The importance of agile supply chains has never before been more important as companies need to adjust quickly to respond to market volatility, economic uncertainty, and shifts in consumer behavior. Gooten is an e-commerce supply chain platform for the on-demand manufacturing of printed items that allows merchants to quickly route and fulfill orders from over 45 global manufacturers seamlessly. Product categories available include apparel, home decor, art, and accessories covering thousands of items. This is done through a simple API that allows e-commerce stores to turn images into print-ready files, verify addresses, list products, optimize shipping, and more. The company’s Very Important Merchant (VIM) program is designed to help merchants prepare for the busy holiday season through best practices with perks like exclusive feature access, discounts, and access to webinars with manufacturing and e-commerce leaders.
AlleyWatch caught up with CEO Brian Rainey to learn more about Gooten, the impact it’s making in expanding online commerce, and the company’s future plans.
Tell us about the product or service that Gooten offers.
Gooten is an e-commerce supply chain provider for on-demand manufacturing.
What inspired the start of Gooten?
Gooten was started based on the notion of how do consumers know and trust the products they buy online? Gooten wanted to create a new model to establish consistency of manufacturing and quality while replacing legacy bulk inventory models.
How is Gooten different?
Gooten uses technology and data to dynamically route and fulfill orders to over 45 global manufacturing partners ensuring quality and timely delivery to end consumers.
What market does Gooten target and how big is it?
Gooten targets e-commerce merchants that sell products that can be manufactured on demand. Products can include apparel, home décor, artwork, and more. Gooten customers also include media companies and brand licensees.
What is the business model?
Gooten does charge e-commerce merchants to integrate with the platform; a merchant only pays for items that are manufactured and shipped.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
Through COVID, Gooten has seen significant growth and truly proved that our supply chain with virtualized on-demand manufacturing is the best model for merchants to overcome any business disruption.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We are looking to continue to grow the number of orders that we route through our platform and the overall number of merchants on our platform.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
The best piece of advice is “Win with people.” There is a big difference between ideation and execution – people execute. Side note – don’t take over a company from someone else.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Erika Nardini of Barstool Sports who represents the new world of media with content and commerce. Robert Bakish of Viacom who represents traditional media.
Why did you launch in New York?
With no disrespect to Silicon Valley, New York offers access to some of the best of tech and business talent in the world, across all industries. Nowhere else offers the scope of talent and experience that New York offers, from artists to technology to banking and everything else in between.
As a global e-commerce platform, we need to be able to access a global pool of talent. New York’s infrastructure and location have allowed us to utilize a globally distributed team to enable our globally distributed platform sitting just three time zones from California and six timezones from Europe.
Additionally, through our relationship with ff Venture Capital, we were able to take advantage of New York State Empire State Development’s “Innovate NY Fund”.
Additionally, through our relationship with ff Venture Capital, we were able to take advantage of New York State Empire State Development’s “Innovate NY Fund”.
The support we received, and continue to receive, from state leadership made the decision to launch and grow the business in New York that much easier.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC?
It’s been amazing to see how New York restaurants have been able to adapt. Hanoi House in the East Village has done an amazing job turning a block on St Marks into outdoor dining, including incorporating a stoop into what I think is the best table in the house.
The other standout has been Blue Haven East on 33rd, which has been able to nearly fully recreate the feel of a sports bar even though seating is on 3rd Avenue. With sports coming back, the communal feel that is part of the fabric of living in this city is something I was worried we’d lose – Blue Haven (and others) are making that happen.
You are seconds away from signing up for the hottest list in New York Tech! Join the millions and keep up with the stories shaping entrepreneurship. Sign up today
