Introduction
I have lived and breathed "software for ecommerce" for the last 14 years. First in co-founding WooThemes/WooCommerce (acquired by Automattic) and then founding Conversio (acquired by Campaign Monitor). Today, I'm building in the space again with my new gig, Cogsy.
Ecommerce continues to grow wildly and there are so many new tools and solutions that will be built for modern retail brands. I want to invest in and support the next wave of founders that will push ecommerce even further forward.
The first phase of commerce was about platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce etc) and payments (Stripe). The second phase was about growth, marketing and distribution (Klaviyo, Yotpo, ShipBob). We're in the third phase now, where retailers are adapting to a new, decentralized world of commerce.
My investments are focused on the following key areas:
- Tools that help retailers sell in new ways (whether through QR codes or in the metaverse);
- Tools that unify fragmented experiences or data silos;
- Tools that bridge the gaps between contextually different interactions (offline -> online, social -> on-site, marketplace buyer -> direct customer); and
- Tools that serve under-served geographies (India, Africa, LATAM etc) or the next category of consumer spenders (millennials & Gen Z'ers).
I'm an active founder in the ecosystem (building with Cogsy, where we've raised ~$6m to date), which means I can get my hands dirty for the founders in which I invest. Being "boots on the ground" and connected to what is happening in the ecosystem, means I see many early-stage solutions.
I primarily invest in pre-seed and seed rounds. And I'm often able to negotiate preferred terms in a round due to my strategic value add.
Investments in my portfolio:
