When There's Money to Go Around
Today's featured startup aims to help you achieve world domination.
Project Overview
eBrands offers a turnkey solution for local manufacturers looking to expand into global markets.
The company promises that all a manufacturer needs to do is send a batch of products, and eBrands will handle everything else—pricing, certifications, marketing, sales, logistics, and taxes.
With eBrands, businesses can launch in new markets within days. The startup leverages multiple sales channels, including marketplaces, direct-to-consumer websites, and retail partnerships.
Currently, eBrands manages 1,200 product listings for 40 local brands across 200 sales channels—all with a team of just over 60 employees.
This efficiency is driven by Apollo, eBrands' proprietary AI platform launched last year. Apollo automates advertising, sales, logistics, warehousing, finance, and tax operations, significantly reducing manual work.
Founded in Finland in 2020, eBrands initially focused on Scandinavian brands. However, its success has been rapid—annual revenue now exceeds €35 million, and the company recently secured €7.5 million in new funding, bringing total investment close to €50 million.
What’s the Gist?
eBrands isn’t the only company trying to solve this problem, and the growing market for global e-commerce solutions is attracting serious attention.
In 2023, OpenBorder raised $10 million in its first funding round. Unlike eBrands, which acts as a service provider for brands, OpenBorder positions itself as an incubator for global brands, helping them establish a foothold in international markets.
Their core argument? Expanding globally is easier than it seems. Even small manufacturers can increase their revenue by 20% just by opening up to international sales. If the brand’s products have strong global appeal, revenue growth can reach 35% or more.
At first glance, expanding globally should be straightforward. Any local manufacturer can list their products online and ship them internationally without setting up an infrastructure. That’s why cross-border B2C e-commerce hit $1.2 trillion in 2023 and is expected to surpass $9 trillion by 2032.
But theory and reality don’t always match. The biggest challenge? Shipping costs and delivery times.
For customers, long delivery windows and expensive international shipping are dealbreakers—unless the product is so unique that it’s worth the wait. This is why most small brands never reach their full international potential, even if they try selling globally.
This is exactly the problem that Zimi set out to solve. A Y Combinator-backed startup, Zimi builds logistics infrastructure that cuts international delivery costs and speeds up shipping.
Instead of shipping each order overseas individually, sellers using Zimi can send bulk inventory to Zimi’s warehouses in the target country. The platform then seamlessly integrates with the seller’s website, displaying localized shipping costs and faster delivery estimates.
The results have been quite impressive:
80% reduction in shipping costs for end customers
Delivery times cut from weeks to just 2.5 days
Sellers in India and Nigeria using Zimi to sell in the U.S. saw a 20% increase in revenue
This success helped Zimi raise $2 million in new funding, but the company has since shifted focus. Instead of exclusively handling international sales, Zimi is now building a full e-commerce order management system, suggesting that its leadership sees a bigger opportunity in solving logistical challenges within the U.S. rather than abroad.
The takeaway? Going global is tempting, but it’s not for everyone. Even startups built to tackle international sales sometimes pivot toward easier, more scalable opportunities.
Key Takeaways
Despite globalization, international sales remain a niche—pursued mostly by companies with strong incentives to expand abroad.
eBrands emerged in Finland, a small market, pushing it to go global from the start.
OpenBorder, founded in the U.S., was built specifically to nurture brands with global ambitions—after its founders successfully scaled their own brands to $100M in revenue, half from international sales.
Zimi, initially focused on helping Indian and Nigerian sellers expand into the U.S., ultimately shifted to solving domestic e-commerce challenges instead.
The B2C cross-border market is growing, and with $9 trillion at stake, many sellers will seek partners to optimize and expand their international sales.
This creates a high-reward, low-competition opportunity: while not everyone is eager to tackle international logistics, pricing, and tax complexities, those who commit to solving these challenges could claim a significant share of this booming market.
Bottom line? Building platforms that simplify, reduce costs, and expand international sales is a lucrative opportunity—one that few competitors are tackling head-on....
Company info:
E brands
Website: https://www.ebrands.com/
Last funding round: €7.5 million, 12.03.2025
Total funds raised: €50 million after 5 rounds