for small sellers, access to in-demand products and less red tape. Technology can make a good process faster, he said, but it cannot fix rules that block people at the door.
Related: The European Business Review on barriers · USA Today 2025 on ownership
"It really comes down to the policy of what actually it takes to start that business in the first place."
In Robert's words
For fifteen years I tried to solve sellers' problems with technology, and a lot of it worked. But I kept seeing people stuck before they could even start, and no software fixes that. My family came here as refugees and started over with nothing. I failed at startups as a teenager and worked 18-hour shifts. We built the company without investors and made the Inc. 5000 twice. In 2026 I stepped away to work on SDG 8 & 9, because, as I said on the show, it really comes down to the policy of what it takes to start a business in the first place.
Robert Nikic
Key takeaways
01
Capital isn't the main barrier
Robert argued that rules to start a business sink more founders than lack of money.
02
Lessons from thousands of sellers
Running a large platform showed him exactly where new owners got stuck.
03
Policy, not just software
He moved from technology fixes to faster payments, product access and less red tape.
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
2026
Steps away to work on SDG 8 & 9
This feature
Where it led
This interview is not a look back. It is the current work. Robert's SDG 8 & 9 focus is on three things he names here: faster payments so small sellers are paid in days, access to in-demand products, and less red tape to register and run a business. The segment is the plainest summary of why a founder-turned-advisor took on this work.
Then
Robert joined WFLA Daytime to talk about his work on SDG 8 and SDG 9.
Now
This is current work: Robert's SDG 8 & 9 focus on faster payments, access to in-demand products and less red tape.
See Robert's SDG 8 & 9 workQuestions
What did Robert Nikic discuss on WFLA Daytime?
His work on United Nations SDG 8 & 9 and why policy, not capital, is often what stops new businesses.
Is the interview available to watch?
Yes. It is embedded on this page and on robertnikic.com.
What does Robert Nikic do now?
He is Advisory Council Chair at Reseated Councils (United Nations SDG 8 & 9).
Original article
Read the original article · Published in Robert Nikic on YouTube
About NBC
WFLA-TV, News Channel 8, is the NBC-affiliated television station serving Tampa Bay, Florida. 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.