The e-commerce industry has traditionally been divided between complex setups requiring significant investment and deceptively simple “plug-and-play” options that often turn unreliable. StoreConnect, led by visionary CEO Mikel Lindsaar, has secured a substantial $9 million seed round from Bellini Capital. This infusion of funds is set to power StoreConnect’s mission of tackling challenges faced by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the e-commerce landscape.
Challenges for SMBs in E-commerce
SMBs struggle to sustain growth, with a shocking 34% of online stores vanishing within a year, averaging just 143 days. The vast number of available apps forces SMBs into an exhaustive evaluation process, adding to their burden and slowing down page loading. Adding as few as six customer-facing apps can significantly increase load times, damaging user experience and sales conversions. Pages taking over six seconds to load lose half of their visitors, impacting traffic and revenue.
Striving for Balance
SMBs must find a balance between functionality and performance, advised to limit apps to a manageable number, around 25, for a comprehensive online store. However, selecting the right apps from thousands of options is a time-consuming task.
Introducing Customer Commerce
StoreConnect’s significance goes beyond simplifying e-commerce complexities through an all-in-one solution. It introduces Customer Commerce, a user-driven approach empowering SMBs to connect with a new range of previously unreachable customers. This transformation accelerates transactions, driving growth, profitability, and scalability at an affordable price. SMBs embracing this approach have seen unprecedented opportunities for expansion across all online revenue streams.
Backed by Innovation
Built on the world-leading CRM platform, StoreConnect has gained support from over 60 Salesforce Solution Integration partners in just 24 months. With a projected run rate of $50 million by 2028, StoreConnect is making waves.
Arnie Bellini, lead investor and former CEO of ConnectWise, believes existing e-commerce solutions belong to a bygone era. He places his faith in StoreConnect’s transformative capabilities to reshape the e-commerce landscape tailored for SMBs. Bellini states, “StoreConnect aims to revolutionize how small businesses engage in online commerce.”
Expansion Plans
The raised funds will be utilized to expand StoreConnect’s global reach by hiring a dynamic sales team, enhancing technology for customer experience, and growing its partner network, including Salesforce solution integration partners.
TL;DR:
StoreConnect, led by CEO Mikel Lindsaar, secures $9 million seed funding to address challenges faced by SMBs in e-commerce. The platform introduces Customer Commerce, enabling SMBs to connect with previously unreachable customers. Backed by innovation and guided by investor Arnie Bellini, StoreConnect aims to reshape the e-commerce landscape, utilizing funds to expand its reach and solidify its position in the small business e-commerce ecosystem.
Hi, I’m Oren, founder at BIGINTRO, a content strategy agency that helps B2B companies drive growth. We develop search, social, PR, and content marketing strategies tailored to business goals. I also have a dog named Milo.