With the emergence of the Internet just before the 2000s, many entrepreneurs sought to use the World Wide Web to expand or create their business. This tool was used as a means of disclosure, selling and shipping to different places in their own country (and later, the world), aiming to strengthen their brand and monetize it through a successful online store.
Today we have gathered two examples of success, in which we tell a little about their trajectories, from the foundation and difficulties to the triumph. Want to know more? Check out our article!
The Challenge of Creating an E-Shop
In Brazil, we have the example of Marcio Kumruian, founder of Netshoes. Together with his partner, Hagop Chabab, they had started a business, a physical shoe store in São Paulo, in 2000.
As they worked next to a college, they thought of taking advantage of the movement of students walking around the area and tried to get their first customers.
To expand, in 2002 both partners decided to open their business on the internet as a way to increase the company's sales.
On the other side of the hemisphere, Chinese Jack Ma, creator of one of the world's largest e-commerces, Alibaba, founded his first online company in 1995 after visiting a friend in the United States, Bill Aho. In the US, Ma met Bill Aho's son-in-law, Stuart Trusty. Trusty ran one of the first ISPs in the United States, VBN.
Ma wondered how he could use the technology in his homeland. When he returned, he created China Pages, where his goal was to help companies in his country look for customers to sell to abroad.
The Hits and Misses of the Entrepreneurial Venture
For the Brazilian, the beginning was not easy at all. In its first month, the store could not sell any products.
The movement began to appear only in the third month, when they closed a sale of one pair of shoes. In the following month, they even sold two pairs. Sales gradually rose and in the year 2007 they made the difficult choice to close their only physical store. Although friends and family of the duo thought it was crazy, Kumruian saw the need to focus only on e-commerce.
The Chinese were not so lucky. Even with the hard work of visiting his customers door-to-door, Ma was pressured to form a joint venture of his company with Hangzhou Telecom. The deal caused the government to take control of his company, leading him to look again for a job at Infoshare, an online advertising agency set up by China's Ministry of Commerce. The job was not enough, and after 14 months, Jack Ma decided to start up again.
In 1999, Jack created Alibaba together with 17 friends. The group met in his apartment at the Lakeside Gardens condominium in Hangzhou.
Their new mission was to set up a sort of online meeting room, where Chinese companies could negotiate with their clients: distributors and resellers from different places in the world.
The idea caught the attention of banks such as Goldman Sachs and Softbank, which decided to finance the project with an investment of U$$ 20 million, increasing the growth of the enterprise.
The Quest for Results
In both trajectories, the entrepreneurs encountered several challenges; however, with persistence, they achieved great results.
The Brazilian company currently invoices more than 1.3 billion reais a year, although it still does not make a profit.
To stay on top, the company invests every amount received to improve its brand, either by bringing competitive prices, publicity, and improving customer satisfaction.
On the other side of the world, with the expansion of new products and services, the Alibaba group is valued at more than US$ 25 billion.
To achieve these great results, both companies have focused on their commitment to the customer. Bringing quality in their products and offering a good service to them.
One of the main ways to improve the relationship with the consumers is through a well designed website, which offers a pleasant experience, where the user can quickly find the products in different categories and feel safe when making a purchase.
Do you know any similar success story of an e-store? Comment below!
