Anshul Shrivastava, CEO, and Kumar Saurav, CTO, aim to transform sales operations for businesses by leveraging the capabilities of generative AI technology, reducing reliance on human sales personnel.
The co-founders of Vodex, Anshul Shrivastava and Kumar Saurav, share a journey that mirrors that of many startups worldwide. With a friendship spanning over 14 years since their university days, they have utilized their combined expertise in developing customized chatbots and voicebots for diverse businesses, laying the groundwork for their entrepreneurial venture over several years.
Their trajectory took a significant turn when they recognized a rising demand for a voice bot solution capable of managing sales and marketing tasks through phone calls. Encouraged by positive responses from potential clients, particularly in the US and Canada markets, they decided to seek funding to expand their operations. This decision led them to approach venture capitalists (VCs) and investors, culminating in securing pre-seed funding from 100X.VC.
Following the initial funding injection, the Vodex co-founders shifted their focus to developing their Minimum Viable Product (MVP), while simultaneously acquiring clients and generating revenue. However, they encountered significant challenges during the funding drought of 2023. Despite pitching their idea to over 100 venture capitalists (VCs), they faced prolonged uncertainty and failed to secure funding.
Fortunately, the landscape began to shift at the onset of 2024, coinciding with a resurgence in investor interest. By this time, Vodex had made substantial progress, boasting a growing client base and nearing a million dollars in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in the US and Canada markets. Moreover, the growing excitement surrounding generative AI, spurred in part by advancements like ChatGPT, bolstered investor confidence in their venture.
Following discussions with several potential investors, including Unicorn India and Pentathlon Ventures, Vodex successfully secured USD 2 million in seed funding from these two entities.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride. It’s been very challenging, but fun. We went through every emotion you can think of,” Vodex CEO Anshul Shrivastava told the sources.
A crucial aspect that investors appreciated about Vodex was the tangible customer traction they achieved from the beta phase onwards. “Investors prioritise businesses that have demonstrated the ability to attract paying customers and generate revenue. This customer-centric approach resonated with investors, indicating a strong product-market fit and potential for scalability,” said CTO Kumar Saurav.
Shrivastava resonated Saurav’s feelings, emphasizing the need to strike a delicate balance between innovation and practicality. He highlighted that while technologies like generative AI (Gen AI) may be enticing, startups must ensure that their developments are not merely superficial enhancements to existing GPT and APIs.
“Investors are wary of solutions that can be easily replicated or imitated, even if they attract a large user base. Instead, they seek startups that offer unique, valuable propositions with sufficient barriers to entry to protect against competition from major players like Google or Microsoft,” said Shrivastava.
