What will it take to get more Colorado companies trending on AngelList? How can Colorado build the same kind of powerful network that Silicon Valley enjoys?
I sat down at Denver Startup Basecamp with Dan Sallis, Chief Software/Database Architect at OrderStorm, and Peter Adams, Executive Director of Rockies Venture Club, to discuss these questions, OrderStorm’s solution for SMBs, and the challenges of mid-level funding.
OrderStorm provides a cloud-based suite of e-commerce applications for small and medium businesses, transforming WordPress sites into feature-rich e-commerce platforms that are on par with the big guys.
To understand what exactly this means, consider how WordPress has transformed content management for SMBs. Most companies used to need someone else to build and manage their websites. Then if they needed to make changes, they would have to depend on someone else to go in and do that. Now with WordPress, any company can build a website and make changes anytime.
“WordPress solved the content management problem for SMBs,” said Sallis. “But for anything transactional they still have to link out to a third party.” For example, while a large restaurant chain will have their own reservation tool on the site, a smaller individual restaurant will link out to third party sites for reservations, takeout orders or gift cards. Why does that matter? Once a customer leaves the site, the look and feel changes and everything involved in building the company’s brand is lost. Not to mention, the company can’t easily make changes to the third party site.
OrderStorm uses the power of the cloud to deliver to the back end of WordPress so that SMBs don’t need to link out to third party sites. They can stay in control of their own e-commerce and keep everything on their own site.
OrderStorm is in beta, raising funding, and is trending on AngelList. (As of this writing, the company is sitting at #9.) Getting there took a concerted campaign and the involvement and support of key investors. It’s important to have a lead investor and influential people who are interested and show their support. “We put a lot of effort into the campaign,” Sallis said, “but we also reached out to our network.” Building a network takes time, he added, and entrepreneurs should begin long before they are ready to seek funding. You can put your company up on AngelList with the other 180,000+ companies, but not much is going to happen if you don’t have any real life connections. As Sallis said, there’s just something about meeting people face to face.
Sallis pointed out that the top eight trending companies are all from the Silicon Valley area. “The network there is so strong that it helps push companies to the top,” he said. Sallis and Adams both emphasized that the startup community in Colorado needs to strive to create that same powerful network. As Adams puts it, we need to “Follow Colo.” Everyone from entrepreneurs to investors to customers can follow companies on AngelList and show their support. “Anybody in the community, whether they are an investor or not, can get on AngelList,” said Adams.
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