Santa Monica-based Tapcart, founded in 2017, is a software-as-a-service platform that helps brands across several industries create mobile apps to help companies reconnect with their customers. Eric Netsch, co-founder and chief executive at Tapcart said the company is banking on mobile being the main place for merchants to reach their customers.
How long have you worked in the tech industry, and what did you do before Tapcart?
I’ve been in the tech industry since 2011, when I founded my first company, Vogo. After a few years, I decided to leave the company and began working as the lead developer for DTE Media. It wasn’t until 2015 that I founded Mobile First and started my career building mobile apps for clients like HBO and Heineken. However, as e-commerce platforms like Shopify began to grow, I saw merchants interested in building a mobile app were encountering a drawn-out process. I recognized that there was a need for better mobile app technology, and I wanted to provide an alternative solution where merchants could self-create and launch an app with ease. The resulting product was Tapcart.
In what ways have you seen the e-commerce industry changing?
Mobile is increasingly becoming the de-facto method of how shoppers choose to transact and engage with stores. So now more than ever, it’s vital that brands invest in channels that cater to mobile-first strategies and center mobile as a critical component of their growth, longevity and approach to increasing customer lifetime value.
The technology industry had seen a massive wave of hiring during the peak of the pandemic, and we are now seeing massive layoffs, especially in tech. What does that say about the state of the industry today?
Tech companies were hiring in droves during the pandemic to meet the demand for online services, from e-commerce to entertainment. These tech companies experienced record revenue levels, which led to high salaries and benefits packages for those new hires. As we now transition into a post-pandemic landscape, many companies recognize that they have over hired and overspent. Unfortunately, many companies did not manage their unit economics to continue operating sustainably with the financial habits they’d developed.
We’ve tried to be very intentional about balancing high growth while maintaining healthy margins and responsible spending. That is a difficult balance to strike, but it’s critical to execute against growth and efficiency targets at the same time.
Are there any misconceptions surrounding e-commerce that you would like to debunk?
The idea that mobile apps are only for big brands is definitely a myth. Our vision for Tapcart from the beginning was to democratize access to world-class mobile commerce tools for every brand. We’ve delivered on that. Launching a mobile shopping app has never been easier or more affordable. Today’s consumers expect a high-performing mobile shopping experience, and we give brands of every shape and size the tools to deliver on that.
What is next for Tapcart?
We are hyper-focused on helping the world’s top brands power the best shopping experiences their customers deserve. To deliver on that promise, our strategic focus centers on three areas: making our products more extensible will give enterprise merchants even more flexibility to design cutting-edge customer experiences; increasing product-led expansion will drive a compounding flywheel of growth; and a perpetual focus on productivity and efficiency will help our business remain strong and healthy indefinitely.
