A startup that opened a second HQ in Cincinnati in 2019 is expanding into new office space, and officials say the move, while affording it more square footage, will also allow the company to triple its headcount in the region.
Amify, a tech startup that helps brands optimize their sales on Amazon, is relocating from East Walnut Hills to Longworth Hall downtown in early 2022. The move will put the company 13 miles from Amazon’s $1.5 billion air cargo hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport — and at 9,000 square feet, will allow it to grow its current Cincinnati team by around 180 employees.
The news comes just days after Amify announced a series of leadership changes in the Queen City — Christine McCambridge joined as senior vice president of delivery; Drew Hall joined as vice president of sales; and Steve Peele II joined as vice president of marketing — and a little more than two years after the company opened its “HQ2” at 1700 Madison Road in a former firehouse building.
The company initially projected it would outgrow that space by the end of its lease. Peele told me Longworth Hall and its history — the building was constructed in 1904 — felt like a natural fit.
Of the company’s 98 employees, 60 are based in the region.
"What's incredible about the Cincinnati business and technology ecosystem is the embrace we've felt along the way,” Peele said via email. “Personally, it was what built and fostered the growth for many of the companies I've been a part of, and for Amify, who truly never intended on growing such a large employee base here, has quickly become a home that we are proud to be a part of.”
The class A office space, located on Longworth’s fifth floor, was recently renovated by Zillow Group in 2017, part of a multimillion-dollar investment. Amify will be making its own upgrades but will also be absorbing best-in-class amenities in terms of networking and access, Peele said.
Employee perks include a fully stocked kitchen with catering three times per week, large conference rooms and huddle space to facilitate collaboration.
It’s a significant step up for the company locally and caps a huge growth year for Amify, fueled in large part by the pandemic, which pushed e-commerce sales to new heights.
In May, Amify announced it had reached an annual run rate of $100 million in gross merchandise value, or GMV, for its customers in terms of goods sold — a key metric. That represents a 600% increase in GMV under management over the past year from both new and existing clients and establishes the company as the largest service provider focused on third-party sellers.
Amify expects to hit an annual run rate of $200 million by the end of the year, founder and CEO Ethan McAfee said.
Amify, founded in 2010 with an original HQ in the D.C. suburb of Alexandria, Va., bills itself as an "Amazon-as-a-service" provider. The company helps brands market themselves and their products with advertising and content. It also manages Amazon storefronts, oversees inventory and demand planning, as well as customer service and returns.
Its brand partners include Procter & Gamble and Energizer, as well as local companies Under the Weather, a Linwood-based portable pods business; Robert Rothschild Farms, a maker of small batch sauce; and Doscher’s Candy Co.
The company mostly recently raised a $5.8 million Series A in 2019, which included participation from local seed-fund CincyTech. The company also maintains a warehouse in Hebron.
The new Cincinnati HQ is expected to open in early January.
