By Saajid Sabry – Host of The Cart & the Capital
In this first episode of The Cart & the Capital, we sit down with Derrick Chen – VePay advisor, co‑founder and CEO of Cenports (a dropshipping & fulfillment platform), and founder of AndMakers (bringing global products to the US). With over two decades in e‑commerce, Derrick shares his raw origin story, the near‑misses, the lessons on margins, and why he believes AI will let small sellers finally compete with Amazon.
🚚 The Very First Sale: Craigslist & A Warehouse in SF
Derrick’s background is in Information Systems. His first job was at Hewlett Packard, followed by Web 1.0 era companies like Excite at Home. But his entry into selling online was surprisingly low‑tech.
“My first sale was on Craigslist. Someone actually came to our warehouse and bought it. I was like, wow, this kind of stuff does work locally.”
That humble start eventually grew into Stufurhome – a company selling big‑ticket bathroom vanities and faucets. But the logistics nearly killed him.
📦 The Logistics Wake‑Up Call: LTL & $700 Shipping
Selling a 300‑pound bathroom vanity from San Francisco to New York cost $700 in shipping – more than the product itself. Derrick learned about LTL (Less Than Truckload) freight the hard way.
“It was a whole different learning curve. But then we realized if you have a contract with an LTL company, you get a 50% discount. You never pay the published price.”
Despite the learning curve, Stufurhome grew to $10 million in annual revenue by 2018 – all while Derrick was working part‑time at a gaming company.
But then politics intervened. Anti‑dumping tariffs hit Chinese imports hard – a 200% tariff on bathroom vanities. Attempts to move sourcing to Vietnam failed because the infrastructure wasn’t ready.
“It was exciting, but it didn’t end the way I wanted it to.”
🛠️ From Pain to Platform: The Birth of Cenports (and AndMakers)
While running Stufurhome, Derrick experienced three massive barriers that small sellers face:
- No affordable software to automate inventory and orders.
- Warehouse minimums – two‑year commitments required.
- Slow, expensive retailer relationships – EDI implementations from companies like SPS Commerce cost $15,000 and took three months.
“I decided to write my own software. EDI is just a bunch of translation stuff. It’s not that hard.”
He built internal automation for his own business – connecting to Home Depot’s third‑party system, printing labels, managing purchase orders. That software became Cenports.
Then a friend sent two containers of kitchen sinks. Derrick helped him sell them through the same system. Within two months, the friend was doing $40,000 in revenue.
“That’s how AndMakers came out – helping the little guys connect to big retailers.”
🔮 Cenports’ 10‑Year Vision: A Shopify for B2B Dropshipping
Derrick describes Cenports as a B2B platform – similar to Shopify, but instead of selling direct to consumers, it connects sellers to retailers like Wayfair, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and eBay.
The Cenports suite includes:
- A distribution marketplace (connecting sellers and buyers)
- Integration engines (EDI, APIs, connections to any retailer or warehouse)
- Financials and ERP
- Analytics
- AI agent operators (to let sellers run with fewer employees)
“In the age of AI, they can operate on their own with less employees. More efficiency, more profit.”
🧠 Multi‑Company Founder: “It Doesn’t Feel Like Work”
When asked how he manages being CEO of multiple companies, Derrick’s answer is refreshingly simple:
“I love e‑commerce. I love systems. I enjoy operations. It doesn’t feel like work. If you enjoy it, it’s not too hard.”
And the low moments? They’re frequent.
“There are a lot of times – we just lost a client, lost a deal. It comes with the territory. You filter out the noise. You pout for a day, but the next day you wake up and there’s a lot to do.”
His survival mechanism: passion first, noise second.
💡 Advice to His Younger Self (And Every e‑Commerce Founder)
If Derrick could restart an e‑commerce business today, his advice is laser‑focused on one thing: margin.
“Understand every single cost – shipping, returns, every piece of the dollar. Build your spreadsheet. Project your margins. In my early days, I didn’t care. I just wanted to sell. Double it, triple it. But invoices will catch you.”
He adds:
“Everything else is secondary. Understand your margin and your cash flow. And if you’re not a finance person, partner with one.”
🔮 The Next 5 Years: AI Commerce & The Death of “Just Amazon”
Derrick sees two major shifts:
1. Diversification away from Amazon
Chinese manufacturers and US sellers alike are moving to Target, Walmart, Wayfair, and other platforms.
2. AI Commerce will democratize e‑commerce
He predicts that AI agents will search, compare prices, and even complete purchases on behalf of buyers – bypassing traditional marketplaces.
“AI recommendations – ChatGPT, Gemini – will make e‑commerce into AI commerce. You’ll say, ‘Find me a cheaper price for this product,’ and the AI will scrape the whole internet. Independent websites will get more traffic. Smaller sellers will have a real chance.”
He believes Shopify could become bigger than Amazon in this new era.
🤖 Agentic Shopping: Already Happening
Off‑the‑record, Derrick got even more specific:
“All my technical friends are already using agents to shop for groceries. The agent finds the items, the user approves, the agent pays. It’s already happening. Once easy‑to‑use software comes out for the masses, it’s over – because nobody likes grocery shopping.”
He also confessed that he rarely uses Google search anymore.
“Every time I need something, I say, ‘ChatGPT, go on the web and look for it.’ I don’t even use Google search anymore.”
🎯 Final Takeaway for Small Sellers
“I believe – from the bottom of my heart – that little guys have a chance right now. With agentic AI, you can compete with Amazon. For sure.”
🎧 Listen to the full episode of The Cart & the Capital here: https://youtu.be/5wGdpa4RU2o
Presented by VePay, interest‑free working capital for e‑commerce sellers.