Sidecar: ecommerce marketing startup looks to grow from 30 to 50 staffers in 2014

Sidecar, the Center City ecommerce marketing platform, plans to staff up in 2014.

It aims to grow to roughly 50 employees from its current staff of nearly 30, said CEO Andre Golsorkhi. It’s hiring engineers, data analysts and online marketers, but, Golsorkhi said, it’s been tough.

“We want really strong talented people and it’s not easy to find,” he said. (Don’t confuse this ecommerce company that, after a 2011 pivot, predates the ridesharing startup with the same name that closed its doors in Philly.)

This still very much alive Sidecar began ramping up its recruiting efforts six months ago through recruiters, referral bonuses and social media like LinkedIn and Stack Overflow, he said.

Golsorkhi said he’s heard the same troubles from his clients, a roster of 50 to 100 ecommerce companies that include the Navy Yard’s Revzilla, Rue La La from Michael Rubin‘s Conshohocken parent company Kynetic and Newegg.

The hiring struggle has become a common refrain these days, with Monetate offering $5,000 referral bonuses and local early-stage startups like Curalate saying that hiring is what’s holding the company back.

Sidecar also has a New York sales office with two to three employees, but Golsorkhi said he’s committed to keeping Sidecar in Philadelphia.

“We love this neighborhood,” said Golsorkhi, who’s been part of the revitalization of the 13th Street corridor in Center City, where both his business and his home is located, for nearly a decade.