A Baltimore startup that helps retailers manage their online business has snagged $1.2 million in funding and is looking to raise another $6 million as it prepares for a major expansion.

6th Street Inc. will seek the additional funding this year as the company ramps up hiring, looks for more customers and finds larger quarters in the Baltimore area.

The 4-year-old firm, which is based at the Emerging Technology Center in East Baltimore, will also be changing its name to SalesWarp, the name of its signature product.

SalesWarp helps retailers to process online orders, track inventory and manage customer data. The name change will take place this month, according to CEO David Potts.

6th Street has 12 employees now, and Potts said he expects to grow to between 40 and 50 by the third quarter of this year. He is looking to hire software programmers, sales and marketing people, client program managers and a chief technology officer. Most of the new employees will be based in Baltimore, although 6th Street also has a group of engineers based in India.

“We’re at an interesting growth phase where capital is going to be easy to find because we have so many customers who want the product,” said Potts, 45, a former executive vice president at SafeNet, a Belcamp-based cyber security company. Before joining SafeNet, Potts worked for Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TI) as an engineer and manager in their wireless communications business and director of wireless applications.

6th Street’s expansion comes as consumers do more of their shopping online rather than in brick-and-mortar stores. Online sales from personal and home computers on Cyber Monday — the Monday after Thanksgiving — topped $1.7 billion this year. That was up 18 percent from Cyber Monday 2012, according to comScore.com, which tracks online sales.

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