Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our ninth edition, we are featuring Cory Cummings, Co-Founder & CEO of Pack, the modern storefront for headless commerce.
While eCommerce continues to take off through platforms like Shopify, there is a growing need for better tooling that enables merchants to launch and scale their online storefronts. Enter: Pack! To address that very need, Pack provides front-end-as-a-service (“FaaS”) to lower the barriers of building modern commerce storefronts.
More specifically, Pack is focused on “Headless Commerce,” an increasingly popular setup for brands that decouples the front-end development from the back-end codebase, thus enabling merchants to optimize their storefronts more efficiently, with increased flexibility and personalization. Namely, choosing to go headless affords brands the agility to keep up with changing customer acquisition trends, among other benefits. Current headless platforms are not only complex and expensive, but they typically focus on large enterprise merchants, leaving nearly 2M other Shopify merchants to fend for themselves. Pack is democratizing Headless Commerce across the $5T eCommerce industry through an affordable platform.
Cory (CEO) teamed up with co-founders Tyler Shambora (CTO) and Andrew Pizula (COO) to launch Pack after experiencing shared pains in this sector while working together at BVAccel (150+ person Shopify dev agency). Since launching in 2019, Pack has achieved profitability and the company supports a number of rapidly growing eCommerce brands such as Cuts Clothing and Truff, just to name a few (see featured case studies).
It’s no wonder the team is off to the races with their recent $3m round.
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Cory: Building better (digital) storefronts.
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Cory: I’ve spent years in eCommerce and I saw a gap in the process of building modern storefronts. I was motivated by solving that problem with headless commerce and wanted to build a platform that speaks to both marketing and engineering teams.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Cory: Everyone’s path looks different, so don’t compare yourself to others. Stay focused on what you set out to do. Test your ideas early and often and never forget to talk to your clients (or customers) to get feedback along the way.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Cory: I don’t get much free time these days, so when I do get it I just try to relax and spend time with friends and family. I also have a Rottweiler who loves her morning and evening walks at the beach.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Cory: Before COVID hit, I traveled to Colombia with my twin brother and girlfriend. We ended up going to this hotel that was in the middle of the ocean called Casa en el Agua. You jump on a boat and go two hours into the ocean until you hit this small chain of islands. We rented hammocks (they don’t have rooms) for $12 a night and we were completely off the grid the entire time. By far one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and it definitely takes “disconnecting” to a whole new level.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Cory: For work, it has to be Figma right now. I’m not a designer by any means, but I have been using FigJam heavily for team retros, product diagrams, etc. It’s been a game changer for me lately. For my personal life, I’ve been using Calm recently. It’s important to find some time to shut off and to have some time to yourself. Plus, it helps me relax before going to sleep.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Cory: Being resourceful. Understanding when to tap someone or something is crucial to moving things forward and keeping momentum. You will have a lot of road bumps and blockers as a founder and it’s important to know how to find solutions.
SuperAngel.Fund is an early stage fund that invests in Consumer, PropTech & Future of Work. The fund is led by Ben Zises who was the first investor and founding advisor to quip, Caraway & Arber. You can learn more and apply at SuperAngel.Fund.