Shopyak is an intuitive store builder that makes it impossible to build a single page ugly store. I dare you to try.
Name: Shopyak
Location: Santiago, Chile
Website: http://shopyak.com
Product / Service Offering: Automatically Optimizing Ecommerce Solution for Single Page Stores
Co-founder Interviewed: Adam Humphrey (Australia)
Other Key Management Team Members: James Ferguson (Australia), Felipe Batista (Brazil)
This article is part of our Business Startup Spotlight series featuring entrepreneurs and their companies. We hope that these founders’ interviews will inspire and motivate you as you undertake your own entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us a little about yourself with a focus on what motivates you.
I finished the university last year with a degree in mining engineering and finance. I started programming four years ago. After that I started to solve each assessment, including my final thesis, using a piece of software. I cannot stand inefficiency. If a problem can be solved by creating a better solution rather than living with the problem, it is a no brainer.
< see related: How to Improve Your Company >
When did you establish your company and where did the idea originate?
We established the company in Chiang Mai, Thailand last year. Working remotely is one of the huge benefits of working with technology businesses. While there, we saw a recurring problem with online stores, how we could quickly and simply boost their conversion, and how this could be replicated for a large number of current sellers.
What need or needs does your company seek to fill for its customers?
We focus on customers that need to sell one hero product online quickly with a focus on sleek design and boosted conversion. Shopyak is an intuitive store builder making it impossible to build a single page ugly store. I dare you to try.
What is the one thing that sets your company apart from its competitors?
The stores automatically optimize to deliver the layout that converts the highest number of purchases. The templates are all free and the stores are built with mobile first for single product selling.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while getting your company up and running, and how did you overcome it?
All three founders are technical, and we have struggled with the marketing and exposure side in the past. Since then, we have hired experts in these fields and put a higher proportion of our time on sales and marketing. It is an important side of the business and we are learning more each day.
Are there resources you have utilized that other founders might find compelling or useful?
We love to read and be inspired by other entrepreneurs, and Y Combinator’s “How to start a startup” class is a great place to reference and evaluate your decisions from day one.
Want to learn about other businesses in the spotlight? Check out our Business Startup Spotlight Series.
What steps have you taken to secure funding for your company and what, if anything, would you do differently if you had to start over?
We have not yet taken steps to secure funding for Shopyak; however, we have received funding from Startup Chile through a grant. Funding is about selling the benefit, showing exponential growth and proving how the investment will produce scalable guaranteed results.
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Have there been any questions you have had as an entrepreneur of a fledgling startup that you had a particularly hard time finding the answers to?
Although there is a world of free information online they all relate to specific situations and aren’t exactly replicable. Finding what works for you is difficult and often takes a lot of trial and error with your product and users. Sometimes the answers don’t exist and you have to tread through the dark.
What challenges, if any, are you grappling with?
We are always looking at ways to drive more free traffic to our site, whether with a blog post, viral marketing, e-book or quality content. Unpaid traffic significantly lowers your user acquisition and generally has a much more targeted, relevant audience to your product.
What is the most helpful tip or “hack” you’ve ever learned, stumbled across, or been given?
Simply emailing larger companies asking for free trials, free space, free hosting, credits, etc. will often result in success. Explain you are a growing startup and want to use their products from an early age. Never settle for their listed prices.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your company?
If you’re looking to build the next Dollar Shave Club, try our platform and have your store selling by this afternoon. We have a lead capture mode where you can test the demand of your product and a simple sold out modal window appears when the product purchase is clicked. Don’t buy stock until you know if it is a winning store idea.
Are you familiar with other startups you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them, sharing your comments below!
Sandra Sloan
Sandra has previous supply chain and business operations experience which she is leveraging as an author with FundingSage focused on spotlighting entrepreneurs and their startup efforts.
