--News Direct--
Even in a world without a pandemic, small and independently owned businesses are up against the deep pockets, negotiating power, and economies of scale enjoyed by chains and big corporations.
Enter, The Convoy, whose newly launched Savings Marketplace combines the buying power of small and independent businesses to create a growing library of 150+ money-saving offers on small business expenses from technology, analytics tools, cleaning supplies and insurance, to furniture, online learning, printing, design, and more.
The launch comes on the heels of a $1 million funding round in late 2021 that included Tim Young of Eniac Ventures, Scot Wingo of Get Spiffy and founding CEO of Channel Advisor, a VP at Google, the former CMO of Walmart, the former head of M+A at Clearco, and a founder of Cloudera.
In their months-long private pilot program, The Convoy saved its small business members thousands of dollars, with some independent businesses saving as much as $15,000.
“What you see today is a tool for small business owners to cut their expenses, and it’s just the start,” said Yasin Abbak, CEO and Co-Founder of The Convoy. “Where we are going leverages technology and group pricing dynamics to automatically find best-in-market pricing for every expense a law firm, boutique, restaurant, or any other independently owned business might need.”
The Convoy is not just aiming to disrupt the business expense status quo for small and independently owned businesses.
“We’re here to disrupt wealth distribution,” Abbak said. As he put it in a blog post sharing the company’s mission, “We’re helping small business owners reinvest more money in their communities, create more and higher-paying jobs for their neighbors, and build generational wealth.” ***
The idea for The Convoy came from Abbak’s own experience as a child of immigrant small business owners. When his father moved to the US, he worked peeling potatoes in a restaurant, despite having an engineering degree from a top university in Turkey. Through the years, he worked his way up, and at various points owned a restaurant, food truck, and bread and pastry distribution business.
“I saw how difficult it was for him to compete with the chain restaurants and national brands,” Abbak said. “With The Convoy, I’m building the resource I wish my father had when I was young,” Abbak said.
Prior to co-founding The Convoy, Abbak served as CEO of the venture-backed Fantasy Life App, which he co-founded with ESPN Fantasy Analyst Matthew Berry. Fantasy Life App sold to sports media company BetSperts in May of 2021.
Co-Founder and CTO Ceazarr Townsend joined The Convoy after being lead developer at Internet Brands where he helped build and maintain their portfolio of well-known web properties including WebMD, Lawyers.com, CarsDirect, Fodors Travel, and more.
***Quick Facts: Why Saving Small Businesses is Good For Local Communities
- Small businesses generate 44% of all US economic activity and employ nearly 60 million Americans. (source)
- Small businesses retain and create more jobs than larger companies do. (source)
- Local businesses offer higher incomes to local workers than big-box companies. (source)
- Small businesses reinvest more than three times as much money into the local economy. That’s $48 of every $100, vs. $14 of $100 from big box stores. (source)
- Counties with an active small-business sector have a lower rates of obesity and diabetes (source)
- States with more locally owned retail see fewer college grads moving away. (source)
Contact: Yasin Abbak (CEO, Co-Founder) yasin@theconvoy.com
The Convoy Team: (Yasin Abbak Linkedin) (Ceazarr Townsend Linkedin)
Contact DetailsThe Convoy
Yasin Abbak
View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/after-1m-raise-the-convoy-launches-b2b-marketplace-to-help-small-businesses-save-big-on-everyday-expenses-112047069
