Stephan Schambach's company-building career spans three different approaches to retail technology. He founded Intershop as an enterprise e-commerce software business, Demandware as a cloud commerce company, and NewStore to bring a mobile-first platform to physical retail. The connection is not simply that all three sell software: each addresses a different way retailers organize and deliver commerce.
Demandware grew into a cloud commerce provider used by brands including L'Oréal and Marks & Spencer. Salesforce completed its acquisition in July 2016, following an announced transaction value of approximately $2.8 billion, net of cash acquired. Demandware became Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
He founded NewStore in 2015 to connect store activities that are often split across separate systems: point of sale, inventory, orders, fulfillment and customer engagement. He now serves as founder and chairman, having transitioned out of the CEO role.
For enterprise-software founders, his background is relevant to product scope, delivery models and the relationship between a specialist tool and a broader platform. His move from CEO to chairman also adds a leadership dimension: how a founder's role can evolve while the company continues to develop beyond its original product and operating structure.
Where Stephan can help
- Choosing a delivery and business model for enterprise commerce software
- Deciding when to connect adjacent workflows into a platform
- Building products around the practical needs of retail organizations
- Evolving a founder's responsibilities from CEO to chairman
Operating and investing experience
A selection of companies and roles connected to Stephan Schambach.
Ventures
Intershop
founder; enterprise e-commerce software
Demandware
founder; cloud commerce business acquired by Salesforce in 2016 and incorporated as Salesforce Commerce Cloud
NewStore
founder and chairman; mobile-first platform connecting store operations and customer engagement
Highlights
- Founded three commerce software businesses with distinct product and delivery models
- Demandware acquired by Salesforce in a transaction announced at approximately $2.8 billion, net of cash acquired
- Founded NewStore in 2015 and later transitioned from CEO to chairman
Questionsfounders ask aboutStephan Schambach
What connects Intershop, Demandware and NewStore?
Each addresses commerce, but at a different level: enterprise e-commerce software, cloud-delivered commerce and the workflows of physical stores. For a founder, that history makes the relationship between a customer's changing needs, product architecture and the way software is delivered a useful topic—not just the choice of an industry to enter.
Why is his background relevant to the choice between a point solution and a platform?
NewStore connects point of sale with inventory, orders, fulfillment and customer engagement rather than treating each as an isolated task. That is a concrete setting for discussing which adjacent problems a product should solve itself, where it should integrate with other systems and how to expand scope without losing clarity.
What leadership transition has he experienced himself?
He moved from leading NewStore as CEO to serving as its founder and chairman. For founders considering a similar change, that provides a relevant basis for discussing the distinction between company direction, board responsibilities and day-to-day executive leadership.
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