Startup empowers subscription-first D2C brands to drive subscriber growth, reduce churn, and customize customer experience
Upscribe, subscription software for D2C ecommerce merchants, announced it has closed a $4 million seed financing round, led by venture capital firm Uncork Capital. Leaders Fund and The House Fund also participated in the round, as well as Fahd Ananta, of Shopify Angels and Roach Capital and Laura Behrens Wu, co-founder and CEO of Shippo. The company plans to use the funds to scale its team and expand its offerings, developing data-driven features that enable brands to optimize and grow subscriptions.
Upscribe was founded in 2019 by ecommerce and B2B veteran Dileepan Siva. Siva recognized the consumer shift to buying physical products, such as consumer-packaged goods, on a recurring basis, and how it mirrored the rise of subscriptions in the digital and streaming world. But while the D2C subscription market is projected to reach $478 billion by 2025, with 75% of D2C brands slated to offer subscriptions in the next two years, existing solutions were focused on processing transactions, not customer relationships. D2C ecommerce brands were left with fragmented customer experiences, inflexible technology, and lackluster features.
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Upscribe takes a merchant-centric approach, with customizable features that empower fast-growing ecommerce brands to grow and scale subscriptions. Using Upscribe, brands can take proactive action against churn, allowing customers to skip shipments, swap products, and change order frequency with a click, text, or email. To further encourage retention, customers can make one-off changes to an upcoming shipment, from changing a shipping address when traveling or gifting a product. Brands can also grow subscribers by upselling products to customers throughout the subscriber lifecycle, from checkout to post-purchase.
Merchants using Upscribe are armed with data-driven insights around subscriber preferences and behaviors, allowing them to optimize their businesses and scale subscriber retention and growth. Brands can access cancellation and upsell flows that reflect data trends across the Upscribe’s entire merchant ecosystem, fostering stronger customer relationships. Looking ahead, Upscribe will extend its focus towards customer acquisition, helping brands identify and convert one-time buyers into subscribers and refine targeting based on first-party subscriber demographics.
Additionally, Upscribe’s APIs give merchants the ability to fully customize the customer portal through native integrations with other best-in-class solutions like Klaviyo, Segment, and others. Upscribe also integrates into Shopify’s new Subscription API, empowering swift, seamless checkout. While the company currently services Shopify merchants, it plans to expand and serve the next wave of subscription-first brands.
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“The era of ecommerce will be brands utilizing subscription-first models out of the gate,” said Dileepan Siva, founder and CEO of Upscribe. “As consumer mindsets shift from one-time purchases towards subscriptions, brands can no longer focus solely on customer acquisition, but prioritize solutions focused on growth through retention. At Upscribe, we deliver cohesive experiences and actionable insights that enable merchants to extend the lifetime value of subscribers.”
“As the market for D2C subscriptions booms, there is a need for subscription-first brands to grow and scale their businesses,” said Jeff Clavier, Founder and Managing Partner of Uncork Capital. “We have spent a long time in the ecommerce space, working with D2C brands and companies who are solving common industry pain points. Upscribe’s merchant-centric approach has raised the bar for subscription services, addressing the friction in customer experiences and enabling merchants to engage subscribers and scale recurring revenue growth.”
Since launch, Upscribe has seen explosive momentum, growing 43% quarter over quarter and reaching profitability. The company has attracted an impressive customer roster, including fast-growing ecommerce brands like Athletic Greens, Four Sigmatic, and True Botanicals across multiple verticals, such as food and beverage; health and wellness; beauty and cosmetics; and home care.
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