26 Ecommerce Platform Success Stories [2024]

Updated: November 19th, 2023
Start An Ecommerce Platform

Over the past decade, eCommerce has become an indispensable part of the global retail framework. According to statistics, over 2 billion people prefer shopping online.

While brick-and-mortar stores are still making more sales compared to online sales, the adoption of eCommerce is still rising, mainly because of the increased speed and convenience of online shopping.

Therefore, starting an eCommerce platform could set you on the right path to building a futuristic business.

Here are some real life success stories of starting a ecommerce platform:

1. Secret ($216K/year)

Jean-Loup Karst, the co-founder of Secret, came up with the idea for his business while running his previous startup. He realized that many entrepreneurs, including himself, struggled to find affordable software deals. Inspired by the perks programs offered to accelerators and incubators, Jean-Loup decided to create a platform that would provide exclusive deals on services and software for startups.

How much they make: $216K/year
Current team size: 0

article

On Creating A Website Full Of Software Deals For Startups

Secret is a platform that offers exclusive deals on services and software for startups, allowing entrepreneurs to save up to $50,000 on 70+ SaaS deals and make their businesses more profitable at 100% free, and their accelerated growth is fueled by personalized email marketing and niche forums.

About
Jean-Loup started Secret almost 5 years ago
Revenue
Jean-Loup grew the business to $18K/month
Read by 9,695 founders

2. StoreYa ($24M/year)

StoreYa was founded by Eyal Reich and his brother Yariv, along with Pasha Zaft, with the goal of creating a profitable business model in the e-commerce industry. They started by launching the first Facebook shop app, which gained traction and led them to develop on-site promotion apps. Recognizing the challenge of getting targeted traffic, they then created Traffic Booster, which leverages their expertise in PPC and technology to automate Google Ads using AI. StoreYa has since become a successful marketing and advertising platform, with over 200,000 online sellers and generating $700K MRR.

How much they make: $24M/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
Current team size: 18

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How We Started A $700K/Month Business Getting Targeted Traffic For Online Sellers

StoreYa co-founders Eyal Reich and Yariv Dror, along with CTO Pasha Zaft, created a suite of marketing and advertising apps that include Traffic Booster, which has generated an average of $700,000 MRR and helped the business win a 2018 Google Acquisition Performance award, as well as becoming a PayPal exclusive advertising partner.

About
Eyal started StoreYa over 11 years ago
Revenue
Eyal grew the business to $2M/month
Costs
It cost Eyal $5000 to start the business
Read by 9,958 founders

So... can you actually make money with a ecommerce platform?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

3. DataCue ($36K/year)

Shahram and Ann came up with the idea for DataCue while on their honeymoon in Central America. They realized that small and medium businesses lacked access to data for making informed decisions, and wanted to democratize data for all. After meeting a stranger who told them about a government-funded initiative in Chile, they applied and moved there to turn DataCue into a reality.

How much they make: $36K/year
Current team size: 5

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How We Developed A $3K/Month Ecommerce Personalization Platform

DataCue helps eCommerce entrepreneurs sell more and improve conversion with their personalization platform, which has generated over $2m in additional revenue for eCommerce businesses in 2019, and is growing at 40% m/m after being founded just 18 months ago, with a goal for 2020 being profitability.

About
Shahram started DataCue about 6 years ago
Revenue
Shahram grew the business to $3K/month
Read by 5,817 founders

4. Really Simple Store ($1.2K/year)

Drew Thomas came up with the idea for Really Simple Store when he was running a digital agency and had clients who wanted ecommerce capabilities without switching their whole site to platforms like Magento or Shopify. After shelving the idea for a few years, Drew revived it and rebranded it as an ecommerce platform for makers. The project took a unique turn when he integrated a token economy into the platform and decided to go all in, converting Really Simple Store into a self-service, public ecommerce platform.

How much they make: $1.2K/year
Current team size: 0

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How I Launched And Monetized A Really Simple App

A founder shares how he launched Really Simple Store, an ecommerce platform for people who "simply have something to sell," generating less than $100 per month but with a lot of potential for growth and improvement, and emphasizes the importance of building a community while growing a business.

About
Drew started Really Simple Store about 5 years ago
Revenue
Drew grew the business to $100/month
Read by 6,105 founders

So... can you actually make money with a ecommerce platform?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

5. KOGLAND Commerce Pvt Ltd ($360K/year)

KOGLAND Commerce Pvt Ltd, an online marketplace for healthcare professionals in India, was founded in 2015 by Varghese Samuel. The idea came from discussions among a team of technology, engineering, and medical professionals who recognized the challenges faced by healthcare providers in procuring quality medical supplies. Since its launch, KOGLAND has achieved a ten-fold increase in revenues, steady growth in online traffic, and aggressive hiring plans.

How much they make: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $7K
Current team size: 8

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We Built A $360K/Year Medical Supplies Ecommerce Platform

KOGLAND Commerce Pvt Ltd is one of India's fastest-growing online surgical supply stores, with a ten-fold increase in revenues, steady growth in online traffic, aggressive hiring, and scaling up plans, following a hybrid model of stocking and selling fast-moving consumables and surgical products.

About
Mr. started KOGLAND Commerce Pvt Ltd over 7 years ago
Revenue
Mr. grew the business to $30K/month
Costs
It cost Mr. $7000 to start the business
Read by 3,745 founders

6. Dropout SRL ($1.68M/year)

Kola Tytler, the founder of dropout, came up with the idea for his business after learning about the underground sneaker resale market and self-teaching himself to code a sneaker bot. He later teamed up with others to create software that collected data and ran statistical analysis, which led to the creation of HypeAnalyzer. Frustrated with university, Kola decided to bring the ultimate sneaker shopping experience to Italy, leading to the birth of dropout.

How much they make: $1.68M/year
How much did it cost to start: $120K
Current team size: 8

article

How I Started A $840K/Year Business Selling Limited Edition Sneakers [Italy]

Founder Kola Tytler managed to build a profitable business, Dropout, worth over $2.5 million by selling limited edition sneakers and streetwear, despite having no prior experience and juggling medical school; the company saw over 50,000 in-store visitors and over $100k in sales in December 2021 alone and raised €750k via equity crowdfunding in 6 days.

About
Kola started Dropout SRL over 5 years ago
Revenue
Kola grew the business to $140K/month
Costs
It cost Kola $120000 to start the business
Read by 3,413 founders

So... can you actually make money with a ecommerce platform?

Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.

But how?

  1. Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
  2. Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
  3. Take action, because now you have the roadmap.

Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:

Start Now

7. Checkout Page ($26.4K/year)

Sander, the founder of Checkout Page, came up with the idea while working as a freelance developer and traveling as a digital nomad. He identified a need for an easy way to accept payments in Stripe and saw it as an opportunity to help people make a living online. After launching on Product Hunt and receiving positive feedback, Sander continued to focus on customer support and validation to further develop the product.

How much they make: $26.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 0

article

How I Launched A Payment Software Side-Hustle [With Over $1M In Transactions]

Checkout Page is a payment software for independent businesses that processed over $1M in transactions last year and is now aiming to 10x the business to $10k monthly revenue with a new co-founder and focus on user experience and marketing.

About
Sander started Checkout Page almost 6 years ago
Revenue
Sander grew the business to $2.2K/month
Read by 3,058 founders

8. FriendsWith limited ($174K/year)

Paige and Dan came up with the idea for FriendsWith during the first lockdown in New Zealand. With more time on their hands, they evaluated what they wanted for their future and saw the opportunity in the growing market of social commerce. They combined their skills and created a social commerce platform that incorporates social media, commerce, and an affiliate rewards program, attracting users to shop and share content for premium fashion and lifestyle brands. They have seen a 300% increase in app users and estimate to bring in $200,000 in revenue for the next financial year.

How much they make: $174K/year
How much did it cost to start: $42.5K
Current team size: 2

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We Started a $174K/Year Social Commerce Platform During Lockdown

FriendsWith, a social commerce platform with a built-in affiliate rewards program for premium fashion and lifestyle brands, saw a 300% increase in app users since launching in August 2020 and estimates bringing in $200,000 in revenue for the next financial year, with a focus on attracting shopping enthusiasts to become "influencers" to start a side hustle with no overhead costs.

About
Paige started FriendsWith limited over 3 years ago
Revenue
Paige grew the business to $14.5K/month
Costs
It cost Paige $42500 to start the business
Read by 2,554 founders

9. Launch Cart, Inc. ($600K/year)

Greg Writer, the CEO and founder of Launch Cart, came up with the idea for his business after managing e-commerce stores for celebrities and realizing the limitations and high costs of existing platforms like Shopify. He wanted to create a faster, higher-converting platform with built-in features and a marketplace for entrepreneurs to source products on a drop-ship basis. Launch Cart aims to be a viable alternative to platforms like Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy in the e-commerce space.

How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2.5M
Current team size: 8

article

How We Built A $600K/Year E-Commerce Platform

Launch Cart CEO and founder Greg Writer created a new and faster e-Commerce platform to compete with Shopify, with over 35,000 registrations to date, and a Source and Sell Marketplace that allows entrepreneurs to source drop-ship and affiliate marketing products, driving promising growth as their future looks bright as a viable alternative to Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy in the e-Commerce industry.

About
Greg started Launch Cart, Inc. over 4 years ago
Revenue
Greg grew the business to $50K/month
Costs
It cost Greg $2500000 to start the business
Read by 2,830 founders

10. Ultra Growth Marketing ($720K/year)

Matthew Larsen, the founder of Ultra Growth Marketing, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the need for a comprehensive eCommerce marketing book specifically tailored to eCommerce store owners. He decided to write a step-by-step guide with over 75,000 words, offering actionable advice to help business owners create multi-million dollar eCommerce stores. Through Facebook lead generation ads, Larsen was able to give away over 17,000 free copies of his book and capture valuable leads, resulting in over $60,000 per month in recurring revenue.

How much they make: $720K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 3

article

I Published An Ebook That Drove $42K/Month To My Agency [Canada]

Matthew Larsen's Ultra Growth Marketing earns over $60,000/month in recurring revenue by giving away his eCommerce Marketing Book for free and then capturing leads using Facebook's Lead Generation ads, resulting in over 19,000 downloads in the first month since its launch.

About
Matthew started Ultra Growth Marketing about 2 years ago
Revenue
Matthew grew the business to $60K/month
Costs
It cost Matthew $100 to start the business
Read by 2,346 founders

11. Gumroad ($21.2M/year)

Sahil loves building stuff. He really enjoyed the process of taking a problem coming up with a solution, and then shipping a prototype of that solution to see how good his concept was. Before finishing college he had already shipped a dozen products. Most of the time, they weren't that great.

But sometimes something works out really well, and then he has to decide if he actually wants to work on the idea some more. Very rarely, the answer is yes. That was the case with Gumroad. The question at its core was really compelling to him: How easy could one make it to sell something?

How much they make: $21.2M/year
Current team size: 17

article

I Started Gumroad as a Weekend Project and Now It’s Making A Million Per Month

Gumroad is an e-commerce platform for digital content creators, which generates $350K in monthly revenue and assists creators to earn over $5M/month, with approximately 5.31M website visitors per month.

About
Sahil started Gumroad about 13 years ago
Revenue
Sahil grew the business to $1.77M/month
Read by 890 founders

12. Custimy.io ($600K/year)

Kristoffer and his co-founder, Martin, came up with the idea for Custimy while on vacation in Spain. Martin, who was working in London as a director for a software and technology consultancy, pitched the idea of building a customer data platform for e-commerce stores. Inspired by the potential to revolutionize e-commerce, Kristoffer quit his CEO position at a food-tech company, and together they built Custimy from scratch, eventually raising $1.6 million in pre-seed funding and attracting major media attention.

How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $875K
Current team size: 30

article

We Built A $600K/Year SaaS Platform For E-Commerce Brands

Custimy.io co-founders Kristoffer and Martin created an e-commerce data platform that uses machine learning to help SMB stores make better decisions based on higher-quality customer data, raising the biggest pre-seed funding round in Denmark at the time and currently having 50K USD in monthly recurring revenue.

About
Kristoffer started Custimy.io over 3 years ago
Revenue
Kristoffer grew the business to $50K/month
Costs
It cost Kristoffer $875000 to start the business
Read by 2,563 founders

13. On Brand ($1.8K/year)

After working in the merchandising industry at Banana Republic and earning his MBA, Brian McEuen noticed a shift in how men were shopping for clothes. He saw an opportunity to curate personalized selections for guys shopping online, leading him to start On Brand. With 75 users and an annual revenue run rate of $1800, Brian aims to improve and expand his product in the future.

How much they make: $1.8K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.2K
Current team size: 1

article

Spotify For Clothes: How I Launched A Business Helping Guys Discover New Clothing

On Brand founder Brian McEuen curates personalized selections of clothing for men online, sending emails to individual users without duplicate products, with 75 current users and an annualized revenue run rate of $1800.

About
Brian started On Brand almost 4 years ago
Revenue
Brian grew the business to $150/month
Costs
It cost Brian $1200 to start the business
Read by 3,100 founders

14. Maynuu ($36K/year)

Aaron, the GM of Maynuu, came up with the idea for their business out of frustration with how big food delivery platforms were charging exorbitant fees to small restaurants. He wanted to create a tool that would help small restaurant owners make more money online. He connected with Wafiq, the CEO of Maynuu, who had a similar idea to help his brother's café business. They merged their projects and launched Maynuu, which has seen significant growth, making about $4,300 last month and growing about 200% in the last year.

How much they make: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 4

article

How We Developed A $36K/Year Tool To Help Restaurants Sell More Online

Maynuu helps small restaurant owners streamline their online ordering process, making an average monthly revenue of $3,050 in the past 12 months and growing about 200% throughout the pandemic, with plans for Southeast Asian expansion and global distribution.

About
Aaron started Maynuu almost 4 years ago
Revenue
Aaron grew the business to $3K/month
Costs
It cost Aaron $500 to start the business
Read by 2,289 founders

15. Upper Limits ($1.44M/year)

Matthieu Fortin, the CEO of Upper Limits, started the company in 2013 with the goal of creating a place where medical cannabis patients could find education and guidance. Inspired by his personal experience with the health benefits of vaporization, he saw an opportunity to provide new product technology education and fill a gap in the market. With an initial investment of $30,000, he bootstrapped the business and focused on sourcing high-quality products and building relationships with vendors and customers. Word of mouth and a strong online presence, including Google tools, have played a significant role in attracting and retaining customers for Upper Limits.

How much they make: $1.44M/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
Current team size: 7

article

How I Started A $1.4M/Year Online Smoke Shop

Upper Limits, a hybrid brick-and-mortar/e-commerce company located in Springfield, IL that sells dispensary, smoke shop products, and custom glass pipes, has succeeded in generating 366% greater sales revenue than their industry peers by facing challenges head-on and diversifying their revenue streams.

About
Matthieu started Upper Limits over 10 years ago
Revenue
Matthieu grew the business to $120K/month
Costs
It cost Matthieu $30000 to start the business
Read by 1,665 founders

16. Gopuff ($1B/year)

How much they make: $1B/year
Current team size: 3615

article

What is GoPuff and How Did it Become a $15 Billion Business?

GoPuff's successful consumer products delivery business is now valued at $15 billion after raising $3.4 billion through nine different funding rounds, including a $1 billion one in July 2021, and generated an impressive $1 billion in revenue in 2021 alone, up from $300 million in 2020.

About
Yakir started Gopuff about 11 years ago
Revenue
Yakir grew the business to $83.3M/month
Read by 807 founders

17. CartHook ($1M/year)

How much they make: $1M/year
Current team size:

article

LinkedIn Outreach, New Features vs. Fixing Bugs and More Listener Questions with Jordan Gal

CartHook, a Shopify app, has helped increase income and AOV for e-commerce businesses by adding a post-purchase upsell tool, handling over $1 billion in transactions and was founded by Jordan Gal, who previously generated $500k in revenue with his own e-commerce business.

About
Jordan started CartHook over 10 years ago
Revenue
Jordan grew the business to $83.3K/month
Read by 503 founders

18. Clankart ($14.4K/year)

Nitesh Garg, the founder of Clankart, came up with the idea for his business while in college. He witnessed the difficulties students faced when buying and selling used books, and saw the need for a marketplace dedicated to students. With over 25,000 registered students on the platform, Clankart is working towards empowering students to connect and trade their used books online in India.

How much they make: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $6K
Current team size: 3

article

I Started A 14K/year Marketplace For Students While In College

Clankart is an Indian-based online marketplace for students to sell their used books to other students located anywhere in India, with over 25,000+ registered users, and aims to consistently add something game-changing and worthwhile to its experience.

About
Nitesh started Clankart about 2 years ago
Revenue
Nitesh grew the business to $1.2K/month
Costs
It cost Nitesh $6000 to start the business
Read by 2,832 founders

19. Bagisto ($600K/year)

Saurav Pathak, the Chief Product Officer of Bagisto, came up with the idea for the open-source e-commerce platform after realizing there was a huge gap between demand and supply for platform-driven e-commerce solutions. With the goal of making it simple for developers to create their own online stores, Bagisto has generated over $1 million in revenue and has a user base of 200,000.

How much they make: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
Current team size: 47

article

How We Built A MillIon Dollar Ecommerce Platform [India]

Open-source e-commerce platform Bagisto has generated over $1 million in revenue in the past four years, with $350,000 annual recurring revenue for the past two years, has over 70,000 downloads, 5,000 Github stars, 5,000 community members globally, and over 150 contributors enhancing its features.

About
Saurav started Bagisto over 5 years ago
Revenue
Saurav grew the business to $50K/month
Costs
It cost Saurav $10000 to start the business
Read by 3,853 founders

20. Gun Made ($180K/year)

Hello, meet Brady Kirkpatrick, the Founder of Gun Made. Brady started Gun Made as a blog about guns, ammo, accessories, and more, and it has now become a media business with 1.5-2 million readers per year. The business generates $15k per month in recurring revenue, mainly from affiliate marketing, and is on track to become a seven-figure business in a few years. Brady's next big project is creating an E-commerce platform that integrates pricing from hundreds of retailers to help consumers find the lowest-priced firearms. Impressive, right?

How much they make: $180K/year
How much did it cost to start: $70K
Current team size: 1

article

How A Firearms Blog Side Project Became A $180K/Year Business

Gun Made, a media business founded by Brady Kirkpatrick, started as a COVID side project and now generates about $15k per month in recurring revenue from affiliate marketing, with plans to help retailers generate over $2.5M in sales in 2022 through their new e-commerce platform that aggregates pricing from hundreds of retailers.

About
Brady started Gun Made over 3 years ago
Revenue
Brady grew the business to $15K/month
Costs
It cost Brady $70000 to start the business
Read by 2,816 founders

21. CartFox.io ($18K/year)

Simon, the founder, started his eCommerce business with a 5K EUR investment inherited from his grandmother. After successfully creating several brands and generating over 150M+ EUR in revenue, he identified the need for a SaaS solution for SMS marketing and cart abandonment recovery in the competitive EU eCommerce market. This led to the birth of CartFox.io, which aims to become their flagship product within a year or two.

How much they make: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $120K
Current team size: 7

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How We Built A $1.5K/Month SMS Marketing SaaS With Just A Plain PHP Tech Stack

Slovenian eCommerce business owner turns internal solution into SaaS product CartFox, with over 150M EUR revenue generated through several brands, but still breaking even $1.5K/month with salaries included from CartFox.

About
Simon started CartFox.io almost 2 years ago
Revenue
Simon grew the business to $1.5K/month
Costs
It cost Simon $120000 to start the business
Read by 1,423 founders

22. Sockrates Custom Socks ($6.3M/year)

Samuel Moses, the founder of Sockrates Custom Socks, came up with the idea for his business while managing a men's accessory store in Toronto. After realizing the high demand for socks and receiving requests from companies for custom socks, he saw a gap in the market and decided to pivot his business towards producing high-quality custom socks for corporate clients. Today, Sockrates is a global business with thousands of clients worldwide and a reputation for excellence in design and production.

How much they make: $6.3M/year
How much did it cost to start: $25K
Current team size: 10

article

Starting A $525K/Month Custom Socks Business With The Fastest Shipping Speed

This case study article showcases the success of Sockrates Custom Socks, a business that started with 10-15 orders a month and now receives 150-350 orders a month from all over the world, specializing in fast 7-day turnaround for high-quality custom socks for B2B clients including Fortune 500 companies.

About
Sam started Sockrates Custom Socks about 6 years ago
Revenue
Sam grew the business to $525K/month
Costs
It cost Sam $25000 to start the business
Read by 1,428 founders