Despite the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, the cart abandonment rate on mobile devices is significantly higher than that of desktop; an astonishing 85.6% is the average mobile e-commerce cart abandonment rate. One of the most common causes cited by mobile shoppers is a frustrating checkout experience that’s cumbersome on mobile. nate is a mobile checkout app that allows consumers to complete their purchase of items from any website with a few clicks. All you have to do is share any item on the nate app and click buy to complete purchases in seconds. On the back end, nate’s AI-powered technology completes the purchase process, leading to increased customer satisfaction as well as increased conversion for retailers. The company charges $1 per transaction and that includes the issuance of a virtual card used in the transaction, which ensures that the shopper’s data is protected. nate also recently introduced its own buy it now, pay later option along with some other ancillary features like gifting, sharing, and social wish lists.
AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Founder Albert Sangier to learn more about how nate powers mobile commerce, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding which brings the total funding raised to $51M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
$38M Series A, led by Renegade Partners with participation from Forerunner Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Coatue.
Tell us about the product or service that nate offers.
nate is a venture-backed artificial intelligence startup, introducing the first mobile app that allows users to purchase any item at any online retailer on behalf of a customer. With AI technology that navigates the web the way humans would, nate is the only universal accelerator for mobile checkout. Committed to preserving the human experience of discovery and the path to inspiration, nate is exclusively designed to facilitate purchases once its user has chosen the product they want to buy – humans decide, machines execute.
What inspired the start of nate?
Buying online was a broken experience for consumers. We built a buying and sharing experience that is seamless, universal, and privacy-first.
How is nate different?
nate is the world’s only universal shopping app. You can save products, share and follow lists, send gifts, and buy anything, anywhere, at the tap of a button.
What market does nate target and how big is it?
nate makes life easier for anyone who shops online, no matter the product or the store. The non-Amazon economy represents 60% of US e-commerce. That is $500B in the US alone.
What’s your business model?
Unlike other consumer businesses, nate’s users are also nate’s customers. nate charges $1 per purchase to issue virtual cards, protect your privacy, and automatically applies any publicly available discounts.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business??
The lockdown accelerated the transition to online payments; a trend that already existed, it’s just happening faster. This means people buy online more often, and in more categories. nate is category-agnostic, and therefore the best way of buying anything online, regardless of store.
What was the funding process like?
Raising equity is a phenomenal way to capitalize this type of business. It’s also an opportunity to add people to the cap table who are aligned with our mission. That’s why we’ve chosen to bring on Renegade and Forerunner, alongside existing investors Canaan and Coatue.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
At nate, we’re big fans of in-person time. Zoom life is more transactional, which can be helpful in competitive rounds where everything has to happen in a short amount of time, but making a decision on who to work with is always best in-person.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
I can’t speak on behalf of investors or their thesis. I can only explain my excitement about what we’re building, and how transformational it’s been for consumers since we went to market.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re hiring a ton!
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Every business is different. In the uncertain times, we live in it may be hard to have a 5-year plan. Start with having visibility over the next 18 months, and work backward from there. Then you can decide what type of capital aligns best with the company’s mission. There’s plenty of capital out there, the hard part is finding which one is right for you.
Every business is different. In the uncertain times, we live in it may be hard to have a 5-year plan. Start with having visibility over the next 18 months, and work backward from there. Then you can decide what type of capital aligns best with the company’s mission. There’s plenty of capital out there, the hard part is finding which one is right for you.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re going to keep growing and building solutions that consumers deserve. We recently launched Pay Later. We’re building more payment features, including an in-app wallet with fun rewards, reinforcing our mission: humans inspire – machines execute, and data belongs to people.
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