# Keep Converting raises $2M pre-seed to fix e-commerce checkout — the funding signal for physical-product brands

*When a conversion-rate startup gets funded, watch what they're solving — and steal the fix before they scale.*

By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC.
Published 2026-09-14.

Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/keep-converting-2026-09-14t21-2
Subject: Keep Converting
Tags: conversion rate, checkout optimization, ecommerce funnel, session recording, cart abandonment, physical product

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Keep Converting exited stealth with **$2 million** in pre-seed funding to reduce e-commerce checkout friction, according to voiceofalexandria.com. The company targets conversion rate optimization at the point where physical-product brands lose the most revenue: the final click before purchase.

The funding itself matters less than the thesis. Investors bet **$2 million** that checkout friction is still costing brands enough money that a dedicated solution can build a venture-scale business. That means the problem is large, persistent, and — for most brands — unsolved. Keep Converting's approach centers on identifying and removing micro-frictions in the checkout flow: form field errors, shipping cost surprises, payment method confusion, trust signal gaps.

The mechanism works because checkout abandonment compounds. A customer who adds a physical product to cart has already cleared awareness, consideration, and intent. They want the thing. When they bail at checkout, the brand loses not just the sale but the entire acquisition cost that brought them there. Industry benchmarks put average cart abandonment around **69-70%** across e-commerce, though physical-product categories often run higher due to shipping cost sensitivity and longer consideration windows. Even a **2-3 percentage point** improvement in checkout completion can double the effective return on ad spend for a brand running paid acquisition.

Keep Converting's funded model suggests a pattern smaller brands can copy without the software. The play is systematic checkout auditing: record actual user sessions, identify the exact point where drop-off spikes, then test one variable at a time. Most physical-product brands skip this because they assume the problem is traffic quality or product-market fit. But if users are reaching checkout, the fit is there — the friction is operational.

The steal starts with instrumentation. Install session recording software — Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity both offer free tiers sufficient for a small brand. Filter recordings to users who reached checkout but did not complete. Watch **20-30 sessions**. Note every hesitation: places where the cursor hovers without clicking, form fields that get filled and then cleared, pages where users scroll up and down repeatedly. These are friction points. Common culprits for physical products: shipping cost revealed too late, no guest checkout option, required account creation, unclear return policy, payment options that don't match customer expectation (no PayPal, no Apple Pay, credit card only).

Run one test per week. If shipping cost is the stall, test revealing it earlier — on the product page or in a cart preview. If form length is the issue, cut optional fields and test a single-page checkout against a multi-step flow. If trust is weak, add a money-back guarantee line and a security badge above the payment button. Track completion rate by variant. A **1-2 point** improvement justifies keeping the change. Compound four of these over a quarter and checkout conversion can move **5-8 points**, which on a **$50k/month** revenue base is an extra **$2,500-$4,000** monthly without spending more on ads.

The funded startup model also reveals timing. Keep Converting raised pre-seed now because checkout tooling for e-commerce has been static while customer expectations evolved. Buyers expect one-click, autofill, and zero surprise fees. Brands still using default Shopify checkout or WooCommerce flows from three years ago are leaking revenue to competitors who optimized the last mile. The window to close that gap is narrow — once a funded tool scales and becomes table stakes, the advantage disappears. Copy the fix now while it still differentiates.

## The takeaway

Checkout friction is funded because it's expensive — audit your flow, fix one thing per week, and capture the revenue leak.

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## Publisher

**Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339.
Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**.

- Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about
- LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt
- MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp
- Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/
- Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands