BigCommerce loads up with $20M for SMB e-commerce tools

The company helps SMBs get their stores online

These days, if you have a small business and you’re not selling your products online, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential revenue.  But maybe your skills and talents lie in glass blowing and you don’t know the first thing about Web design or computer programming.  Maybe that’s why you have such a successful blown-glass business and not a successful website designing business.

For those SMBs that want to create their own comprehensive, stand-alone online stores (rather than rely exclusively on Etsy or eBay), there’s BigCommerce, an e-commerce platform for SMBs.  BigCommerce announced Wednesday that it has raised $20 million in a Series B round of funding led by previous investors General Catalyst Partners, with help from Mike Maples of Floodgate.  The new round of capital brings BigCommerce’s total raised to $35 million.

Launched in 2009, the company has seen 1000% SaaS revenue growth and now serves over 25,000 stores in more than 65 countries.  BigCommerce’s clients span the gamut, from sports, homeware, and jewelry to health, fashion, and electronics.  Among its clients are Pandora Jewelers, Gibson Guitar, Collette Dinnigan, and Willie Nelson’s Shop.  BigCommerce is approaching $1 billion in transactions.

The platform offers a suite of turnkey solutions to SMBs, including professionally designed themes or customized storefronts, marketing tools like newsletters, coupons, and promotions, SEO tools, product reviews, analytics, and more.

BigCommerce doesn’t take a cut of clients’ transactions.  Instead, it charges a monthly or yearly fee, starting at $24.95 a month for 200 MB of storage and 100 products, to $299.95 a month for 10 GB of storage and an unlimited number of products.  Competitor Miva Merchant, by comparison, charges $49.95 a month for 10 GB of storage and 1000 products.

The company’s co-founders, Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper, are from Australia, so BigCommerce’s 100+ team members are split between Sydney and Austin, Texas.

"E-commerce is a $400 billion market growing at massive rates," said Mike Maples, managing partner of FLOODGATE. "Bigcommerce has the team and the platform to take a leadership position in a big way and we are very excited to be involved at this stage."

The company plans to use the new capital from this round to accelerate product development and expand its sales and marketing teams.  BigCommerce has doubled its employee headcount in 2012 and plans to expand its team by 70% over the next two years.