Can you share a few details about TurnCage’s founding story?
Throughout my career, I’ve witnessed large brands invest tens to hundreds of millions annually into perfecting their marketing strategies—delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. This made me ask: how can small businesses possibly compete? Small businesses are often called the backbone of the American economy and are expected to continue to be vital in 2025. They create jobs, increase productivity, and contribute to the local economy. Yet, new entrepreneurs face tough choices: spend life savings on agencies, risk shady consultants, or attempt a DIY- only to realize that a successful website is about much more than just aesthetics. That’s where TurnCage steps in. I created TurnCage to empower small businesses with an easy, fun, and fast way to build effective websites that have everything they need to be recognized by search engines. Our innovative “20 Questions” approach allows businesses to craft a beautiful, search-engine-friendly website that looks great on every device, simply by answering a few key questions. This approach enables businesses to establish their online presence without the usual costs, complexities, and risks, allowing business owners to focus on their passion and continue driving the spirit of innovation that fuels our economy. TurnCage is on a mission to level the playing fields for small businesses and help them succeed.What sets you apart from your competitors?
What truly sets TurnCage apart is our focus on small business owners, not agencies, designers, and power users, unlike other platforms that require you to get involved with dragging and dropping elements or navigating through complicated dashboards and interfaces that look like an airplane dashboard. TurnCage does everything for you, there is nothing new to learn, and we still give the user control via a fun super-easy interface. Today, business owners are set up to fail and led to believe they can learn everything they need to do, and they can do it themselves. The issue is websites are more than pretty colors and copywriting. For example, responsive design, technical SEO, contextual SEO, color theory and contrast, user experience best practices, SSL encryption, Domain Name Servers, data architecture and so much more. Typically small businesses have limited time, budget, and know-how, and they don’t have the budget to hire a design agency which is somewhere between $5000 and $50,000 a website … so they choose to try creating a website on their own. Unless you are a website designer, developer, or SEO expert, and understand secure hosting and how DNS works, it ends up being a disaster they have to pay someone to undo at a later time. Website builders estimate it will take a user 1 – 6 months to create a website – but they never said anything about the time it takes to understand what needs to be done before you get started. TurnCage empowers small business owners, solopreneurs, and side-hustlers to create a beautiful, well-written, search-engine-optimized website that looks good on any device in minutes – and we typically see entire sites being completed (which includes reviewing their content and uploading images) in less than 24 hours. Not to mention we also manage their secure hosting and website maintenance, making the entire process effortless after the site is launched. Leveraging the power of AI to help businesses succeed is the future.Who is your targeted audience and how do your websites differ based on user type/business?
We primarily target small to medium-sized business owners. Our onboarding process is customized based on business type and user input from the 20 questions. We’re also exploring collaborations, like partnerships with chambers, big brands serving SMBs, and other strategic partners. Agencies, for example, can offer TurnCage sites to clients who can’t afford full-scale services, gaining additional revenue and broadening their client base.What software do you use in your work?
TurnCage developed proprietary software, leveraging various generative AI tools with years of expertise. This combo lets us automate and optimize the web-building process, delivering well-written, high-performing sites that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also tailored to each business’s unique needs. By integrating different AI technologies, we maintain the capability to innovate and adapt continually, ensuring that clients enjoy a seamless and advanced web experience.Can you elaborate on your built-in eCommerce and tell us about other special features?
Our eCommerce option is integrated and super simple, which is perfect for small businesses ready to sell online. We partner with Stripe for secure, simple, and dependable payments. The setup process is step-by-step, user-friendly, and tech-free, so businesses can start selling swiftly and smoothly. Beyond eCommerce, our sites come loaded with features that save time and money, like AI-powered blogs and SMS features empowering users to update their website and get their website leads via their text message inbox. We also remind you on occasion to review the content on your site and update it if needed. TurnCage provides a comprehensive toolset for small businesses looking to grow and thrive effortlessly, without becoming website designers and expert digital marketers.What does the future hold?
The future at TurnCage is nothing short of thrilling! We’re crafting a “business in a box” solution, equipping entrepreneurs with all the vital tools and resources, regardless of what stage of their business they’re in; research, launch, manage, and scale their ventures effortlessly. This can include guidance on finding the right business, choosing a domain, state registration, and even business cards, promotional items, and stationery. We’re constantly evolving, listening to each client’s suggestions, and keeping our offerings in tune with their needs. By handling these aspects, we aim to enable our clients to focus their energy on what truly matters—their unique offerings and customer engagement.To learn more about TurnCage, you can visit turncage.com
