7 start-ups keeping Chicago on the cutting edge of e-commerce
7 start-ups keeping Chicago on the cutting edge of e-commerce
Reverb.com
It pairs new and used equipment with content and tools that help both buyers and sellers direct the transaction. It was launched as an online music gear marketplace in 2013. After that, the Chicago start-up has made teams in Europe, Japan and Australia. Last year, the start-up also launched a marketplace for physical records, making it easier for collectors to fill the gaps in their collections.
Foxtrot
Foxtrot combines on-demand delivery with upscale brick-and-mortar stores where shoppers can peruse selections of food, artisanal wines, craft beer and everyday essentials hence; it takes a hybrid approach to the convenience store. It was started in 2013. For on-demand deliveries Foxtrot uses each of its brick-and-mortar locations as a hub. Thus to bring the concept to the national stage the start-up raised a $6 million Series A round earlier this year.
ShipBob
This company functions by providing logistical support for companies that sell products online. It itself does not sell unlike other companies in this list. For instance, the company raised a raised a $17.5 million Series B round to expand its business of managing inventories and bringing physical products into the hands of e-commerce customers last year. It did this by permitting the entrepreneurs to concentrate on other things, viz marketing and developing new products.
Interior Define
This firm was founded in 213. This Online furniture retailer allows its users adapt their pieces with a wide array of fabrics, and make tweaks to dimensions to confirm that the furniture fits the room it is meant for. The entrepreneurship moreover raised a $15 million Series B round this spring in order to introduce new digital tools that include an increased reality app that allows users demo new furniture at home, and a tool for understanding the ergonomic features of a couch without going to a brick-and-mortar storefront to test it.
Machinio
Chicago is known as a center for business-to-business B2B technology, and the e-commerce vertical is no exception. The platform of Machinio lets companies shop for used industrial apparatus online has listings from more than 2,000 dealers across the world. This firm is headquartered in Chicago.
Raise
makes proprietary payment technologies that make it easier for consumers to use prepaid currency both online and in brick-and-mortar stores a part from operating a gift card marketplace featuring more than 450 national brands. The start-up, from PayPal and Accel, which invested in Venmo before its acquisition by PayPal raised a $60 million Series C round last year. It was launched in 2013.