Cart.com hires another new CFO, but cools IPO talk this time

A Houston-based e-commerce unicorn has brought in a new CFO to keep its startup-like culture around a little longer, according to one of its executives.

Cart.com said in August it hired Timocin Pervane as its new CFO, but unlike last time, the Houston-based company is not ready to commit to an initial public offering timeline. Cart.com is one of a few private Houston companies that has hit a unicorn valuation, meaning it is valued at over $1 billion.

Pervane succeeds Frank Parker, who was hired for the CFO job in 2021. At that time, Cart.com was planning to go public within two years, and Parker was tasked with heading the company’s global expansion.

Now, however, Parker is taking up the role of chief strategy and operating officer. Remington Tonar, Cart.com’s chief growth officer, told the Houston Business Journal in an interview that the move will allow Parker to oversee more of the strategic direction of the company while Pervane focuses on hitting Cart.com’s revenue targets.

As for an IPO: Tonar said the markets are not favorable now, but the company has not ruled the option out completely.

“Fortunately, we weren’t the only ones that made some erroneous predictions. The U.S. government, the Federal Reserve, most of the Fortune 500 had some off guesses that year, so we were in good company,” Tonar said. “IPO is still very interesting to us as a company, but the private capital and public market investors look at companies differently. This is one of the reasons that over the last year and a half, we've worked extremely diligently to achieve profitability, which we have not only achieved but maintained.”

Cart.com became profitable for the first time in 2023, drawing in revenue of over $260 million. A company spokesperson told the HBJ that Cart.com has maintained profitability in the 11 months since that mark.

Pervane was previously CFO of Shopify Logistics, part of Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP). The logistics business was sold to San Francisco-based Flexport Inc. last year, after Pervane was involved in Shopify’s acquisition of another logistics company, Deliverr. Pervane also held posts at Miami-based Lula Technologies, an insurance software company that uses artificial intelligence.

Tonar said Pervane’s experience at Shopify Logistics, which he described as a “startup within an established business,” was key for Cart.com, which moved back to Houston from Austin last year to access resources that a more established company needs.

“That's ultimately how you avoid the innovator's dilemma and becoming a victim of your own success," Tonar said. "You must always be looking at what's next, right?”

Search for new Houston office continues

Part of Cart.com’s return to Houston includes searching for a new headquarters space, but Tonar said that there hasn’t been much movement. That’s not due to a lack of inventory, according to Tonar.

“A lot of the supply [in Houston] is what I will classify as traditional office. And while we're open to traditional office, it's not ultimately our highest priority,” Tonar said. “We are looking for something that captures the culture of our people and our company, and that's probably not going to be nestled in half a floor on the 20th floor.”

The company’s former headquarters building in Austin housed its sales, human resources, product and tech teams. Cart.com moved to the capital during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it, like other businesses, was transitioning to a hybrid workplace.

The company is currently based at the Cannon West Houston location on Brittmoore Road, where it was founded.

While its HQ search continues, Cart.com did seal some notable deals. In July, the company secured a $105 million term loan facility provided by funds and accounts managed by New York-based BlackRock, plus a $25 million extension on its Series C venture round.

Cart.com also made its first acquisition since returning to Houston, buying Cincinnati-based Amazon-as-a-service business Amify in April for an undisclosed amount.

The business employs 1,500 workers globally and over 50 in Houston. A spokesperson told the HBJ that more hires will come in corporate and back-office roles.

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