4x Founder Debuts Ecommerce Intel Tool

In late 2020 I interviewed a developer who had launched a Shopify app to send manual text messages to cart abandoners. Eighteen months later we spoke again, this time to discuss his sale of that company and purchase of another, an app for creating upsells in a Shopify checkout.

By early 2023 he had sold the second company and launched a third one, a coupon-leak recovery app.

And that brings me to my fourth conversation with Dennis Hegstad. He has shut down the coupon-leak business and started his fourth, a data provider for the ecommerce industry called Internet Research Unit. What, exactly, is Internet Research Unit? I asked him that question and more when we recently spoke.

The entire audio of our conversation is embedded below. The transcript is edited for clarity and length.

Eric Bandholz: Give us an update on what’s happening in your world.

Dennis Hegstad: In 2021, I sold LiveRecover, our SMS app for Shopify. That was our first exit in ecommerce. Then I sold another app, OrderBump, just 100 days after buying it in 2022. That sale was pretty much luck.

In 2023 I launched Vigilance, a coupon-code leak protection app, but that business failed. Shopify updated its checkout system, ultimately killing Vigilance, so we shut it down. We offered to return the investors’ money, but they said, “Try something else.” That’s when we started building Internet Research Unit earlier this year. Those same Vigilance investors are part of it.

Bandholz: What’s Internet Research Unit?

Hegstad: It’s a data platform for the ecommerce industry. Our primary users are brand owners, agencies, app developers, and financiers. Brands can track competitors’ revenue, units sold, popular SKUs, app stacks, and more. They can set up alerts to track competitors’ sales or app usage changes to guide product launches or strategic decisions. Agencies and app developers can use the data for lead generation — tracking which brands use specific services or technologies, such as Klaviyo, and which don’t. Financiers can assess trends or identify struggling companies they might want to invest in or acquire.

Our product is high-end, priced around $500 a month, so it’s not for beginners. It’s aimed at established companies who want to fine-tune their strategies.

Our data is public; brands cannot hide it from our platform. We can track compliance-related issues, like price manipulation or accessibility compliance, so companies can address potential problems before they lead to lawsuits.

We have ways of accurately estimating sales and breaking it down by SKU. For example, if a brand sells leggings, we can report which colors and sizes are selling best. That way, competitors can focus on high-performing products.

Bandholz: The front-end design of your software apps, including Internet Research Unit, is terrific. What’s your design philosophy?

Hegstad: We don’t use professional designers on the site. My co-founder and I handle design and prioritize aesthetics. Stripe pioneered the trend of beautifully designed SaaS platforms, and we follow that approach. Software should feel exciting to use, not boring or outdated.

We aim for a cyberpunk vibe with Internet Research Unit — something that feels futuristic and appeals to tech-savvy users. We even started selling a bit of merchandise — shirts and hats — with designs inspired by this aesthetic. We did hire a designer to create cyberpunk-inspired shirt art. One says “anti-algorithm” because we feel like everyone’s life is ruled by algorithms these days. It’s a fun way to rebel against that.

We’ve considered other branded products, such as ZYN-style [nicotine-pouch] cans with USB drives inside. But we’re focused on growing the software business before diving deep into merchandise. If the software performs well, we might reinvest some of the profits into the brand side.

Bandholz: Is the platform fully built?

Hegstad: There’s more to come. We launched in March, and we’ve slowly onboarded users. In November, we’ll open it to the public. We want to add funding data so our users can find brands that have raised capital but are underperforming. That would help venture capitalists or merger and acquisition teams identify struggling companies that need help.

We’re not trying to shoot for the stars. We want to build something fun and keep it going. Reaching $5 million in annual revenue would be great. We love the business — it feels challenging, and there’s much to learn.

Bandholz: Where can people support you?

Hegstad: Our website is InternetResearchUnit.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn and X.