In 2020, Kathryn Wu, a product engineer at Pinterest, launched a side hustle that would eventually lead her to co-found the startup Openmart. The initial idea was to create a milk tea company called OhTea, which aimed to connect with local grocery stores and gift shops to carry the tea. However, Wu soon realized how challenging it was to locate potential retailers and find their contact information.
The Pain Point
Wu shared her experience with TechCrunch, stating, "I failed to reach product market fit… It’s just very hard to find that retail information." She used multiple tools and created a large spreadsheet to gather the necessary data. Wu reflected on this experience, saying, "I needed to solve my own pain point."
The Birth of Openmart
Three years after OhTea, Wu co-founded Openmart alongside Richard He. The pair met while working at Pinterest as interns and later reconnected through an Asian entrepreneurship community. They bonded over their shared love for dogs, with Wu having a golden retriever and He having a lab.
He explained that the initial idea of focusing on small businesses came from Wu’s experience with OhTea. However, during research, they discovered that large enterprises also struggled to navigate selling to local businesses. As a result, Openmart decided to focus on building a product for this group first.
The Mission Behind Openmart
Openmart describes itself as the AI alternative to Zoominfo. The company uses AI to scrape data from public business filings, maps, customer reviews, and other sources to create a database of local businesses organized by type. Users provide a prompt specifying the types of businesses they wish to sell to, and Openmart generates a list of potential sales leads with details such as each business owner’s name and contact information.
Enterprise Focus
The company was founded late last year and joined Y Combinator’s W24 cohort. Openmart garnered a handful of paying customer trials while in beta, including Fortune 500 companies, Series B, and Series C startups. Their fellow YC founders were among their first customers. Wu mentioned that the plan is to focus on generating leads for enterprise clients initially, with the intention of developing a tier for medium-sized enterprises later.
Recent Fundraising
Openmart recently raised $2.75 million in seed funding from investors including Y Combinator, Zoominfo’s parent company Datavault, and other prominent venture capital firms. He emphasized that this funding will enable Openmart to expand its team and further develop its product.
The Impact of AI on Local Business
Openmart’s use of AI technology has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses connect with local markets. By automating the process of gathering data and generating leads, Openmart aims to make it easier for companies to navigate complex local business landscapes.
Key Takeaways
- Openmart’s co-founders, Kathryn Wu and Richard He, drew inspiration from their own experiences navigating local business markets.
- The company’s AI-powered technology aims to simplify the process of gathering data and generating leads for businesses.
- Openmart has secured funding from prominent venture capital firms and is expanding its team to further develop its product.
Conclusion
Openmart’s innovative approach to connecting businesses with local markets has the potential to disrupt traditional sales methods. With its use of AI technology and focus on enterprise clients, the company is poised for growth in the competitive startup landscape.
