Podcast Summary: The Digital Executive

Episode: From Amazon to TikTok: Sebastian Nelson’s Pivot to Kruva | Ep 1131
Date: October 20, 2025
Host: Coruzant Technologies
Guest: Sebastian Nelson, Founder & CEO of Kruva

Episode Overview

This episode of The Digital Executive features Sebastian Nelson, a pioneering entrepreneur who transitioned from Amazon seller to founder of Kruva—a SaaS platform automating affiliate management for brands on TikTok Shop. The discussion centers on Nelson’s entrepreneurial journey, Kruva’s role in shaping social commerce, and the future of affiliate-driven sales ecosystems.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Pivot from Amazon to TikTok Shop

• Survival and Necessity as Motivation
  • Nelson describes his shift from Amazon to TikTok Shop in mid-2023 as a response to unsustainable margins and mounting business debt due to rising Amazon advertising costs.
  • “It was really a means of survival for me at the time. … a product that was once a cash cow turned into a liability. … I had debt that I had to [deal with] for the business.” (Sebastian Nelson, 01:51)
• Discovery of Viral Growth via Affiliates
  • By leveraging about ten content creators on TikTok Shop during the Christmas season, Nelson’s product “went mega, mega, mega viral,” opening his eyes to the power of scaled, video-driven affiliate marketing.
  • Memorable Moment: “That’s when the light bulb… really happened for me.” (Sebastian Nelson, 02:33)

2. The Birth of Kruva: Automating Affiliate Management

• Problem Identification
  • Crushed by manual outreach to creators, Nelson built Kruva to regain time and scale outreach.
  • “Managing and outreaching to affiliates was one of the most manual parts. … It just drowned me in manual work and so I knew it could be automated.” (Sebastian Nelson, 03:35)
• Early Hypotheses and Scaling
  • The initial focus was pure volume—how many messages could be sent and how many creators could be onboarded—testing the assumption that greater outreach leads to higher sales.
  • “Back in the day when we first launched Kruva, it was really about just volume, it was a volume game.” (Sebastian Nelson, 03:58)

3. Becoming TikTok Shop’s Official Partner

• Impact of Partnership
  • Being an official TikTok Shop partner gave Kruva a direct influence on the platform’s development and visibility among emerging brands.
  • “TikTok has been absolutely an amazing partner to us. … What it’s given us more than anything… is just having a say. … They actually value our feedback.” (Sebastian Nelson, 05:01)
• Evolution with AI-driven Creator Matching
  • Kruva’s feature set matured from mass outreach to hyper-targeted creator selection using AI—enabling brands to precisely define and find their ideal affiliates.
  • Notable Quote: “Now…you can come into our system and say, hey, I want a mom who is blonde with 5,000 followers. … We will actually use AI to go find those affiliates.” (Sebastian Nelson, 06:30)
• Navigating Integration Hurdles
  • Nelson acknowledges initial limitations and “not always… smooth sailing” in integrating with TikTok Shop, yet describes the journey as one of rapid, mutual evolution.

4. The Future of Social Commerce & Affiliate Platforms

• A Shift from Influencers to Affiliates
  • Nelson asserts that the most forward-thinking brands are already making affiliates—not influencers—the center of their sales strategy.
  • He cites Comfort Clothing’s affiliate-driven growth to $500 million in just four years as evidence of this “major, major, major shift.”
  • “Every brand is still thinking about influencer and really what we’re seeing on the front lines is … a major, major, major shift going on.” (Sebastian Nelson, 08:29)
• The ‘Operating System’ for Affiliates
  • Kruva’s vision: become the core platform for large-scale affiliate management, enabling brands to recruit, track, engage, and retain thousands of creators.
  • “We see ourselves as… the operating system. … Just like a traditional sales funnel … you have a sales funnel for your affiliates.” (Sebastian Nelson, 09:31)
• Key Metrics for Scale
  • Emphasis on creator retention and repeat content creation as drivers of sustainable growth:
    • “The key metrics... is retention. … That’s where we see real, real scale.” (Sebastian Nelson, 09:54)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the pivotal moment for TikTok Shop:
  • “That’s when the light bulb really moment really happened for me.” (02:33)
• On using AI for affiliate matching:
  • “Now instead of just… I want a creator with 5,000 followers who’s promoted a beauty product, you can… say, hey, I want a mom who is blonde with 5,000 followers.” (06:30)
• On the shift from influencers:
  • “Every brand is still thinking about Influencer and really what we’re seeing… is that there’s a major, major, major shift going on.” (08:29)
• On the future vision:
  • “We want to focus on helping brands, helping find the right affiliates, reach out to those affiliates, manage those affiliates and then retain those affiliates.” (09:55)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:51] — Pivot from Amazon to TikTok Shop: Motivations and risks
• [03:35] — Automating affiliate management: The founding of Kruva
• [05:01] — What it means to be an official TikTok Shop partner
• [06:30] — How AI enables hyper-targeted creator matching in Kruva
• [07:43] — The future of social commerce and the rise of affiliate models
• [09:31] — Kruva’s long-term vision as the affiliate “operating system”

Concluding Remarks

Sebastian Nelson’s journey exemplifies adapting to technological shifts by prioritizing operational efficiency and leveraging emerging platforms. His focus on scalable, AI-driven affiliate management highlights a broad industry shift from influencer to affiliate marketing—a trend he predicts will soon redefine social commerce. Kruva aims to be at the center of this transformation, positioning itself as the indispensable tool for brands navigating the rapidly evolving digital sales landscape.