This year, the winner of Albany NY's 40 Under 40 award was Derek James, founder and CEO of Magic Digital Media and VA Relief. This serial entrepreneur is currently thirty-eight years old, born in Schenectady he dropped out of University just one year shy of his degree to pursue launching companies. Now, Derek runs multiple brands that he and his partner own on Amazon and they are doing close to $10 million a month in sales combined on Amazon alone. Years back before he was a seller, Derek started Magic Digital Media as an agency bringing brands onto Amazon to scale their operations and sales fast. In 2017, he transitioned into selling - hitting eight figures in 2018. At Magic Digital Media, they offer coaching programs for students who are already selling on Amazon and are looking to grow.
His other business venture is VA Relief, a company that provides virtual assistants to e-commerce sellers. Derek admits that his business would not have been successful without the help of virtual assistants themselves, so he is now helping other Amazon sellers and businesses scale their businesses by providing virtual assistants. They are fully trained to lift the heavy burden off the plates off the clients and handle back-end problems of the company, allowing clients to focus more on growing their businesses.
What sets Derek apart is the fact that he knows the e-commerce world inside out. This is why he was able to reach the unthinkable one hundred and forty million lifetime sales in less than three years! This journey has not always been an easy one, says Derek - who failed the first six times he tried to start a business. He believes that perseverance and hard work are the secrets to success, and admits he has gotten so far only because of this passion and drive!
