Austin website geared toward online, small businesses

An Austin-based website that connects entrepreneurs to shipping solutions upgraded services Aug. 4.

ShipStation, a website that helps online and small retailers fulfill shipping orders, updated its software with various upgrades and new features as part of a busy year for the company, which in its first two years helped ship more than $2.5 billion in merchandise.

Now in its third year, ShipStation began 2014 by moving into bigger headquarters.

"We had literally outgrown the space we were in," said Robert Gilbreath, ShipStation vice president of marketing. The company has expanded from a handful of employees in 2011 to more than 40 full-timers, he said.

Any entrepreneur—big companies or mom and pop operations—who sells merchandise online would benefit from ShipStation's efficiency, Gilbreath said.

"Several people on staff are entrepreneurs themselves, and many of us come from online retail," Gilbreath said. "We have figured out the pieces of the e-commerce puzzle, and now we're working together to help our past selves, if you will, to not make the same mistakes we made."

Many ShipStation customers also benefit from a partnership with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and co-host of ABC's "Shark Tank."

"[Cuban] wanted to put together a plan where all of his retailers automatically use us," Gilbreath said. "He recognizes we are the solution to go to when your company is starting to grow."

ShipStation, 2815 Exposition Blvd., 512-485-4282, www.shipstation.com