E-Commerce

Get 1:1 advice on building your e-commerce company.

Martin Okner

Martin Okner

Former President - dpHUE,
Beauty & D2C Expert

dpHUEACG

Martin "Marty" Okner is an experienced executive and former President and COO of dpHUE from 2017 to 2022. Under his leadership, the company grew annual net sales 10x and ...

Available next Monday

Beauty industry &
D2C advice

  • Beauty products
  • Influencer marketing
  • Digital marketing
  • D2C
  • Private equity
Bryan Wilcox

Bryan Wilcox

Co-founder & CTO – Tovala,
Y Combinator Alum

TovalaY Combinator

Bryan Wilcox is a co-founder and the former CTO of Tovala, a food-tech company that saves people time with a smart oven and paired meal service. Tovala has raised $70M in...

Available next Monday

Technical and
hardware advice

  • Hardware
  • Y Combinator
  • Finding developers
  • Building an MVP
  • Product-driven growth
Billy Bosch

Billy Bosch

Founder – ICONIC Protein,
CPG Marketing Expert

IconicWhole Foods

William (Billy) Bosch is a consumer products entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience launching products, scaling into retail and e-commerce, and raising money. He i...

Available next Wednesday

Consumer GTM
and sales advice

  • Launching consumer products
  • Getting into big retailers
  • Private equity fundraising
  • Branding
  • Customer acquisition strategy
Ray Kim

Ray Kim

CEO – The Plug Drink,
D2C Expert

The Plug

Ray Kim is the co-founder and CEO of The Plug Drink, an all-natural plant-based recovery brand with a focus on liver health that is backed by Red Door Capital Partners, J...

Available next Tuesday

D2C &
F&B advice

  • Food & Beverage
  • Branding
  • Influencer marketing
  • Direct-to-consumer
  • Ecommerce
Alexandra Zatarain

Alexandra Zatarain

Co-founder – Eight Sleep,
Y Combinator Alum

Eight SleepY Combinator

Alexandra Zatarain is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Brand and Marketing at Eight Sleep, the world's first sleep fitness company. Eight Sleep solves sleep's most pr...

Available next Tuesday

Consumer products and
marketing advice

  • Launching consumer tech startups
  • Customer acquisition
  • Branding & marketing
  • GTM and retail distribution
  • Athlete partnerships
Josh Campbell

Josh Campbell

CEO – Human Improvement,
Former Starbucks Executive

Human ImprovementStarbucks

Josh Campbell is the founder and CEO of protein supplement brand Human Improvement and wine brand So Gay Rosé. Formerly a Starbucks Executive and President of cannabis we...

Available next Tuesday

Brand building
and sales advice

  • Launching consumer products
  • Retail partnerships
  • Customer acquisition
  • Fundraising
  • Sales strategy
Davis Clute

Davis Clute

Co-Founder & CEO – Hiccapop,
Ecommerce Expert

ForbesStandford University

Davis Clute is the Co-Founder & CEO of Hiccapop, a digitally native ecommerce baby products company. Davis started Hiccapop while at Stanford University in 2016 and has s...

Available next Wednesday

Bootstrapping
advice

  • Scaling ecommerce startups
  • Bootstrapping
  • SEO optimization
  • Ecommerce marketing
  • Supply-chain optimization
Anthony Lolli

Anthony Lolli

Founder – Rapid Realty,
Real Estate Developer

RapidRealty

Anthony Lolli rose to fame as a successful real estate mogul, but that’s not all there is to him. Like millions of Americans, Anthony struggled with his weight. For 20 ye...

Available next Monday

Passive income
tips and tricks

  • Real estate investing
  • Personal finance
  • Passive income
  • Business development
  • Sales strategy
Ryan Hogue

Ryan Hogue

Founder – Ryan's Method,
Passive Income Expert

Ryan Hogue is a multi-million dollar FBA seller and an ecommerce expert specializing in providing passive income tips. He has built a loyal subscriber base of over 100K+ ...

Available next Tuesday

Passive income
advice

  • Personal finance
  • Investing
  • Marketing
  • Social media
  • Ecommerce
Tim Chan

Tim Chan

Sr. Writer – Rolling Stone,
PR Expert

Rolling StoneTime Warner

Tim Chan is the Director of Products and Commerce at Rolling Stone Magazine. He is also a producer and consultant to a number of publications and brands across the globe....

Available next Monday

Career advice
in media

  • Branding
  • Getting press
  • Media strategy
  • Events
  • Storytelling
Aida Takyrbasheva

Aida Takyrbasheva

Director - Fair,
Startup Sales Expert

Fair
Be Great Partners

Aida is a serial entrepreneur, founder and startup advisor. She specializes in building, scaling and fundraising for companies in various stages from e-commerce, health, ...

Available next Tuesday

E-commerce &
fintech advice

  • E-commerce
  • Partnerships
  • Sales
  • Business development
  • Fintech

What Is an E-Commerce Startup?

An e-commerce startup sells products online through digital channels like online stores or mobile apps. E-commerce startups are still in the earliest stages of business development and may not yet have much traction or revenue. 

Startup e-commerce companies seek to harness the power of digital technology to build their brands and establish themselves in the competitive world of online shopping. E-commerce startup ideas typically strive to disrupt traditional retail markets by capitalizing on the advantages of digital commerce, such as global reach, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

The birth of e-commerce can be traced back to the 1970s, when budding technologies like EDI (electronic data interchange) and teleshopping began laying the groundwork for e-commerce as we know it today. In 1979, entrepreneur Michael Aldrich created the first e-commerce business using a modified television set, a real-time multi-user transaction processing computer, and a telephone line. The e-commerce industry truly kicked off in the mid 1990s, when the dawn of the public internet made it possible for e-commerce pioneers like Amazon to begin marketing and selling their products online.

Since the 1990s, e-commerce has exploded into one of the most popular business models, and many brands are now shifting focus away from in-store experiences altogether in favor of online ones. In 2022, e-commerce accounted for 19.3% of the global retail market, totalling $5.4 trillion in e-commerce sales worldwide — and that number is projected to continue rising steadily over the next few years. 

What Are Some Successful E-Commerce Startup Strategies?

There are many established strategies for growing an e-commerce startup. Some of the fastest-growing e-commerce companies prioritize customer retention — gaining loyal customers who return to your site again and again is crucial for gaining a foothold as an e-commerce business.

Here’s a convenient e-commerce startup checklist that includes a few of the best strategies for driving growth and customer retention in e-commerce:

1. Search Engine Optimization

One of the most essential considerations for e-commerce startups is search engine optimization (SEO). Investing in a robust SEO strategy will help you improve your website's visibility in search engine results — which is crucial for any online business. 

2. Selling on Established Marketplaces

Another common e-commerce business plan is to sell products on established e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon, Shopify, or Etsy. These platforms offer access to existing customer bases and can make it much easier for your young e-commerce business to develop brand awareness and credibility.

3. Personalized Content Marketing

By analyzing customer preferences and behaviors, you can develop targeted messaging for your e-commerce customers in the form of product recommendations, tailored offers, customized email campaigns, and more. Australian e-commerce brand Beer Cartel successfully leveraged content marketing when they used a well-crafted survey to provide their customer base with valuable insights about the craft beer industry, leading to a significant increase in website traffic and revenue.

What can an e-commerce startup mentor do for you?

E-commerce is a unique field with its own set of challenges. A mentor with industry expertise understands the nuances of online retail, including emerging e-commerce trends and the best digital marketing strategies. An experienced mentor can help you validate your e-commerce business ideas by going over your ideas with you and showing you how to conduct detailed market analysis.

Moreover, mentors who have navigated the e-commerce business industry themselves have likely encountered the same obstacles you will encounter and can offer practical solutions and guidance based on their firsthand experiences, helping you to make informed decisions and steer clear of costly mistakes. A mentor provided through Mentorcam can also help you estimate your anticipated e-commerce startup cost and aid you as you navigate the process of securing e-commerce startup funding.