Stephen Ahnert calls himself an “avid – if somewhat average – cyclist and triathlete.” He’s also a mechanical engineer and product designer. And in 2013, he joined with fellow engineers/athletes Scott Poff and Erik de Brun to found
Redshift Sports, which creates bicycle components designed to help cyclists and triathletes “go faster on the bikes they already own.”
Redshift launched its first product – a switchable seatpost called the Switch Aero System – on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The response was overwhelming. Redshift reached its $20,000 funding goal in the first 24 hours, and went on to raise nearly $50,000.
A turnkey operation
Redshift was off and rolling. First order of business: an online store. Explains Ahnert, “We build and design high-quality components, and we wanted the website to reflect that level of quality.” The trio decided to work with PayPal ecommerce partner Bigcommerce. “Bigcommerce works so seamlessly with PayPal that we set up our store and checkout at the same time. PayPal and Bigcommerce are so well integrated that it was essentially a turnkey operation for us.”
That seamless experience is equally important to Redshift’s customers, who check out using PayPal Express Checkout with One Touch™. “One of our requirements was that checkout be as seamless as possible. We wanted customers to stay on the site during the entire process,” says Ahnert. And PayPal customers who activate One Touch checkout can pay in just a few clicks on any device, with no PayPal sign-in required for 6 months.
PayPal processes all of Redshift’s online payments. The business gets the ease of dealing with a single payments provider, while customers get flexible ways to pay – with a credit or debit card, PayPal, or PayPal Credit.* Offering so many payment options helps Redshift sell more. About 15% of the company’s sales come from PayPal payments, and 63% of those PayPal transactions are from buyers using PayPal Credit.**
Top-notch support at setup – and down the road
Launching a business is a complex process, and good partners are crucial, says Ahnert. “PayPal’s rates were competitive, but the thing that sold us was the support. Setting up PayPal with Bigcommerce was fast and straightforward. We got on the phone with PayPal’s integration engineers, and literally a few hours later we were ready to accept payments on our site.”
PayPal’s ongoing support has proven equally valuable. “If we ever have an issue, we can get a real person on the phone and get it resolved quickly. Knowing that kind of help would be available down the line was really important to us.”
Global visibility, global trust
As Redshift expands, Bigcommerce helps give the business “global visibility,” says Ahnert – which supports growth of international sales. And with PayPal, “a customer can check out from just about anywhere in the world in their preferred currency,” online or from a mobile device. In fact, approximately 40% of Redshift’s payments come from international buyers, and nearly 50% of those buyers pay with PayPal. PayPal is “one of the most recognized payment methods for online goods and services, and having that association for our website really puts our customers at ease,” says Ahnert. “Some international customers can’t use credit cards, but they can use their PayPal accounts. For a small business like Redshift, saving every sale is important. PayPal adds a lot of value for us.”
On track for business growth
In 2015, Redshift brought in almost $500,000 in sales – a number the team is on track to double in 2016. But with success comes complexity. PayPal, Ahnert says, reduces complications on a day-to-day basis. “PayPal just works perfectly behind the scenes. We can see and manage all of our transactions in one place, quickly and easily. That saves us time and money, and lets us focus on building our business.”
Learn more
To learn more about how PayPal can help your business sell more – and connect with your customers wherever they shop – go to
paypal.com/business or call us at 855-787-9088.
* PayPal Credit is subject to consumer credit approval, as determined by the lender, Comenity Capital Bank.
** Based on an analysis of Redshift transactions during FY 2015.