Article content continued

Most similar companies provide online commerce assistance on a large scale, but there is little currently available to assist small business or companies just entering a market, yet wanting for the first time to sell products online, Sidhu said.

“We want to be the gateway for entry-level entrepreneurs and mom-and-pop shops who want to get into online selling,” Sidhu said.

The company’s upcoming launch — expected sometime in the new year once building renovations are compete — comes on the heels of growing corporate presence seeking to capture technology talent in the Windsor area.

Most notable among them is the recent announcement by Detroit billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert to open a new Quicken Loans location downtown in the former Fish Market building next spring strictly designed to capture technology talent in the Windsor area.

WINwp

Sidhu himself is not new to Windsor — which helped him in the site selection process — as he was previously involved in the creation and launch of fitness equipment company Wave Manufacturing just over a decade ago.

“Just through my experience with Wave Manufacturing it worked well in Windsor before, so I thought why not do it again,” he said. “We found a great building in the Walkerville area and recognized a lot of good things are happening locally in the tech industry.”

The company is already in the early stages of hiring of employees. For more information, visit shopivo.com.

“We are trying to be proactive and get things going right away so that we will be ready for the launch,” Sidhu said. “The project will involve about 25 (employees) in the beginning, then our business model gradually builds up quickly from there.”

dbattagello@postmedia.com