Why This Googler Left For An Ecommerce Startup
"It was very hard to leave Google," Tim Schulz told Business Insider. "I feel like I'm a Googler for life, but there was a compelling opportunity with Bigcommerce."
Ecommerce is one of the fastest-growing markets, Schulz said, and Bigcommerce wants to be the leader in the space.
With Bigcommerce, merchants don't have to pay an arm and a leg to build a website to sell products. It's also easy to get up-and-running in just 30 minutes.
"Every time we step on the accelerator, the business accelerates," West Stringfellow, Bigcommerce's chief product officer, told Business Insider. "There are so many business deals on the plate that we just don't have the capacity for."
That's why Bigcommerce spent several months recruiting Schulz. While at Google, Schulz worked on Google Wallet, Google Shopping Express, and other products centered on ecommerce.
Before Google, Schulz worked at ecommerce startup Magento. In fact, Schulz was Magento's first-ever product manager and helped shape the company into a prime acquisition target. Back in 2011, eBay acquired Magento for $180 million.
As senior vice president of product at Bigcommerce, Schulz will be tasked with further growing the business.
"Our target is Amazon," Stringfellow said.
As it becomes easier than ever to get products from Amazon, Stringfellow said people will begin to want more unique products - not just the ones you can get same-day or next-day via Amazon.
There are, of course, other options for merchants to sell custom and unique products, like Etsy and Hatch.
"Etsy doesn't want you to have a relationship with the customer," Schulz said.
Schulz said Etsy merchants will always be building a business on a platform that always takes a cut. Bigcommerce, on the other hand, gives retailers a better shot at building and sustaining a scalable business because merchants can essentially control their entire brand and customer experiences.
To date, Bigcommerce has raised $75 million from investors including General Catalyst Partners, Floodgate, and Revolution LLC, and the company has attracted more than 54,000 merchants to its platform. Roughly 70% of Bigcommerce's merchants are brick-and-mortar retailers.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.