# Omair Tariq

> Omair Tariq is the Houston-based co-founder and CEO of Cart.com. After selling jewelry at flea markets and holding finance and operations roles at Blinds.com and Home Depot, he co-founded Cart.com in 2020 to combine commerce software, services and fulfillment for brands. His career connects practical retail experience with company building, acquisitions and mentoring.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Cart.com
- **Organizations:** Cart.com, Blinds.com / Global Custom Commerce, The Home Depot, Rice University, Mercury Fund, Capital Factory, Farouk Systems
- **Nationality:** Pakistani-American
- **Education:** MBA, Finance and Strategy, Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business, BBA, Finance, University of Houston-Downtown
- **Known for:** EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Gulf South Award winner., Rice Business MBA commencement speaker on May 5, 2023., Asian Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year recipient.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2010** — Sold jewelry at Houston flea markets with his wife.
- **2009-2010** — Worked in manufacturing finance at Farouk Systems.
- **2010** — Joined Blinds.com to lead finance; subsequently held senior operations responsibilities.
- **2014** — Blinds.com was acquired by The Home Depot; Tariq remained with the business.
- **2016** — Graduated from Rice Business with an MBA; later led the configurable-products business as COO.
- **2020** — Left Home Depot and co-founded Cart.com with Jim Jacobsen; Tariq dates the start to September.
- **2021** — Cart.com moved its headquarters to Austin; Tariq continued living in Houston.
- **2023** — Delivered Rice Business’s MBA commencement address, received EY’s Gulf South Entrepreneur Of The Year award, and led Cart.com as it reached a $1.2 billion valuation.
- **2023-11** — Cart.com announced its headquarters would return to Houston.
- **2025-05** — Cart.com announced $50 million in additional funding at a $1.6 billion post-money valuation.
- **2026-03** — Cart.com announced a $180 million growth equity investment led by Springcoast Partners.

## Achievements

- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 Gulf South Award winner.
- Rice Business MBA commencement speaker on May 5, 2023.
- Asian Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards 2025 Entrepreneur of the Year recipient.
- Helped scale Blinds.com and participated in its 2014 acquisition by Home Depot.
- Co-founded Cart.com, which announced a $1.6 billion valuation in May 2025.

## Latest updates

- **—** — Rice Business Magazine’s Fall 2026 issue features Tariq, class of 2016, among alumni sharing entrepreneurship lessons; he emphasizes partner and investor value alignment. The issue is seasonal and has no exact publication month.
- **2026-03** — Cart.com announced a $180 million growth equity investment led by Springcoast Partners, with existing investors participating.
- **2025-05** — Cart.com announced $50 million in additional funding at a $1.6 billion valuation.

## Links

- Website: https://cart.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omairtariqcartfounder
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/omairdotcom

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/omair-tariq
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25