The pandemic has forged new business opportunities as well as challenges, leading to rapid growth in new venues for B2B ecommerce.
One example is ShapeConnect, a Chicago-based online marketplace for business services. Founded in November 2019, ShapeConnect’s activity surged the following year as buyers and sellers of services found new value in connecting online for services ranging from accounting and tax preparation to web design and marketing, CEO and co-founder Brian Zielinski says.
ShapeConnect, which is privately owned and self-funded, grew by more than 800% between 2020 and 2021, Zielinski says, as its base of 3,000 business users increased their online buying and selling of services during the pandemic.