Startup Competitors

Buddy Brands is a collection of solution-based pet product brands, all focused on relieving various pet health problems. Their combined products address issues such as pain, mobility, anxiety, allergies, and itching. Through Buddy Brands, President and Founder, Trevor Crotts, uses his expertise in employing advanced technology to increase consumer confidence and drive sales of quality products.

In this episode, I talk ecommerce with Trevor, who is also involved in the startups Compel Commerce and ScanShop.io. We discuss how targeted marketing and business scale drive positive growth, along with the importance of the ever-expanding role of 3D and AI in the future of ecommerce. As a dog person and business person, I really loved our conversation. Following our time together, Trevor was gracious enough to offer a 25% discount code (Startup25) on Buddy Rest or Natural Doggie products for Startup Competitors listeners.

Topics In This Episode

Using eBay as a tool to learn the moving parts of ecommerce

The trends and future of ecommerce, especially coming out of Covid

Competing with the large juggernauts in your business space by smartly leveraging ecommerce

The future of 3D model creation and AI for use in ecommerce and augmented reality (enhance shopper experience, increase conversion rates, and decrease returns)

Responding to knock-offs and direct competitors that crop up

How Buddy Brands has taken on diversification of their brand and product lines

Contact Info

Want to try any Buddy Rest or Natural Doggie products? Use the code Startup25 to save 25%!

Website: buddybrands.pet 

Email: [email protected] 

Phone: (888) 674-1710

Buddy Brands (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/buddypetbrands 

Trevor Crotts LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/trevor-crotts

Contact Buddy Brands: buddybrands.pet/home

Unicorn Venture Partners specializes in pre-seeds and Series A investments. Their two verticals are mainly the technology space and consumer space. Because Unicorn Venture Partners has no LPs (limited partnerships), how they operate, the massive success they’ve had, and how they’ve grown since 2018 sets them apart.

In this episode, I talk with Jonathan Hung, Co-Managing Partner of Unicorn Venture Partners. We discuss the experience diversity superpower of the three founding partners and how that has impacted their success. We explore valuable concepts like “watch the blind side”, the ‘business emergency contacts’ litmus test, and cash cow business structures. In particular, I found the tips Jonathan shares regarding successful investment pitching to be (potentially) worth millions.

Topics In This Episode

Structuring the leadership team without VPs

The importance of writing investment memos, even though only three people read them

Looking at a business team and leadership as perhaps the most important success indicator

How Unicorn leverages both itself and the other separate entities of each of its founders

Balancing Unicorn Venture Partners with the demands of Johnathan’s various ventures.

Why business owners should be selective, even if they need investment funds. Is this someone you’d have as your business emergency contact?

Rethinking and reinventing cash cow businesses to increase revenue and scale

Tips from Jonathan on how to successfully secure capital

Contact Info

Website: unicornvp.com 

Email: [email protected] 

Unicorn Venture Partners (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/unicorn-venture-partners/about 

Jonathan Hung LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathanhung 

Contact Unicorn Venture Partners: unicornvp.com/contact-us

Contact Jonanthan directly for investment pitches, to read his blog, and more: jonathanhung.com

Capbase is a compliance platform designed to manage information and paperwork typically needed for a startup. It includes corporation, payroll, funds raising, document signing, compliance and government filings, and much more. It was started by Co-Founders Stefan Nagey and Greg Miaskiewicz, who both have founded and sold other companies.

In this episode, Stefan Nagey shares how Capbase was inspired by the mistakes and pain points he and Greg experienced. They wanted to help other startups avoid the time and money losses they’d suffered. I found it compelling to hear how Capbase smoothed and combined so many separate processes. They’ve pulled together the tools they once needed most, creating a virtual and viable company that’s growing.

Topics In This Episode

Entirely virtual, Capbase employs people from all over the globe

Why and how they jumped into such a tight market

Differentiating themselves from any competitors

Building integrations: current and future, including partnerships

Deciding on costs and passing along revenue to clients

Leveraging quality content to drive marketing

Evaluating sales retention through client milestones

How Capbase finds their employees

Ways Stefan and Greg divide up their co-founder responsibilities

Contact Info

Website: capbase.com

Email: [email protected] 

Capbase (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/capbase

Stefan Nagey LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stefannagey 

Contact Stefan directly: capbase.com, click the blue and white Intercom Chat Box

Avestor provides real estate investing made simple. It allows the average person to build their own custom real estate platform, using a range of prequalified investments. Despite the uncertainty of the economy during Covid, they went fully live in 2020. And it paid off. Their commitment and growth actually shaped the company in positive ways, despite the restrictions Covid created.

These surprising positives made the conversation with Sanjay Vora, Co-Founder of Avestor, super interesting. I was especially compelled by their approach to their customer road map, and how it offers clients control over their investment portfolios. I also found their year-long pilot program, their productivity during Covid, and how they leverage partner platforms valuable. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and come away with some ideas for your own startup and business growth.

Topics In This Episode

How Avestor leverages partner platforms and pre-investments

Avestor’s growth so far, closed deals, and planned platform improvements

Who are Avestor’s current competitors? Will competition increase in the future?

How Avestor is taking advantage of the current climate in real estate

How they are positioning for anticipated client load increase

The personal motivations to create Avestor

What’s next on their customer road map

How Covid solidified virtual processes and helped overcome investor discomfort 

Overcoming their biggest launch hurdle

Preparing for their biggest growth hurdle: scaling

Contact Info

Website: avestorinc.com

Email: [email protected] 

Avestor (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/avestor-inc/

Sanjay Vora LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sanjayvora/

Observa combines human observation with artificial intelligence to compile accurate retail marketing data. They compare what a client’s marketing spend (trade spend) is supposed to be getting them to what is actually happening in-store. With a human force of over 275,000 in-store observers, and the technology to turn raw information into usable marketing data, Observa is addressing one of the biggest problems in retail.

Whenever a company generates the opportunity to make themselves that indispensable, I want to learn what they are doing and how they do it! That’s why I was excited to talk with Co-Founder and CEO, Hugh Holman, about Observa. I asked him how they built their client base and observer force, how they are leveraging AI and incorporating emerging technologies, and much more. I really enjoyed this conversation. In particular, I loved the story he shared about the early days, when he would personally fly to locations to fulfill service promises. I hope it inspires your business journey, too.

Topics In This Episode

Meeting the needs of clients throughout the U.S. and Canada

The journey from personally fulfilling client needs to having an observer force of over 275,000

Scaling using AI for some of the necessary (previously human) work

Who are Observa’s competitors? What are they disrupting in the current retail services market?

Future AI expansion: incorporating emerging technologies such as bots and drones

Landing client contracts: offering subscription-based services and finding innovative ways to lower price points

Retooling and customizing for clients to meet unique goals

How COVID impacted Observa

Contact Info

Website: observanow.com

Email: [email protected]

Observa (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/observa/

Hugh Holman LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/hughholman/

Lloyd is a career navigation business with a human touch. It’s based on the premise that people both want and need additional structure and accountability in their careers, especially as they grow. I chatted with Co-Founder and CEO, Dan Gusz, about the current beta phase of Lloyd and how they plan to scale going forward. We also discussed how Lloyd is approaching product development and the features they plan to implement in the product road map. I enjoyed the conversation immensely and if you are early in your business or career, I think you will find this episode particularly helpful. 

Topics In This Episode

Using data in the area of behavior science to build a viable product

How Lloyd combines accessible technology with a human coach

What they have learned from the beta testing

Customer acquisition strategy

Who are Lloyd’s competitors in the career coaching space

Looking at how they can implement personalized coaching at various levels of career goals

Preparing for growth and future competition

The role of behavior science and behavior economics as technology increases

Contact Info

Website: withlloyd.com

Lloyd (company) LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/withlloyd

Dan Gusz LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dan-gusz

Appsurify is the tester for testers. Its plugin is compatible with existing software test environments, and provides the immediate feedback developers constantly need. Whenever software changes are implemented, it isolates the proper and necessary subset of tests to run. With Appsurify, any organization utilizing software development can quickly improve their system. This competitive edge allows them to ship faster, get to market faster, have fewer defects, and much more.

Fully bootstrapped, Co-Founder and CEO, Johnston Harris says Appsurify has already generated a healthy dose of interest. And they have a potentially unlimited customer base. Their software can help almost any business -- ranging from small Mom and Pop ventures to huge Fortune 500 enterprises. With a product wielding such widely applicable prowess, I was eager to learn all about Appsurify’s business model.

Topics In This Episode

Isolating pain points to build a proper solution

Creating exponential value by saving time and pinpointing needed change

Developing an environment where automated testing and manual testing work hand in hand

Managing risk by flagging high risk changes, as well as mapping fragility and failures

Offering a lower barrier to entry to increase customer awareness and advocacy

Identifying Appsurify’s current competitors and highlighting how Appsurify is superior

Providing flexible compatibility and integration to serve a wide range of customers

Implementing via self serve or personalized help: why offering both is working

Running numbers to prove ROI and convert sales

Contact Info

Website: appsurify.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact form: appsurify.com/contact

Phone: 650.402.1400

Appsurify LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/appsurify

Johnston Harris LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnston-harris-5051b332

ProBook is the all-in-one platform for any sports team. It streamlines team management by integrating the Five Pillars of coaching excellence. This includes tracking and fostering athlete development and team culture by centralizing social media, events, profiles, nutrition, film, schedules, communication, and much more. 

However, ProBook has a huge competitor - the gorilla in that space... so how are they wedging themselves in? I discussed their early success and future plans with founder and CEO, Andre Harakas. He outlined how ProBook is positioning their platform to outperform and displace their main competition. He discussed targeting their message via social media and coach ambassadors, and the status of their beta launch. We even talked about how they are already looking to future integration, including AI. 

Topics In This Episode

Offering flexibility to enter the market: replacement of main competitor OR as a companion

Strategic partnership development, including celebrity athletes

How are they gaining market share? Why price point and targeting smaller teams works

White glove customer service: building relationships, networking, and the value of ‘who you know’

What swag are they using?

Andre shares how detailed meeting notes and a Google Form helped their product roadmap

Freemium model coming soon - expanding market reach

Nearly free advertising: offering sporting events and clinics

Plans for AI and emerging tech improvements

Integration versus Self-Build: How does ProBook plan to position itself as it grows?

Contact Info

Website: probooksport.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact form: probooksport.com/contact

Phone: 317.658.4590

Twitter: twitter.com/ProBookSports

Instagram: instagram.com/probooksports/

Forecasting for your business using outdated, clunky software slows your business and it eats up time you could spend on action items to grow. Forecastr fixes that pain point. It’s an online software platform that helps founders build great financial models, so they can make better decisions, impress investors, and get funded. Through Forecastr, you can quickly see your current revenue streams, expected growth, expenses and more -- so you can focus on the areas that need your attention the most.

Because what they do is so timely for Startup Competitors, CEO and co-founder, Logan Burchett, and I went through the Forecastr platform together. He showed me how it works, what forecasting it does automatically, and how it can help keep my business on track. I even recorded a video stream, too, so you can follow along. To find out more about Forecastr, or to schedule a meeting with their team, go to their website at: https://www.forecastr.co/.

Topics In This Episode

Revenue streams and formula

Choose from multiple revenue types to populate suggested applicable fields

Input data such as start date, customer / subscriber numbers, more

Forecast monthly / yearly growth based on input percentage or estimations

Customer acquisition funnels and planning

Retain subscriptions, churn rate, more

Quantify acquisition costs (such as advertising); identify unprofitable campaigns

Forecast base income and customer retention to identify needed focuses

Estimate time frame for profitability (investors want to know this!)

Input and remove brainstormed strategies to determine best courses of action

Hiring, outsourcing / contract labor

Input budget impact, track costs

Identify future needs to plan ahead

Additional financials

Hosting, taxes, fees, etc.

Revenue shares, profit distribution, salaries for executives

The Dashboard -- Gives solid numbers to

Highlight goals

Track expectations and achievements

Pinpoint areas that need attention

Contact Info

Website: forecastr.co

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/forecastr

We all know a data breach can crush a small or medium-sized business. PrettyFluid Technologies protects businesses by taking the liability and security of customer data off the company and placing it back in the hands of their customers. With a truly first-to-market concept, Zentinel™, their SAS platform, is so needed, they easily pre-sold it before build. 

Of course, I was eager to find out how that happened. And even more eager when I learned that the bootstrapped company has also received numerous unsolicited inquiries for partnerships and investments! Fortunately for me (and my audience), Christopher Perry III, Co-Founder and CEO of PrettyFluid, was kind enough to answer my numerous questions. He covers how their solution protects both businesses and customers, how they went from concept to paying clients, why larger companies are already interested in potential partnerships, and more.

Topics In This Episode

Removing the cost burden and liability of data security for small and medium businesses

How they pre-sold their product before build

Additional revenue streams potential: end-user monetization

Designed to build trust with customers versus operations that assume trust

The power of third party consultants, outside advisors, and credibility by extension

Expecting competition: How much of a head-start does PrettyFluid have?

Does this alter how companies gather customer information?

Their parking lot of prioritized ideas and roadmap for ongoing innovation and implementation

Receiving unsolicited inquiries for potential partnerships and investments

Contact Info

PrettyFluid Technologies

prettyfluid.com

prettyfluidtechnologies.com

Christopher Perry III, Co-Founder and CEO

LinkedIn

[email protected]

prettyfluidtechnologies.com/contact/

Zentinel™