Interview With Hemal Patel, Founder and CTO of MarketTime
Why did you start MarketTime?
I started MarketTime because I'm passionate about the B2B wholesale industry. I noticed the industry players grappled with issues that were not being addressed. So, my love for solving problems kicked in. I wanted to create a product that connects manufacturers, sales agencies, salespeople, and retailers in one integrated platform, enabling wholesale commerce at any location, at any time.
My passion drove me to find this solution by building MarketTime, a cloud-based solution that opens up new revenue channels for sellers.
How has MarketTime evolved over the years?
We have come a long way from a small software agency, which had just seven employees. At first, the program was only used by the agencies that had a showroom during trade shows. That service was called MarketTime because they only ran it during market times. This early version ran on the showroom's WiFi network – it was not cloud-based. The showroom's PC would capture all the orders written on salespeoples' tablets and send them to the appropriate parties.
I knew that there was a need for a system that connects all wholesale commerce stakeholders in an efficient and effective way. So, in 2016, I began to venture into the idea that I should start building a new platform, taking everything I had learned to date.
Enabling wholesale commerce for brands, sales agencies and buyers requires a deep understanding of the industry. Even with years serving these stakeholders, as I worked to build this new platform, I failed two times. I needed to know that the foundation was solid, with no weak points in the structure. But in those first two rounds, the product was not ready.
Finally, one of my mentors told me, "Go to India. That's where you'll find your answers". So, I went to India and hired eight developers. And that was the turning point. The third time was the charm. The team in India started creating outstanding results. And my goodness, the system started spinning; we were walking and running. And now we're sprinting!
Currently, what are your most important duties at MarketTime?
My passion is to lead all of the technology and development efforts for MarketTime. We plan on having over 100 developers in India soon, working together with our team in the US. My focus is to keep our technology foundation strong, while delivering innovative new solutions for our customers.
What is MarketTime's primary mission?
MarketTime is committed to serving the entire B2B commerce ecosystem including marketplace sponsors, associations, suppliers, sales agencies, sales reps, and retail buyers.Our vision is to enable trusted networks to conduct commerce more efficiently. We aspire to power omnichannel B2B commerce across the globe for the most innovative buyers, sellers, and marketplace sponsors.
How does MarketTime differentiate itself from your competition?
We are a platform truly built by this industry and for this industry. That's a massive differentiator for us and gives us a competitive edge. Over the years, I've kept up with this industry and listened to all the players. They gave me feedback and told me precisely the features they wanted us to add to our platform. That feedback is priceless for us to receive because then we can deliver targeted solutions that solve pain points and open up new growth opportunities for our customers.
We also differentiate ourselves by offering exceptional customer service. We're more than just a software platform. We're also a service provider, and we want to provide a real human touch to every customer we support.
We also power hybrid digital + physical marketplaces that respect the critical roles of brands, sales agencies, and salespeople. Much of our competition allows brands to upload products and reach retailers, but these competitors eliminate the role of the sales agencies. I believe great sales reps play a key role in building trust, helping brands reach buyers, and helping buyers merchandise for their stores. We are proud to support all the participants in the wholesale ecosystem.
Do your customers create their branded e-commerce website right on your platform? Or do they bring the website they already have to the platform?
Our platform, our e-commerce module, is an add-on to the customer's current website. Our customers have their own informational website, which we do not build for them. Instead, they hired a team of designers who customized the website design according to the look and feel they wanted. But it's purely an informational website. They don't have a user registration or an e-commerce channel there. They can't take orders on the site; there's no shopping cart. These e-commerce add-ons cost brands and wholesalers a lot of money to do on their own. So that's where we come in.
We create a custom domain for our clients called mycompany.markettime.com. If your brand is called ABC brands, you'll have ABCbrands.markettime.com. You'll have access to that domain, and you'll be able to configure that domain. It will have a sign-up section for each of your retailer customers. And all buttons, themes, and colors can be managed by you. We layer that on top of your informational site and put a "shop now" button on your website.
So, when your buyers come to your site and click on that "shop now" button, they still feel like they're on your website, which is the beautiful part. But now those buyers can register with your company to shop, and then once they are approved, they look at all your items and promotions, add items to their shopping cart and make purchases, all on your website, without the buyer ever even knowing that MarketTime is involved.
Part of the MarketTime platform supports reps in writing orders from the MarketTime app, which is very useful for sales reps. Is it easy to view inventory levels as well?
Absolutely. That's one of the main pillars of our platform. Manufacturers can connect their ERP system to our central platform in real-time via an API. With the API, the manufacturer can feed inventory data in real-time to MarketTime. Most recently, they can now input the "quantity on water," where if they don't have that inventory, they could say, for example, “we'll have 200 units in stock on December 1st”. This enables the sales rep and the buyer to have the information they need to make the right sale and purchase decision.
What does the future of MarketTime look like? And how do you see the future of B2B commerce broadly - will there still be a place for trade shows and physical wholesale marketplaces?
B2B marketplaces today are thriving! It's a great industry to be in currently, and many big things are happening in the B2B world regarding technology. If you type “B2B sales technology” into Google, you'll see pages and pages of success stories and growth on many different levels.
I believe the future of MarketTime is supporting trusted networks of commerce both online and in the physical world. For our wholesale customers, having a digital online presence will bring new buyers to their business. And that online presence acts a great complement to their physical presence at trade shows and out on the road visiting customers.
I strongly believe in physical wholesale marketplaces, and that they're resilient in this new era of shopping. The reason is mainly due to our human senses. We always want to know how products feel, look, or smell when it comes to buying. And, as humans, we want the ability to build trusted relationships and connect with others in person. So physical marketplaces will always be there as part of the wholesale buying process, and the role of digital is to complement and enhance that in-person experience.
This is how we think about MarketTime’s position in this ecosystem. We want to deliver a platform that connects both digital and physical B2B experiences in one unified platform. And we're here at the forefront of that innovation. We'll continue to grow our satisfied customer base, deliver powerful new solutions and actively gather feedback from our stakeholders as we chart our path forward!