Great title, isn’t it? At least that’s what my marketing guy said when he saw it.
Hi, I’m Dan McCarty, the CEO of Crystal Commerce and, despite the valuable lesson almost drowning taught me about startups, I’m never getting in a kayak again.
Let me set the scene for you.
It was an absolutely beautiful 4th of July day in the San Juan Islands. I was on my first (and well-deserved!) vacation after over a year of 70-hour workweeks building Crystal Commerce. A few friends and I had rented kayaks and were planning on heading out to the islands for a few days of sunshine, camping, and relaxation.
As we glided through the water towards the entrance to the harbor, I (somehow) tipped my kayak over, dislocated my shoulder trying to get right side up again and was lucky enough to be rescued by a nearby boat. After my rescuers dropped me off at the dock, I spent 20 excruciating minutes trying (unsuccessfully!!) to relocate my shoulder myself before finally calling the EMT’s who drugged me up and took me to a local island clinic.
Ouch. Needless to say, that was the end of my vacation.
But as painful of as this experience was, it did teach me a valuable lesson about running a startup.
What might that lesson be?
Launch ASAP. (Because you might die tomorrow in a freak kayaking accident!)
And so, as we’re tying up the last few loose ends before we go public, I thought I should share a little about Crystal Commerce and why we (and everyone we talk to) are so excited.
Crystal Commerce is an ecommerce service that helps small businesses sell more online. It does so by enabling them to easily sell the same inventory through multiple channels (like eBay and their own online store and comparison shopping sites) without ever accidently double-selling something. The math is pretty simple. Reaching more customers equals more new customers and revenue.
Next, Crystal Commerce gathers all customer and order information into a single location, regardless how they bought from the business. This does four things for our clients. First, it allows them to fill all their orders flawlessly and without stress. Second, it lets them give personalized customer service so all their customers have great experiences. Third, it enables them to use the built-in marketing tools in Crystal Commerce to keep their customers coming back again and again. Last, and most importantly, it empowers them to find customers through popular but low-margin channels like eBay and convert them to more profitable channels like their own online store for the long-term. And it does it all from one nothing-to-install, so-easy-my-grandma-could-use-it online interface.
When we started building this system a year ago, I sketched the dream system for taking my million-dollar online business to the next level and knew in my gut that if I wanted it, others would to. And now, I’m happy to say that all signs point to my instincts having been correct. Perhaps even too correct since potential customers are getting annoyed at how long we’re taking to get the system perfected. Soon the wait will be over. I promise.
I’ll be writing more here about Crystal Commerce and our launch in the days to come. But in the meantime, feel free to watch the video introduction or check out the top 10 reasons to choose us. Or drop me a line at dan@crystalcommerce.com or 206-274-7437 if you want to chat.
