Online Shop is an e-commerce startup that was started just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gaining traction, back in April by entrepreneur and current director Terry McGinnis, one of world’s top marketing executives working with some of the top entertainment, music and tech companies in the past, and who has been awarded top startup and entrepreneur of the year by a London based news outlet for 2021.
Over the last year the startup had seen significant changes, going from a SaaS product to a marketplace product.
“We wanted to utilize our expertise and knowledge to provide independent businesses with an easy way to garner traffic they otherwise wouldn’t of had been able to get.” Stated Terry McGinnis.
“Over the last year we acquired a big share of the market here in Britain, however we saw that the marketplace model itself does indeed cannibalize sellers, it pits them against each other, and that’s something we never wanted or intended for. We want to promote local businesses and entrepreneurship.” He followed up.
The startup has even employed the talents of famous ex-TikTok influencer, Michelle Byun as a creative and marketing director to help shift it to a more ‘youthful’ age, providing the much needed exuberance in an otherwise male dominated and ageist e-commerce industry.
“As we saw with the rise of services and creators via TikTok, our time is here, to drive change, to be impactful and to provide a solution that everyone is proud of. I aim to help find the perfect market fit for us, and be the go-to solution to bridge the gap between old and new, legacy and disruption.” Stated Michelle Byun in a comment to us.
The new drive for recruitment doesn’t appear to stop there, Siraaj Ahmed, one of Hollywood’s top tech leads and one of Britain’s top developers has joined to help expedite the process of this new change as a Chief Technology Officer.
“We’re arbiters of change, that’s what I love about this company and what we’re aiming and striving to achieve. We’re youthful, we’re forward thinking and the team here is exceptionally gifted and talented. We’re aiming to build a community, where everyone helps everyone and we all build towards a better and greater future. I think this is something our competitors had failed to understand. We had the runway to try and we accomplished this, we now have a clear path and a clear strategy to go back to our original plan, to offer something absolutely appealing to businesses, entrepreneurs, hobbyists – you name it, we are here to ease life. That’s what technology is supposed to do.” Stated Siraaj Ahmed.
The startup is also enlisting top entertainment talent, veteran’s Alan Zadeh who commented “I’m excited and proud to stand beside Terry and his team, executing the vision of global expansion one market at a time!” and Ziad Barakat ““Terry and his unique team bring a fresh perspective to the commerce market and I couldn’t be happier to join the team and help expand the vision, operation, and team!” and one of Britain’s top solicitors, Oliver Saxon to help with North American expansion in months to come.
Many companies are starting to adopt a more community centric approach, attempting to build a robust ecosystem of users and developers, with one of the most successful key studies PLEX TV which had came about from a community led development cycle and approach to solutions.
“It’s very important for us to build up a community that loves a product, and it’s a lot more fun to develop something that everyone can contribute to, it’s easier for us to find a market fit too, from a marketing perspective – people love to be involved in things they can contribute towards, no matter how big or small. One of my key strategies in joining is to have all of our current users, sellers, buyers and developers work hand-in-hand, creating something truly unique and not previously seen in e-commerce. Making it very easy to use, and deploy – we know there are such things as WooCommerce and others but our aim is to provide a way for everyone and anyone to quickly and effectively launch a shop. This is why it’s such a relief to work with such a talented team of developers, designers and overall experts in their field.” Added Michelle Byun.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has become the go to category for many investors, from venture funds boasting billions in valuations to everyday people looking to increase their investments from one society’s oldest customs, buying and selling.