After announcing a $25 million Series A raise last week, Cart.com’s chief executive said the company plans to rapidly grow its headcount.
Houston-based Cart.com, a provider of end-to-end e-commerce services and software offerings, has raised more than $45 million since launching in September 2020. Cart.com co-founder and CEO Omair Tariq, who previously worked as COO at Houston-based Blinds.com, said the company has grown quickly from just two employees last fall to close to 100 employees today.
The fast growth is a testament to the experience of Cart.com’s executive team and the vision for the company as a leader in the e-commerce-as-a-service space, Tariq said. Tariq’s former company, Blinds.com, was acquired by Home Depot in 2014 for an undisclosed sum. Jim Jacobsen, co-founder and executive chairman at Cart.com, previously served as CEO of outdoors retailer RTIC Outdoors.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of e-commerce services for brands doing an increasing number of sales online. Cart.com works with those businesses to scale their online presences by offering software products and services centered around online storefronts, digital marketing, payment processing and more.
“Not just direct-to-consumer businesses, but even for businesses that sell to other businesses, digital used to be a ‘nice to have,’” Tariq said. “What the pandemic did is it turned it into a ‘need to have.’”
With the recent infusion of capital, Cart.com plans to do a lot of hiring to support future growth. Tariq said the firm plans to add another 100 employees over the coming six months with roles in technology, marketing, sales, finance and more.
Cart.com has around 20 employees based in its Houston headquarters. The company just finalized plans to open an office in Austin in May, where Cart.com has another 20 employees, Tariq said. Cart.com’s acquisition of Beaumont, Texas-based AmeriCommerce, a provider of e-commerce services and storage supplies with nationwide fulfillment capabilities, added another 30 employees there. The firm has eight employees based in Arizona. Cart.com also operates eight fulfillment centers across the nation to assist with deliveries.
Cart.com has made five acquisitions since launching, including AmeriCommerce and two digital marketing agencies. Tariq said acquisitions will continue to be a key part of Cart.com’s growth strategy going forward.
“We’re constantly making decisions on what is it that we want to build ourselves and what is it that we want to potentially acquire,” Tariq said.
Meanwhile, Cart.com plans to open a Houston headquarters office near CityCentre later this summer, Tariq said. The firm also plans to open an office in Los Angeles soon.
Cart.com’s $25 million Series A, led by Houston-based venture capital firm Mercury Fund and Florida-based Arsenal Growth, followed five months after a $20 million seed round raised last year.
