Podcast Summary: Making It with Jon Davids

Episode 215 – Clip 1: Interview with Omair Tariq, Founder & CEO of Cart.com

Date: September 26, 2025
Host: Jon Davids
Guest: Omair Tariq

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jon Davids sits down with Omair Tariq, founder and CEO of Cart.com, to explore how the company scaled from zero to over $500 million in revenue in just a few years. The conversation dives into the unique approach that blends tech startup mentality with private equity discipline, what it’s like to scale so quickly, the challenges of hypergrowth, and the company’s ambitious goals to hit $1 billion in revenue and go public by 2027.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Private Equity Play vs. Tech Startup Mentality

• Jon Davids kicks off by noting that Cart.com feels more like a private equity roll-up than a traditional startup, given its focus on acquisitions and compounding growth once businesses enter their ecosystem.
  • Tariq’s perspective:

    "I spent all my life being the customer that we're now serving... I knew that in addition to solving a business problem, I had to solve a unit economic problem both for myself and my customers." (01:03)

  • Unlike traditional market research, Tariq leveraged his past experience “on the other side,” building Cart.com to solve pain points he personally understood.
  • Cart.com’s creation wasn’t strictly about tech innovation or pure M&A—it was about solving deep operational issues for scaling e-commerce businesses.

2. Understanding the Real Customer Pain Point

• Jon Davids points out that the core problem Cart.com solves is invisible unless a company is doing $10, $20, $30 million or more in revenue—something rarely addressed in mainstream business media.
  • Tariq:

    "That’s exactly right." (02:26)

3. Scaling and Headcount

• Employee growth: Cart.com currently fluctuates between 1,600 and 2,000 employees, reflecting seasonal and operational needs. (02:33)

4. Fundraising vs. Operational Focus

• Jon asks: Are you always in fundraising mode, or spending more time operating and consolidating?
  • Tariq:

    "We've raised a lot of capital in the last few years, so we've had to be in fundraising mode, like forever. Even though we're a profitable company... But, remember, I only have five years, right? So… I'm trying to hit a billion in revenue by 2027. I'm trying to take the company public by 2027. So capital helps..." (02:55, 03:12)

  • Capital efficiency is a strong focus, but raising money accelerates global ambitions when the opportunity arises.

5. Pressure from Investors and Balancing Growth

• Jon: With strong profitability, are investors pushing for hypergrowth over profits?
  • Tariq:

    "We have investors on both sides... Just self-fund it and grow slower. And then we've got investors that are like, dude, just go raise a bunch of money, double your business, keep going that way. Right. So we have a good balance. And I listen to both of them." (03:54, 04:01)

• Memorable moment:
  • Jon jokes:

    "You listen to one on Monday and the other on Thursday." (04:12)

6. Biggest Constraints at $500M+ Revenue

• Jon: What does hypergrowth feel like at this level, and what are the main constraints?
  • Tariq:

    "The first constraint is scaling without imploding, right? The reality is we're still just a four year old company... It hurts to be $500 million in revenue right now... I am so proud of my team... they are walking into the gladiator ring. They understand that they're not coming to work a side hustle, right? This is going to become their life." (04:35–05:08)

  • Operating infrastructure often lags behind rapid revenue growth, which creates ongoing stress and “mayhem.”
  • Compared to a decade-old company, Cart.com doesn’t have the luxury of incremental infrastructure improvements—everything changes at a much faster pace.

7. Balancing Quality, Money, and Speed

• Tariq:

  "We operate in an environment where you can't just waste money... you have to make money. So... in that quadrant of... quality, money, and speed—you can only get two. For us, it has to be all three. And that's really hard." (05:46–06:23)

8. Changing Everything—All the Time

• Jon compares Cart.com to stories from Shopify’s early days:

  "We're literally changing everything every three months. Like our org chart changes, our stuff, like our systems. You know, things that work when you're $20 million don't work when you're $100 million. And if you're growing at that pace, every three months, that's what it's like." (06:23)

  • Tariq:

    "That's literally what I would say. That's, that's what we're feeling." (06:45)

9. The Road to IPO and Macro Risks

• Jon: Are you on track for a 2027 IPO?
  • Tariq:

    "I think we're on track. You never know, right? Public markets... there are other macro factors... If the world is going to shit... bad idea. So, you know, depending on what's happening in the rest of the world, we aim to do that in 2027." (07:02–07:25)

10. Is Cart.com the Grand Piece of Art?

• Jon: Is this your magnum opus, or do you have other big plays ahead?
  • Tariq:

    "I think this is the biggest thing I've ever worked on and I think this has the ability to be the biggest thing I'll probably ever work on... This is my grand piece of art." (07:46)

11. Vision for the Future

• Jon: With such scale, Cart.com could expand far beyond its current vision.
  • Tariq:

    "Honestly man, if our luck doesn’t run out and we keep executing, this company will last for 500 years." (08:30)

Notable Quotes

• Omair Tariq:

  "I spent all my life being the customer that we're now serving." (01:03)
  "It hurts to be $500 million in revenue right now, right? Because it takes heroics." (04:35)
  "For us, it has to be all three: quality, money, and speed. And that's really hard." (06:18)
  "This is going to become their life." (05:07)
  "If our luck doesn’t run out and we keep executing, this company will last for 500 years." (08:30)

• Jon Davids:

  "You listen to [investor advice] one on Monday and the other on Thursday." (04:12)
  "Things that work when you're $20 million don't work when you're $100 million." (06:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–01:03 | Startup vs. Private Equity approach
• 01:03–02:06 | Founder’s background and pain point identification
• 02:33–02:55 | Employee growth and headcount evolution
• 02:55–03:39 | Fundraising strategies and growth ambitions
• 03:39–04:12 | Pressure from investors and balancing profit vs. growth
• 04:35–05:19 | Hypergrowth constraints and team dynamics
• 05:46–06:23 | Juggling quality, speed, and capital discipline
• 06:23–06:45 | Constant adaptation—learning from Shopify’s experience
• 07:02–07:25 | IPO plans and external risks
• 07:46–08:08 | Reflection on building a legacy
• 08:30 | Vision for 500-year longevity

Tone & Language

Omair Tariq is candid, energetic, and often self-deprecating. He gives honest assessments of the struggle and pride in rapid expansion, showing both the strategic and emotional side of building a massive company. Jon Davids guides the discussion with an insider’s curiosity and a sense of humor about the chaos of scale.

For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This conversation is a peek inside the mind of a founder scaling at warp speed—balancing contradictory pressures, changing everything every quarter, and still planning further ahead. Omair Tariq’s journey with Cart.com is part operational war story, part visionary ambition, offering actionable insights for entrepreneurs and would-be disruptors.