BigCommerce

BigCommerce is an American commerce-software brand whose platform enables businesses to create, operate, and expand online stores. Its product scope combines hosted storefront infrastructure with functions for catalog management, checkout, payments, search-engine optimization, marketing, security, order administration, and connections to external sales channels. The platform has been positioned for a broad range of merchants, from smaller businesses to larger and enterprise retailers that require more control and integration flexibility than a basic website builder typically provides. The company originated in Sydney, Australia, in 2009. Its founders, Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper, had met in an online chatroom in 2003 and subsequently developed an earlier business, Interspire. BigCommerce opened its first United States office in Austin, Texas, during its founding year. Austin later became the company's headquarters and an important center for its North American operations. BigCommerce raised a $15 million Series A round from General Catalyst in 2011. It expanded its United States presence during the following years, including the opening of a San Francisco office in 2014 and recruitment of personnel with backgrounds at companies such as PayPal and Amazon. In 2015, it acquired Zing, a startup associated with checkout and inventory software. That same year, Brent Bellm, previously chief operating officer at HomeAway, succeeded the founders as chief executive officer. The platform's strategy has emphasized extensibility and commerce integrations. In 2016, BigCommerce partnered with Amazon to allow merchants to synchronize inventory between their BigCommerce stores and Amazon sales channels. The company also broadened its merchant-policy scope in 2019 by making its platform available to legally operating United States CBD and hemp merchants. This reflected an effort to serve specialized categories while applying legal and compliance requirements to merchant eligibility. BigCommerce filed for an initial public offering in July 2020 and began trading publicly on the Nasdaq in August of that year under the ticker BIGC. Its public-company identity has been tied to the development of subscription commerce software and the growth of digital and omnichannel retail. In October 2024, Travis Hess replaced Bellm as chief executive officer. In 2025, the business introduced Commerce as a parent brand for BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift, operating under Commerce.com. BigCommerce therefore remains the commerce-platform brand within a broader group that combines storefront technology with adjacent feed-management and visual-development capabilities.

BigCommerce began in Sydney, Australia, in 2009, founded by Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper. The founders had first connected through an online chatroom in 2003. Their earlier company, Interspire, provided the experience and technology background from which BigCommerce developed. Although the business was founded in Australia, it opened a United States office in Austin, Texas, during its first year. Austin later became the company's headquarters and a central base for its growth. The company obtained a significant early financing milestone in July 2011, when General Catalyst invested $15 million in Series A funding. This capital supported the development and expansion of BigCommerce's hosted commerce platform, which was designed to let retailers operate online stores without building and maintaining all of the underlying infrastructure themselves. The platform combined storefront creation with hosting, search-engine optimization, marketing capabilities, security functions, and integrations for payments and fulfillment. BigCommerce expanded its American presence in 2014 by opening an office in San Francisco. It also recruited employees with experience at major technology and payments companies, including PayPal and Amazon. In 2015, the company acquired Zing, a startup focused on checkout and inventory software. The acquisition complemented BigCommerce's existing store-management offering by adding capabilities associated with transaction and stock operations. That year also brought a leadership transition: Brent Bellm, formerly chief operating officer of HomeAway and an executive involved in that company's path to an IPO, replaced founders Machaalani and Harper as chief executive officer. Partnerships became an important part of BigCommerce's operating model. In 2016, the company partnered with Amazon to provide tools enabling merchants to synchronize inventory across their BigCommerce stores and Amazon's marketplace. This supported a multi-channel retail approach in which a merchant could coordinate products and stock across its own storefront and an external marketplace rather than treating each channel as an isolated operation. In 2019, BigCommerce opened its platform to legally operating CBD and hemp merchants in the United States. The move extended the platform to a regulated and specialized commercial category while limiting participation to businesses operating within applicable legal requirements. BigCommerce filed for an initial public offering in July 2020 and became publicly traded on Nasdaq on August 5, 2020. Its public-market identity reflected the importance of subscription software and digital commerce infrastructure to modern retail. The company continued operating as a commerce-platform provider for businesses ranging from smaller merchants to enterprise organizations. In October 2024, Travis Hess replaced Brent Bellm as chief executive officer. In 2025, the company introduced Commerce as a new parent brand. The structure brought BigCommerce together with Feedonomics and Makeswift under Commerce.com. In that arrangement, BigCommerce represents the core online-store and commerce-platform business, while the broader parent identity groups it with adjacent capabilities in product-feed management and visual site development.

• 2025

  Commerce parent brand launched

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Commerce.com introduced Commerce as the parent brand for BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift.

• 2024

  Travis Hess becomes CEO

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Travis Hess replaced Brent Bellm as chief executive in October.

• 2020

  Public listing

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  BigCommerce filed for an IPO in July and began trading on Nasdaq on August 5 under BIGC.

• 2019

  CBD and hemp merchant access

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  The platform began supporting legally operating U.S.-based CBD and hemp merchants.

• 2016

  Amazon inventory synchronization partnership

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  BigCommerce partnered with Amazon to help merchants synchronize inventory across both sales channels.

• 2015

  Zing acquisition and CEO transition

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  BigCommerce acquired Zing, a checkout and inventory software startup, and Brent Bellm became chief executive officer.

• 2014

  San Francisco expansion

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  BigCommerce opened a San Francisco office and expanded recruitment in the United States.

• 2011

  Series A financing

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  General Catalyst provided $15 million in Series A funding in July 2011.

• 2009

  BigCommerce is founded

  [1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Eddie Machaalani and Mitchell Harper founded BigCommerce in Sydney, Australia, and opened a United States office in Austin during the same year.

A flexible, scalable, and integration-oriented commerce platform for small businesses, mid-market merchants, and enterprise retailers.

• SaaS e-commerce platform · 2009

  BigCommerce Platform

  BigCommerce Platform is the brand's hosted commerce software for creating and managing online stores. It brings together storefront construction, catalog and product administration, checkout, payment and shipping integrations, hosting, security, search-engine optimization, marketing functions, and connections to external marketplaces and sales channels. The platform is intended to support merchants from smaller businesses through enterprise retailers, with an emphasis on extensibility and multi-channel operations.

• Multi-channel retail software · 2016

  BigCommerce Multi-channel Commerce

  BigCommerce's multi-channel capabilities allow merchants to connect their primary online store with external marketplaces and other selling channels. The model is designed to reduce duplicated product and inventory administration and to give retailers a consolidated operational base while they sell through more than one digital destination. The 2016 Amazon partnership is an example of this channel-integration strategy.

• 2025

  Create Commerce as the parent brandStrategy

  Background

  The company sought to organize BigCommerce alongside Feedonomics and Makeswift within a broader commerce-technology identity.

  Action taken

  Commerce was launched as the parent brand for the three businesses under Commerce.com.

  Aftermath

  BigCommerce continued as the core commerce-platform brand within the broader Commerce.com structure.

  Source

• 2020

  Proceed with an initial public offeringOther

  Background

  BigCommerce pursued public-market access during a period of expanding interest in digital commerce and subscription software.

  Action taken

  The company filed for an IPO in July 2020 and listed on Nasdaq in August under BIGC.

  Aftermath

  BigCommerce became a publicly traded commerce-software company.

  Source

• 2019

  Extend platform access to legally operating CBD and hemp merchantsStrategy

  Background

  CBD and hemp commerce is subject to legal and regulatory restrictions that vary by jurisdiction. BigCommerce chose to serve qualifying U.S. merchants operating within applicable law.

  Action taken

  The company opened its platform to legally operating United States CBD and hemp businesses.

  Aftermath

  The policy expanded the categories of merchants eligible to use the platform while retaining a legal-compliance condition.

  Source

• 2025

  Commerce becomes the parent brand for BigCommerce and related businesses[1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The company introduced Commerce as a parent brand encompassing BigCommerce, Feedonomics, and Makeswift under Commerce.com.

• 2024

  Travis Hess succeeds Brent Bellm as chief executive[1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  Travis Hess replaced Brent Bellm as chief executive officer in October 2024.

• 2020

  BigCommerce files for an initial public offering[1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company filed for an IPO in July 2020 before beginning public trading on Nasdaq the following month.

• 2020

  BigCommerce begins public trading on Nasdaq[1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  BigCommerce became a publicly traded company in August 2020 under the ticker BIGC.

• 2019

  BigCommerce opens its platform to eligible U.S. CBD and hemp merchants[1]BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation

  BigCommerce expanded its merchant eligibility policy to legally operating CBD and hemp businesses in the United States.

1. 1BigCommerceen.wikipedia.org
2. 2BigCommerce official websitebigcommerce.com
3. 3Adsonica Introduces Sound Images on BigCommerce Platformprnewswire.com
4. 4BigCommerce Files for IPO with U.S. SEC - Coinspeakercoinspeaker.com
5. 5BigCommerce Partners With DEITY to Simplify Mobile Commerce Experiences for Enterprise Brandsfinanznachrichten.de
6. 6Brompton launches global partner portal on BigCommerce B2B editionretailtimes.co.uk
7. 7CBA partners with e-commerce platform BigCommerceitnews.com.au
8. 8Freight Club Launches BigCommerce Integrationprnewswire.com
9. 9Mira Commerce Digital Agency Announces Partnership with Acumaticaprweb.com
10. 10Nacelle Debuts Data Orchestration Platform for Headless Commerce at NRF 2022prweb.com
11. 11Pimberly Partners With eCommerce Powerhouse Platform BigCommercefinanznachrichten.de
12. 12TaxJar Launches One-Click Integration with BigCommerce, Automating Sales Tax Calculations for Mid-Market and Enterprise Merchantsprnewswire.com