“If you’re passionate about the problem you’re solving, and you stay focused, you’ll find your footing. Success isn’t overnight, but if you play the long game and stay committed to creating real value, you’ll do well.” – Shane Barker

Today, we are excited to welcome Shane Barker, the founder of Tracefuse.ai. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights. Let’s begin…

Could you start by introducing yourself and explaining what your company TraceFuse.ai does?

Hi, I’m Shane Barker. I’ve been in the digital space for over 25 years, working on everything from building websites and driving SEO strategy to launching full-scale influencer marketing programs.

About five years ago, I stepped into the Amazon ecosystem. After working closely with sellers, we went public with our own product about three years ago.

At TraceFuse, we help Amazon sellers remove negative reviews that violate Amazon’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines, including fraudulent and abusive reviews.

Drawing from your 25 years in digital marketing, what specific pain point led you to create TraceFuse.ai in 2022, and how does your solution differ from others in the marketplace

After two decades in digital marketing, I kept seeing the same pain point: good sellers losing sales, rankings, and reputation over fake or unfair reviews, with no idea how to fight back. We created TraceFuse to solve that problem in a way that’s ethical, automated, and completely Amazon-compliant.

You’ve mentioned that you didn’t create TraceFuse “Just to build another eCommerce tool.” Can you elaborate on the mission behind your company and how it aligns with your professional values?

I created TraceFuse because I saw a real problem affecting good sellers, and I knew we could build something better. Something transparent, ethical, and performance-driven.

I’ve always been passionate about creating things that genuinely help people. A lot of what I’ve built over the years has been focused on helping businesses grow, and TraceFuse is no different.

With this tool, we’re helping Amazon sellers remove reviews that shouldn’t be on the platform in the first place—reviews that are fake, irrelevant, or in violation of Amazon’s own Terms of Service.

Now, to be clear, we’re not here to remove every negative review. If a seller has a product that needs improvement, and a review highlights that in a fair, constructive way, that’s valuable feedback. It helps the seller improve.

But when it comes to reviews that are fraudulent, abusive, or clearly in violation of Amazon’s policies, our job is to help get those removed—because they don’t belong there, and Amazon doesn’t want them there either.

Working with brands like Adobe, BigCommerce, and SEMrush must have provided valuable insights. How have these experiences influenced your approach to building and scaling TraceFuse?

Yeah, absolutely. What really helped in building TraceFuse was leveraging tools like SEMrush to analyze the competitive landscape and identify key opportunities. It gave us insight into who the major players were, what they were doing, and how we could better position ourselves.

We also had the advantage of working with established names like BigCommerce and others in the digital space. Over time, many of the people we worked with moved between companies, and those relationships became valuable as they transitioned into roles connected to the Amazon ecosystem.

When we saw that someone we’d worked with in the past was now managing or selling a product on Amazon, we’d reach out. It was a natural progression—those existing connections helped us expand quickly into the Amazon space and bring value to brands already facing review-related challenges.

Your company uses AI to identify policy-violating reviews. Could you walk us through how this technology works while remaining 100% Amazon ToS-compliant?

Here’s how it works behind the scenes at TraceFuse.

When a seller signs up, they provide us with their Merchant Token. That allows our system to securely pull in all of their ASINs and SKUs. From there, the seller can select which ASINs they want us to monitor or file against.

Once they select a product, we gather all the critical reviews—typically 1-star, 2-star, and 3-star reviews—and run them through our AI engine.

The AI plays a key role in helping us quickly assess which reviews may violate Amazon’s Terms of Service or community guidelines. It flags things like:

• Irrelevant or off-topic content

• Abusive or fake reviews

• Potential signs of fraud based on patterns or metadata

But AI doesn’t do the filing. That’s where our human team steps in.

Every flagged review is manually reviewed by one of our expert filers, who prepare and submit custom case files to Amazon, ensuring everything is done accurately and 100% Amazon-compliant.

The AI helps us scale by sifting through large volumes of reviews efficiently, while our team ensures every case meets Amazon’s expectations.

It’s a hybrid model: AI for speed and precision, humans for compliance and success. And that’s what helps us consistently get results for sellers.

As someone recognized in the top 100 most influential people in influencer marketing, what lessons from that world have you applied to building a SaaS company in the Amazon ecosystem?

Being recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Influencer Marketing alongside names like Kim Kardashian taught me a lot about how to scale visibility, build credibility, and earn trust.

One of the biggest lessons I took from that world is the power of personal branding and connection. I used those same principles—PR strategy, social proof, relationship building—to launch and grow TraceFuse.

In the Amazon space, especially when it comes to review-related services, there’s often a stigma. People assume it must be black-hat, risky, or non-compliant. That’s something we wanted to change from day one.

So I applied what I learned:

• Used my personal reputation and transparency to build immediate trust

• Leveraged my 25+ years in digital marketing, my experience teaching at UCLA, and the results I’ve delivered for Fortune 500 brands

• Focused on social proof—real client success stories, video testimonials, and data-driven results—to show we’re here to do ethical, white-hat business

The same principles that worked in influencer marketing, credibility, consistency, and delivering value, are exactly what I’ve brought into TraceFuse. And they’ve helped us build a SaaS product that not only performs but earns the trust of the Amazon seller community.

Building on that commitment to solving real problems for sellers, can you elaborate on the mission behind your company and how it aligns with your professional values?

“There’s no substitute for expertise.” – Shane Barker

I saw that on a billboard for a law firm years ago, and it stuck with me.

The idea is simple: you can hire someone brand new and save some money, but they won’t have the 20 or 30 years of hard-earned experience that lets you see around corners, anticipate problems, and solve them quickly.

It’s not about ego—there are absolutely people out there who are younger or even smarter than me. But experience matters. At TraceFuse, we know what sellers need because we’ve been in the trenches. And we’ve built a team and a system that reflects that commitment to doing right by our clients.

Speaking of expertise and making a real difference, could you share a success story where TraceFuse significantly improved a client’s brand reputation and sales?

You can find our client testimonials here – https://tracefuse.ai/testimonials/

One of our favorite success stories is from a brand called Serenity Kids, a well-known name in the clean-label baby food space.

They came to us with a strong product and loyal customer base—but like many Amazon sellers, they were facing the negative impact of unfair and policy-violating reviews that were weighing down their overall rating and affecting conversion rates.

After partnering with TraceFuse:

• We removed 65 negative reviews from their listings.
• Their star rating improved from 4.5 to 4.6, which had a measurable impact on buyer trust.
• That ratings bump led to a noticeable increase in sales and overall marketplace visibility.

What made it even more impactful was how hands-off the process was for them. Serenity Kids described our system as “set it and forget it”—we handled everything, from detection to filing, all while staying fully Amazon-compliant.

It’s stories like this that remind us how removing just a handful of unfair reviews can lead to a major shift in brand reputation, rankings, and revenue.

Given the intense work involved in helping sellers, how do you balance your roles as a podcast host, contributor to major publications, and CEO of TraceFuse to maintain focus on growing your business?

Time management wasn’t always my strong suit. In the early days, I was putting in 20-hour days—seven days a week—constantly grinding. I thought that’s what it took to build something meaningful.

But over time, I realized that the pace wasn’t sustainable. So I had to shift my mindset from working in the business to working on the business.

Now, I still put in the time when it matters—including some weekends—but I make sure to protect space for myself and my family. Whether it’s taking walks with the dogs, barbecuing, or just unplugging for a bit, I’ve learned that balance actually makes me more effective, not less.

Building a great company is important. But so is being present, healthy, and grounded while you’re doing it.

Based on the challenges you’ve navigated, what emerging trends do you see affecting Amazon sellers in the next few years, and how is TraceFuse preparing for these changes?

The e-commerce landscape is definitely evolving, and Amazon sellers are facing new challenges every year.

One of the biggest emerging issues right now is around tariffs and the rising cost of goods. That’s forcing a lot of sellers to rethink pricing, supply chains, and profitability. It’s creating a tighter, more competitive environment—and sellers need to find every possible edge.

At TraceFuse, what we’ve seen—and what will continue to be true—is that reviews are forever. There will always be reviews that violate Amazon’s guidelines, and unfortunately, fraudulent activity continues to be part of the landscape.

Amazon does a solid job at moderation, but the volume is massive, and things slip through the cracks. That’s where we come in.

Regardless of the macro shifts—tariffs, logistics, or policy changes—we’ll continue to be here to help sellers protect their brand reputation by removing reviews that don’t belong. As long as there are unfair reviews, TraceFuse will be here to fight them.

Drawing from your journey and the challenges you’ve overcome, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to solve problems in established marketplaces like Amazon?

Amazon is a massive marketplace, and with that comes a massive opportunity. But if you’re looking to solve problems in an established space like this, be prepared: it’s not going to be easy.

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. The truth is, it takes time. You’re going to hit roadblocks, face growing pains, and probably question your decision more than once. That’s part of the journey.

But if you’re passionate about the problem you’re solving, and you stay focused, you’ll find your footing.

My advice?

• Surround yourself with the right people.

• Join communities that are already deep in the Amazon space.

• Find a mentor who’s been where you’re trying to go.

And stay patient. Success in this space isn’t overnight, but if you play the long game and stay committed to creating real value, you’ll do well.

Based on all the insights and experiences you’ve shared, what’s next for TraceFuse.ai and your vision for the company’s growth? Are there new services or markets you’re planning to explore?

As for what’s next with TraceFuse, we’re excited about expanding both our reach and our tech.

Right now, we’re active in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., but we’re gearing up to expand into the EU and other Amazon marketplaces. The need for ethical, effective review management is global, and we want to be there for sellers everywhere.

We’re also leaning deeper into AI, and one of the latest tools we’ve launched is the Amazon Review Checker. It’s a free tool that lets sellers scan their own listings to detect potential violations of Amazon’s review policies.

If you’re a seller, you can use this tool to flag and attempt review removals yourself, and if you’re not able to get them removed, that’s where we come in to help finish the job.

We believe in empowering sellers first—and being their partner when they’re ready for more support.

“Thank you, it has been great learning more about your founder story and TraseFuse.”

To learn more about TraceFuse, Visit: 🔗https://tracefuse.ai/amazon-review-checker

Or visit their Company LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tracefuse/

Want to connect with Shane? Check out their Social Media Profiles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shane_barker  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaneBarkerConsultant/  

Instagram: http://instagram.com/shanebarker    

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanebarker