EasyPost Planning up to 5 Acquisitions, IPO Next Year

EasyPost is going public next year, but first CEO Jarrett Streebin has some work to do. 

EasyPost is an application programming interface that gives e-commerce shippers access to live data from the US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and more than 100 other global carriers. Retailers, e-commerce marketplaces, and logistics companies use the API to manage tracking and choose the best option for their packages and print labels.  

This kind of data is even more in demand as e-commerce companies diversify their shipping options to avoid surcharges and price hikes from the big carriers. The company is headed toward $100 million in net revenue, according to the CEO. 

Streebin pitches his company as a way for merchants to boost sales and customer loyalty by picking the best carrier for each package. 

"I started the company in 2012 to be a Twilio for shipping, or Stripe for shipping," he told Insider. But he's been quiet about the steps his company has taken toward fulfilling such lofty goals. 

"We've just really focused on being really great pipes for shipping," he said. EasyPost landed Jet.com and eventually Walmart as early big customers. By 2020, the company had raised more than $100 million, including from the Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and Flexport's Ryan Petersen — most of which it didn't publicly announce. It also sold its e-commerce fulfillment arm last year, reverting back to its original pure-play software business. 

Now it's time to go public and make some noise, Streebin told Insider. 

"We're going public in the middle of next year. That's already locked and loaded," he said. In the meantime, Streebin is planning between two and five acquisitions to build EasyPost into a more user-friendly suite of software. 

Acquisitions on deck 

EasyPost will look to acquire companies that can add a slicker layer on top of its core software product. The idea is to leverage the company's considerable data on e-commerce packages — half a billion packages a year — to improve existing software products used by e-commerce shippers. This data comes through relationships with private carriers like UPS and FedEx, along with admittance to a selective program with USPS that gives it more direct access to shipping-label data and lower rates. 

Warehouse-management software, which helps logistics companies and shippers understand what's entering and exiting warehouses, would be a natural target, Streebin said. EasyPost runs in the background of many of these platforms today. Acquiring one would give EasyPost more direct access to the end users of its API. 

Taking a digital step closer to the end users of his data could also help public-market investors understand EasyPost better, Streebin said. 

"Despite the success of Twilio and other very successful API companies, I do think there's not a ton of public understanding of what API companies do. And so I think it'll be helpful for our story as we go public," the CEO said. 

He is also looking for fresh blood, since much of his team has been around since day one. 

"It's always good to add new people to the mix with new ambitions and ideas," he said. 

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