Fondue Acquisition

Earlier today, Oren Charnoff (Founder and CEO) announced that Fondue has been acquired by Postscript. Fondue allows Shopify brands to ditch discount codes by enabling customers with cash-back options instead. For a deeper dive into the acquisition, check out the announcement here.

Shopify Ventures

On June 28th, Shopify announced its venture arm, Shopify Ventures. Shopify Ventures backs founders in financial services, marketing technology, global commerce, and commerce infrastructure. A few previous investments include Stripe, Gorgias, Klaviyo, Tapcart, Triple Whale, and Flexport. Check out the rest of the portfolio here. If anyone has a connection to the Shopify Ventures team, I would greatly appreciate an introduction as we look to continue building co-investment relationships at EverPresent Ventures.

HeatMap Launch

On July 6th, Dylan Ander launched his CRO tool, Heatmap. Having previously been the founder of a CRO agency, SplitTesting, Dylan has extremely strong founder market fit. The Heatmap platform shows various metrics including clicks, purchases, revenue, conversion rate, average order value, revenue per click, and revenue per session. Additionally, the company plans to implement a CRO community channel; I am a firm believer that community-led growth will drive the next wave of innovation.

PS. If you are planning to launch a new product or company in the near future, I highly recommend checking out Dylan’s social media as he had huge success publicizing the launch.

UPS Labor Contract Nears Expiration

The UPS labor contract is set to expire at the end of July. As the company currently accounts for approximately 25% of all packages shipped in the United States, the possibility of a strike could cause significant supply chain disruptions and delays in delivery. Ecommerce brand owners should watch this situation carefully and start to explore relationships with other shipping providers. For more details regarding the current status of negotiations between the union and UPS, check out the New York Times article here.

EverPresent Ventures Update

EverPresent Ventures has been making some great progress over the last few weeks. We are actively working on building relationships with fund co-investors, eComm agencies, chambers of commerce, and warehouse facilities so we can continue supporting our portfolio companies. Stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming months. :)

Keep Dreaming,

Gavin