TicTail, a DIY ecommerce platform out of Sweden, has today raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital.
The company, which is a lot like Etsy in its mission to make online storefronts easily accessible and creatable by DIYers, will use the money to open up an NYC office.
TicTail has also reached the significant milestone of 35,000 stores on the platform. In 2012, TicTail only had around 5,000 stores, and in late Summer of 2013, that number had grown to 23,000 stores. So obviously, this winter has seen huge growth for the platform.
TicTail focuses on a different demographic than other competitors, aiming for DIYers and entrepreneurs who don’t speak internet at all. The idea is to eliminate every barrier to entry, even cost, which is why TicTail operates on a freemium model.
“The differentiating factor is the ease of use – not only to just set up the store, but to carry people through the difficult tasks that come next,” said CEO and cofounder Carl Waldekranz. “Unlike our biggest competitors Tictail is not a tool, it’s a community.”
Users can sign up and start a storefront in no time, and they look through third-party developer add-ons to buy, increasing the functionality and look of their store. TicTail takes a 30 percent commission on these add-on sales.
With the latest round of funding, the company will be expanding into the states operationally (as mentioned) as well as delivering better discovery on the platform.
