ShipBob Gets $4M to Expand Small Business-Focused Shipping Network
Featured on the Chicago Tribune
Chicago-based ShipBob, a startup that helps small businesses and crowdfunded companies fulfill shipping orders, has raised $4 million in new funding.
The Series A cash will fuel employee growth and expansion into a third city, said co-founder Divey Gulati, although he would not specify a location.
ShipBob already has warehouses in Chicago and New York where clients can store inventory. The company receives orders made through clients’ e-commerce websites, packs the items up and ships them to buyers.
“Imagine you’re a small business owner in Chicago, and now you have the ability to store your inventory across different warehouses where ShipBob is present,” Gulati said. “You can reach your customer much faster at a lower shipping cost.”
ShipBob has about 32 full-time employees, Gulati said. He hopes to grow that number to more than 50 by the end of the year.
Hyde Park Venture Partners led the round.
“Merchants need better tools to take the pain out of fulfillment,” said Ira Weiss, partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners, in a statement. “ShipBob’s platform makes the entire process simple and straightforward.”
ShipBob was founded in 2014 and went through the famed Y Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley the same year. Clients include Evanston-based wearable battery maker Ampy and Korean beauty product startup Glow Recipe.
The company requires no minimum order and charges its clients $5 per month for each type of product stored in the warehouse up to a certain quantity. It charges a $5 pick-up fee for clients who don’t store inventory at its warehouses.
amarotti@tribpub.com
Twitter @allymarotti