Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
With the economy bouncing back in many sectors, businesses are starting up all over the web. It’s much easier to get a loan these days, and after you build a website, often including a blog, and get your marketing in place, you can start seeing some revenue.
Still, even though it’s easy to start an eCommerce site, it’s not always easy to keep it going, let alone be profitable. Let’s look at some of the online businesses that outperformed expectations over the last year.
SMS Audio
This audio store, founded by rapper 50 Cent, focuses on extremely high quality headphones that are easily personalized. The website is tastefully designed, and the company has had several artist and athlete endorsements this year, which has provided a major boost to its business. With 50 Cent as the founder, it’s been fairly easy to get endorsements from his peers. The company, which began at the very end of 2014, is now worth $140 million.
Tattly
Tattly’s business is the resurgence of the popular temporary tattoos of the ’90s, with a much better twist. Instead of having to settle with what you get from the machine, you submit your customization requests to the eCommerce site. You can even have a temporary tattoo made of a picture you’ve taken. The company has been around since 2012, but this year, it sold more than $12 million worth of products.
Faucet Face
The name of the game in eCommerce is customization, and this water bottle company delivers. Faucet Face’s glass water bottles have a minimalist design, but you can add any decoration you like to the side of the clear bottle. They also argue that the water tastes better when it comes from a glass container. This single-product company is now worth more than half a million dollars.
BloomThat
This 2014 startup is already worth $2 million, and had an excellent year in 2016. BloomThat delivers specialty flowers in the San Francisco Bay and New York City areas. It’s more affordable than many flower shops, and there’s guaranteed on-time delivery. People love the platform for its simplicity. It’s easy to pick out a customized bouquet without the hassle of understanding flower meanings or worrying about coordinating colors.
ClassPass
Payal Kadakia is the founder and CEO of ClassPass, an app that connects people with fitness classes. In return for a monthly membership fee of $99, users can schedule attendance at any barre, Zumba, spinning, swimming, or other class at participating gyms and studios across the United States. It started in 2013, but it’s already in 33 cities. Kadakia’s company is sitting on $50 million and rapidly growing.
Harry’s
It’s hard to find a good shave at an affordable price, but Harry’s lets you purchase high-end shaving products for as low as $2 with a subscription. It offers products for both men and women, but specializes in men’s shaving products, including blades, combs, creams, and aftershave. The company has been valued at $750 million, having acquired more than a million customers in just three years of business.
These are just a few of the countless online businesses that have sprung up in the past few years and seem headed for ongoing success. Take a look at how they’ve done it – it may help get your own wheels turning!
