A Bigstep for small businesses?
The company is being renamed Bigstep.com and plans to launch a site in the next quarter that will offer services to small business.
The services will include Web site hosting, marketing programs, and e-commerce and reporting tools. In addition Bigstep CEO Andrew Beebe says businesses will be able to work together to get special deals, such as inclusion in loyalty programs, and to cross-sell products.
"[Small businesses] tell us their future isn't about their prices or the size of offerings they create, but about the relationships they create with customers," he said.
Business plan buzz
The company, whose executives come from companies such as NetObjects, Netscape (Nasdaq:NSCP) and Disney (NYSE:DIS), has managed to get itself a considerable amount of press, considering it has only revealed its business plan.
And while the plan is targeting a significant audience, Bigstep won't be without competition.
Just about everyone who's involved in the e-commerce, from portal sites to major players like IBM (NYSE:IBM), has some sort of offering for small businesses.
"The key difference is ... they're focused on building a catalog and transacting online. Small businesses want to get to know their customers, things like putting a map online, or having Web site that calls customer by name. All of those are relationship-oriented as opposed to product-oriented," Beebe said. "There are a lot of templates out there and things that put you into cookie cutter malls. We allow you to design your own environment."
Unique pricing model
What may make Bigstep stand out is its pricing model.
"The thing that makes their offering so unique is that its going to be all but free for small businesses to get going," said Jack Staff, chief economist at Zona Research Inc.
Beebe wouldn't discuss specifics, but Staff said that by low-balling its services, it should be able to build up some momentum.
"The real winners in the space will be those who can deliver full spectrum scalable solutions for little or no cost while offering big functionality, ease of use and superior tech support," Staff said.
The company has convinced some people it has an edge. Bigstep also said today that it has received $10 million in a second round of financing from US Venture Partners, the Mayfield Fund and Angel Investors LP.