Episode Details

Have you ever wondered how to get funding for your retail business? Wonder no more! In a new series from Future Commerce - the number one retail podcast - we walk you through all that you need to know in order to build and exit from a successful retail business. In partnership with Shopify Plus, we'll take you from zero to hero, Step by Step.

#Show Notes

• Brian and Phillip are joined by Jamie Oliver and Jordan Knapp from Shopify Plus to discuss funding for your eCommerce store in a new part of the Future Commerce Shopify series.
• This series is targeted towards the merchants with online stores between the $1 million and $5 million range and entrepreneurs that want to think through the avenues of raising capital.
• How do you choose what type of capital would be the best fit for your brand?
• What are the steps my brand should take to attract an investor, and how do I make the investment process easier?

Main Takeaways:

Introductions and Dreams: Helping Merchants Achieve Their Goals:

• Jordan leads the Market Development team but has been in eCommerce for the majority of his career.
• A year and a half ago, Shopify set out to explore new channels and see where they could place Shopify Plus in the market to expand it in new directions.
• One of the ideas between Jamie and Jordan was about the fact that very few of the merchants are selling on Shopify without bigger dreams or aspirations.
• Their goal has been figuring out who the investors to empower Shopify merchants to get the funding best suited for their needs, and thus, in the Investor Collective was born.

Scaling and Growth: How Shopify Plus Grew:

• Jamie joined Shopify in 2014 on the HR side was responsible for hiring for Shopify Plus just as it was starting.
• The needs and wants of the merchants on the platform were pivoting, and the Shopify Plus team scaled in a way to meet these needs.
• In 2018, Jamie left the recruitment team and decided to join Jordan's product development team.
• The Investor Collective is integrating with venture capital and private equity firms.

Venture Capital vs. Private Equity: What's the Difference?

• In terms of investment firms as a whole, the motto is value creation on repeat; their main functions are to source and acquire companies, improve the operations of those companies, and then either sell those companies or go public.
• Venture capital tends to look at earlier seed-stage business and often takes a minority stake in the company in addition to offering their expertise and talent pool.
• On the private equity side, they are looking to take a bigger stake in the business and will typically provide a lot of capital to take that business to the next level.
• Understanding the options available to you is extremely important.

The Reason Behind the Series: Why Partner With Future Commerce?:

• After digging into the Shopify Plus merchant base, the Shopify Plus team came to realize that a substantial portion of their merchants had garnered some form of investment throughout their lifetime.
• If they can assist merchants looking to obtain capital and provide them with more information, then everyone benefits.
• There are a lot of negative rumors and misinformation floating about regarding investing, but arming yourself with knowledge can prevent these.
• When it comes down to the contract, it is always negotiable, so knowing what you are trying to do is imperative in the process.

The Investors Collective: Going Beyond the Deal:

• The Investors Collective is a partner program that interfaces with venture capital and private eq