Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business 1187: This entrepreneur built a business around getting ETHICAL reviews the consistent way w/ Adam Melenkivitz
In this episode, Adam Melenkivitz, founder of Test Squared, reveals how he’s building trust in the chaotic world of Amazon reviews by helping brands generate honest, verified product reviews—without breaking the rules. Adam’s journey from scaling a physical product brand to launching an ethical review platform is packed with hard-won insights about brand credibility, sales velocity, and sustainable growth. Entrepreneurs will walk away with powerful strategies to ethically hack consumer trust, drive product momentum, and think creatively in saturated markets.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- 🚀 Why 20 reviews is the magic number that unlocks sales velocity on Amazon
- 🧠 How to build trust in a marketplace filled with black hat tactics
- 💡 Why ethical compliance is not a constraint but a competitive advantage
- 🛠️ Creative growth hacks for early-stage brands (like putting hats on heads before even getting into stores)
- 📈 How to think strategically about reviews as part of your broader marketing mix
- 📦 What makes a product listing conversion-ready (before even thinking about reviews)
- 🤝 Why building a brand—beyond just a product—is critical in today’s ecommerce world
📝 About the Guest
Adam is the founder of TestSquared, a platform that connects Amazon sellers with real product testers to generate compliant, verified purchases and authentic reviews.
Before launching TestSquared, he scaled his previous venture, Alpine Dam, from a local brand to 15 retail stores across California and FBA warehouses in seven states. He also brings experience from roles at Thomson, NASDAQ, and NYSE.
Adam’s mission is to restore integrity to the review economy—one product at a time.
🎯 Adam’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
“Market differently. Be creative. Do what your competitors aren’t doing—and do it with integrity.”
💡 Key Takeaways from Adam's Advice:
✔ Study and draw inspiration from companies outside your industry
✔ Don’t rely on paid ads—build organic, creative growth systems
✔ Authenticity and unconventional tactics (like grassroots giveaways) can break open new markets
📢 Memorable Quotes
- “Leaving a review is almost a social contract as an online shopper now.” – Adam Melenkivitz
- “You can blow up your brand with just a couple of bad reviews—do it the right way from the start.” – Adam Melenkivitz
- “Put hats on heads. That’s how we broke into retail stores—impact first, then results.” – Adam Melenkivitz
💡 Actionable Takeaways
✅ Audit your Amazon (or product) listing for completeness before chasing reviews
✅ Use tools like Fakespot to evaluate your own and competitors’ review authenticity
✅ Get creative with your launch strategy—grassroots tactics work
✅ Focus on verified purchases and ethical review generation for long-term credibility
🔗 Links & Resources