pipe17 Secures $8M to Simplify E-commerce Tool Integration

Pipe17 Secures $8 Million in Funding to Streamline E-commerce Integration

Pipe17, a software startup specializing in the e-commerce sector, has announced the successful completion of an $8 million funding round this morning.

Addressing Integration Challenges for E-commerce Businesses

Pipe17’s core service is designed to facilitate connections between various digital tools utilized by smaller e-commerce businesses, eliminating the necessity for custom coding. This allows e-commerce operations, particularly those without dedicated in-house IT resources, to seamlessly integrate their sales platforms with shipping solutions and synchronize point-of-sale data with their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

Investment Details

The funding round was spearheaded by GLP Capital Partners, the venture capital division of the prominent logistics investor, GLP.

The Genesis of Pipe17

In a recent interview with TechCrunch, co-founders Mo Afshar and Dave Shaffer explained that their startup originated from an analysis of the e-commerce landscape. They observed a robust ecosystem of selling platforms but identified a significant gap in software solutions designed to enable interoperability between these tools.

While platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Shippo offer valuable functionalities, businesses lacking coding expertise often face challenges in transferring data between systems to maintain efficient operations.

This realization prompted the creation of Pipe17, intended to bridge this existing divide.

A Focus on Connectivity and Compatibility

According to Afshar, Pipe17 aims to simplify e-commerce operations by prioritizing seamless connection. The co-founders believe that effortless cross-compatibility represents a crucial missing component within the contemporary e-commerce software ecosystem.

They draw a parallel to the IT and data center environments prior to the emergence of tools like Splunk and Datadog.

Rethinking the Approach to Problem Solving

The prevailing industry approach, as highlighted by the co-founders, often involves acquiring additional applications to address specific issues. However, Pipe17 posits that many e-commerce companies already possess sufficient tooling and instead require a solution to facilitate communication between their existing systems.

A Higher Degree of No-Code Functionality

Pipe17 distinguishes itself through its advanced no-code capabilities. Rather than providing a visual interface for mapping connections, the platform offers pre-built integrations. Users simply select the two e-commerce services they wish to link, and Pipe17 establishes the connection intelligently.

This approach is particularly appealing to independent online store operators who may find any form of coding challenging.

Target Customer Profile

The startup’s primary target audience consists of e-commerce sellers generating annual revenues ranging from single-digit millions to nine figures.

Strategic Timing of Funding

The co-founders emphasized the limited opportunities to simplify a large market, drawing comparisons to the successes of Plaid and Twilio in their respective domains. They believe that capitalizing on this opportunity now is strategically sound.

Afshar anticipates substantial growth in e-commerce operations, a perspective supported by the significant increase in digital sales observed last year.

Competitive Landscape

Pipe17 operates within a competitive niche. While debates exist regarding the extent of overlap, Alloy, a Y Combinator-backed startup, recently secured $4 million to develop a no-code e-commerce automation service – a closely related offering.

The potential for competition between these companies remains to be seen, and the outcome will be of considerable interest within the industry.