Bindo

Bindo is an American retail-technology company founded in October 2010 by JoMing Au, Jason Ngan and Brad Lauster. The company developed a cloud-based point-of-sale platform designed to help physical retailers manage transactions, inventory and online commerce. Its broader concept was a hyperlocal marketplace: rather than treating online shopping as separate from neighborhood stores, Bindo sought to make products held by local merchants discoverable to consumers through digital channels. The company grew out of the founders' experience selling electronics through e-commerce websites while they were in college. After graduation, Au worked in aerospace and Ngan in financial engineering, but they continued developing the idea of indexing locally available inventory and making it accessible online. Brad Lauster later joined the project after meeting Ngan and sharing the view that consumers should be able to shop online from nearby independent stores more easily. Bindo was initially launched in Manhattan, where the density of merchants and consumers provided a practical environment for testing a local-inventory marketplace. Bindo's product strategy combined retail operations software with a consumer-facing discovery layer. Its cloud-based POS system was intended to provide merchants with a digital infrastructure for running stores, while the marketplace allowed participating businesses to list merchandise online and connect with customers in their neighborhood. The company's stated technical ambition included building a real-time product graph linking brands, merchants and consumers. This positioned Bindo between conventional iPad-based POS applications and local-commerce marketplaces, with the company arguing that its differentiation came from the online-to-offline network and hyperlocal marketplace rather than from checkout functionality alone. The Manhattan beta attracted attention from social-media entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, who became an investor. In May 2014, Bindo announced a $1.8 million financing round led mainly by Vaynerchuk, Singapore-based East Ventures and New York-based Metamorphic Ventures, with participation from angel investors. Reference material also reported that the application had reached approximately 180,000 customers and processed more than $500 million in sales by that period, although the available material does not specify the precise accounting definition or reporting period for those figures. Bindo's public profile was shaped by the broader growth of cloud retail software, mobile checkout and omnichannel commerce. Critics compared the application with other recently launched point-of-sale products, while the company emphasized its attempt to connect merchant inventory with local consumer demand. The available reference material does not establish Bindo's current ownership, operating status, later product development, or corporate outcome; those details therefore remain unconfirmed in this dossier.

Bindo was founded in October 2010 by JoMing Au, Jason Ngan and Brad Lauster. Its origins lay in Au and Ngan's experience selling electronics through e-commerce websites during college. After graduating, Au entered the aerospace industry and Ngan worked in financial engineering, but both continued exploring a way to make inventory held by local stores visible to online shoppers. Ngan subsequently met Lauster, who shared the view that online shopping from neighborhood retailers was unnecessarily difficult. The three founders decided to build a marketplace that would index products available from local merchants and use digital tools to strengthen connections between stores and nearby consumers. Bindo initially launched in Manhattan. The company combined a consumer-facing hyperlocal marketplace with software for merchants, eventually centering its commercial proposition on a cloud-based point-of-sale system. The platform was designed to help retailers operate stores and merchandise products online, while enabling consumers to discover and purchase goods from businesses in their vicinity. Bindo also described a real-time product graph intended to connect brands, consumers and merchants across the retail network. The Manhattan beta attracted attention from social-media entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, who became one of the company's investors. The application was reported to have attracted about 180,000 customers. By May 2014, Bindo had also been reported as having processed more than $500 million in sales, although the available reference does not define whether this represented gross merchandise value, transaction volume or another measure. In May 2014, Bindo raised $1.8 million in financing. The round was mainly led by Vaynerchuk, Singapore-based East Ventures and New York-based Metamorphic Ventures, alongside angel investors. During this period, commentators compared Bindo with other iPad point-of-sale applications. Bindo's response was that its distinction was not simply mobile checkout, but the attempt to build a hyperlocal marketplace and an online-to-offline network linking merchant inventory with local demand. The available reference material does not document later funding, acquisitions, leadership changes, ownership, product discontinuation or current operations. Bindo's present corporate status therefore remains unconfirmed here.

• 2014

  Bindo raises seed financing

  [1]Bindoen.wikipedia.org

  In May 2014, Bindo raised a reported $1.8 million from investors including Gary Vaynerchuk, East Ventures and Metamorphic Ventures.

• 2010

  Bindo is founded

  [1]Bindoen.wikipedia.org

  JoMing Au, Jason Ngan and Brad Lauster founded Bindo in October 2010 to make local-store inventory easier to discover online.

• Manhattan launch

  [1]Bindoen.wikipedia.org

  Bindo initially launched in Manhattan with a hyperlocal marketplace concept connecting neighborhood merchants and consumers.

Retail technology focused on combining cloud point-of-sale operations with local product discovery and online-to-offline commerce.

• Cloud point-of-sale software

  Bindo POS

  Bindo's core merchant product was a cloud-based point-of-sale system intended to support retail transactions and store operations. Its broader proposition connected checkout and merchant inventory with online merchandising, allowing physical retailers to participate in digital commerce rather than using POS solely as an in-store cash-register system.

• Local-commerce marketplace

  Bindo hyperlocal marketplace

  The hyperlocal marketplace was designed to let merchants run stores and merchandise products online while helping consumers find goods from businesses in their neighborhood. It formed the consumer-facing layer of Bindo's online-to-offline strategy and was linked to the company's proposed real-time product graph.

• 2014

  Raise external financing for hyperlocal retail technologyOther

  Background

  Bindo sought capital while developing its cloud POS product and hyperlocal marketplace. The company was positioning itself against other mobile point-of-sale applications and needed to scale its merchant and consumer network.

  Action taken

  In May 2014, Bindo raised a reported $1.8 million round led mainly by Gary Vaynerchuk, East Ventures and Metamorphic Ventures, with angel investors also participating.

  Aftermath

  The financing provided outside backing for Bindo's marketplace and point-of-sale strategy. The available reference material does not document the subsequent use of funds or later corporate results.

  Financing raised. $1.8 million (May 2014)

  Source

1. 1Bindoen.wikipedia.org