Case Studies

Display advertising is everywhere. With the world constantly checking their smart phones or scouring aimlessly on the internet, display advertising has found its way (knowingly or unknowingly) into the minds of internet scrollers everywhere.

There are over 6,000 apps available on the Shopify App Store and over 1.7 million merchants using the Shopify platform. We are constantly evaluating the e-commerce space for our clients and have found that on average, clients that use the Shopify platform to promote their e-commerce stores download around seven apps from the Shopify App Store. The space is massive, and it only continues to grow in scale. If you are looking for help deciding which platform to build an app on, take this as a sign to explore your options with the Shopify App Store.

The sales tax system in the United States was created at a time when the idea of an e-commerce business was not fathomable. The developers of the system had no idea that e-commerce would come to dominate the retail environment and, as such, they did not consider the implications of online spending on sales tax. The e-commerce market is currently thriving, with global sales expected to increase nearly 14% this year. Because of the dramatic shift away from brick-and-mortar stores, legislators realized that the sales tax landscape needed to be modernized and revamped and these changes have led to significant ramifications for online sellers. These efforts have picked up speed in the last few years, thanks to a landmark Supreme Court case.

Serial entrepreneur and SEO expert Stav Zilbershtein bought the SellMyApp domain in 2013 for a five-figure sum and bootstrapped the most prominent mobile app marketplace for buying and selling mobile source codes. In a process of 6 years, he evolved the company from an ad site to a full-fledged marketplace and was able to exit for more than 47x his initial investment.

The owner of Coupons Plus Deals knew he wanted to sell his business, but he was skeptical. He had tried to sell his content website through a website broker before and the interest from potential investors – and the results – were underwhelming. He quickly realized that just because you know how to run a business, doesn’t mean you know how to present your business in the best possible light to buyers. When selling your online business, it is important to have the right information available to make your business stand out among the rest. Kim Ngoc, Coupons Plus Deals content manager, sat down with us for a virtual interview to discuss their exit and what she believes makes for a successful M&A process.