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I wanted to take a moment and congratulate BigCommerce on their monumental IPO! This is a big step for their company, for their partners—and for their merchant customers. This has the potential of making Big… very big.
We became BigCommerce partners in 2014 when there was still only a handful around. Back then, it was a bit herky-jerky in the way the company operated. Even though it was a fairly solid product, it was obvious that BigCommerce was a company that didn’t yet have a solid footing. As a young company, this was understandable.
Thankfully, all of the awkward growing pains started to fade as BigCommerce hired some really top-notch leaders. Just a year later, in 2015, Brent Bellm came on as CEO. You could immediately tell that some very positive change was occurring. My pal Jimmy Duvall, who I knew from our years working with Yahoo! Stores, soon came on in 2016 as Chief Product Officer. This move helped solidify and expand the technological foundation of the platform. We became very close with Dan Fertig, Global Head of Partnerships—also hired in 2016. There are many other leaders I don’t have room to recognize here, but they have made a really big impact we are thankful for.
One of the things I love most about BigCommerce is their culture. The reason I recognized a few leaders first is because they are instrumental in creating and maintaining a viable and healthy corporate culture. The people at BigCommerce are a real pleasure to work with. There is a genuine desire to help each other, with the ultimate goal of providing great service to merchants. We have worked with over a dozen platforms over the years, and BigCommerce’s culture is undoubtedly their secret weapon.
Sometimes being a “partner” becomes a term without any real meaning, but we genuinely feel like a respected and valued partner. This was especially underscored when we were selected as the current Partner of the Year. Being recognized for our efforts and quality of our work was very gratifying, and it helped galvanize our resolve for years to come.
With all of these positive statements, how do I feel about the IPO’s potential effect on BigCommerce?
There is a natural concern about the culture I just lauded being affected by the new direction. I have had conversations with BigCommerce leadership about this very thing, and they get it. They understand what got the platform to where it is today, and they zealously want to protect that unique formula.
Having been privy to a lot of closely-guarded plans for the platform’s offerings, I can tell you that I genuinely believe the best is yet to come with BigCommerce. On behalf of our team, I want to thank everyone there at Big for the support you’ve shown us and our merchants. Congratulations on your recent success as we look forward to many more victories to come.
