California-based e-commerce startup ChemDirect is moving its headquarters to Green Bay after TitletownTech invested in the company.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, ChemDirect is an early stage company that developed an online marketplace designed specifically for companies that need on-demand chemical supplies. The website connects companies with suppliers selling a wide variety of chemicals like hand sanitizer as well as personal protective equipment like face masks and face shields.
ChemDirect chief executive officer and founder Tyler Ellison founded the company in 2019 to solve supply chain problems in the specialty chemical industry. Ellison, who was formerly CEO of specialty chemical manufacturer Nova Molecular Technologies, says the industry had two major issues – manufacturers did not own their customer data and customers were forced to buy chemicals blindly from distributors.
ChemDirect’s e-commerce solution removes barriers between producer and consumer, taking the typical 20-week supply chain down to one, Ellison said in a statement.
“Solving big problems leads to large value creation,” Ellison said. “Digitizing supply and demand will usher in a new era of transparency, resulting in informed decisions, better economics and optionality for both manufacturers and buyers.
While ChemDirect is TitletownTech’s latest investment, the Green Bay-based innovation hub has invested in 14 startups since kicking off its venture studio $25 million venture fund last year. Titletown Tech, which is a Green Bay Packers and Microsoft partnership, aims to make Green Bay a hub for both startups and tech talent.
Of the 14 companies, many have moved into TitletownTech’s 13,000 square-foot office space while ChemDirect and Colorado-based Quantum Radius have moved their headquarters to Green Bay.
In StartupBlink’s 2020 Global Rankings Report, four Wisconsin cities climbed the ranks of the top 1,000 global cities to start a business. Green Bay, Appleton, Milwaukee and Madison combined moved up 136 spots. All four cities were included in the top 600, but Green Bay made the largest jump rising 44 spots.
