I noticed that Scot Wingo, computer scientist and CEO of ChannelAdvisor, was sitting alone at the Ask the Expert table at the shop.org conference, so I sat down to ask him about his company. ChannelAdvisor is coming off a huge fourth quarter and is growing at the rate of 60% per year. As its name suggests, the company advises clients in multiple online channels, including comparison shopping, search marketing and marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.
The company was spun out of Overture, formerly the paid search part of Yahoo, and is now backed by a venture capital firm. Customers include a hundred large retailers, including Sharper Image, J & R Music World, Mens’ Wearhouse and others, but half of the clients are small and medium size businesses, many of whom got their start on eBay and now want to branch out into other channels as well.
Later on, at the event’s dinner under the palms, I found myself chatting with an employee (anonymous) at ChannelAdvisor, who advised me that Mr. Wingo is the kind of guy who makes you want to join his team the first time you talk to him. Nice to hear about a company with this kind of esprit de corps.
–posted by Adrian Courtenay
