Chris Bennett co-founded a business that makes you ponder: ?Why didn?t I think of that??
His Soldsie lets people shop via Facebook and Instagram. The e-commerce service allows businesses to sell straight to people on Facebook and Instagram through the comments section. ?We started Soldsie to allow businesses to sell on social media, where fan engagement previously didn’t translate to conversions,? he explains.
The idea for Soldsie, which first launched in May 2012, is so intriguing and viable that it raised $4 million in Series A funding from First Round Capital. Among its investors are SoftTechVC, Lerer Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Great Oaks Ventures, e.Ventures, 500 Startups and other individuals. ?Among other sources, we’re backed by investor Josh Kopelman, founder of Half.com (acquired by eBay), and First Round Capital,? says Bennett.
Soldsie was seemingly an instant success. Within a few months of debuting, the company reached 75 businesses, totaling more than $1 million in transactions. By summer 2013, Soldsie had reached 1,000-plus merchants, totaling more than $10 million in transactions. Currently, Soldsie has 1,500 sellers, and more than $25 million in transactions. The company?s revenue comes from receiving a small amount of each transaction along with a monthly minimum starting at $150. ?Through comment selling, retailers post sale items to Facebook or Instagram, and customers purchase by commenting ?Sold.? We also created Have2Have.it, a discovery portal that takes advantage of the single clickable link Instagram allows in bios. The Have2Have.it feed directly connects Instagram followers to products and other web content,? explains Bennett, who currently employs 13 people and a growing staff.
Bennett looks forward to more growth this year. ??In 2016, we want to keep growing Have2Have.it and support our comment sellers as they discover a new venue for sales, Facebook Groups,? he reveals. ?We hope Have2Have.it and comment selling become even more established methods of selling on social media and creating web traffic.?
According to Bennett, Soldsie is filling a niche. ?Soldsie has allowed a huge variety of brands to take their social media strategy to the next level, from small businesses to media companies to globally-recognized names,? he says.
