First step? Convince investors that B2B customer support can be better.
Vancouver-based startup Supportbench secured $ 1.9 million CAD ($ 1.5 million USD) in funding as it looks to develop a Zendesk-like customer support engine for B2B businesses.
The startup’s founders, Nooshin Alibhai (CEO) and Eric Klimuk (CTO) created the company after Klimuk, who spent a decade working at cybersecurity company Sophos, noticed the need for B2B -specific support.
“Freshdesk and Zendesk are responding to B2C needs, leaving significant whitespace for a solution that serves the pain points addressed by Supportbench.”
Klimuk and Alibhai argue that platforms like Zendesk and Freshdesk are more focused on B2C customer support, which could leave enterprise clients in difficulty. Supportbench, they say, is specifically made for supporting businesses.
The $ 1.9 million SAFE marks Supportbench’s first external capital after Klimuk and Alibhai self -funded the startup through five years of developing the technology and its operations.
Investors in the round include StandUp Ventures, N49P Ventures, United States -based Liquid2 Ventures, and several unnamed angel investors.
Supportbench’s first external capital came after years of trying to raise financing but declined. The company has a minimum viable product and prior customers, but Alibhai recalled how to embarrass investors despite admitting that there was room in the market for a B2B play. The CEO said investors argued that customer support was a “massive competitive space” and that existing consumer loyalty to the likes of Zendesk or Freshdesk was too high to leave room for smaller players. .
“They don’t understand the market, or they don’t have an appreciation for the problem we’re looking for, or what we’re trying to solve,” Klimuk said.
Alibhai and Klimuk were told they needed more clients to prove Supportbench’s potential. After working to ensure Supportbench is a solid product, the startup began to onboard customers near the end of 2019 and into 2020.
In 2021, things changed: Supportbench closed a big deal with an enterprise customer that gave the startup three years of operational capital, and room to breathe. Today, Supportbench named its customers car rental company 3M, Budget, Ricoh, and American private military contractor DynCorp International.
Because of customer traction, Alibhai and Klimuk decided it was time to go back to fundraising. The pair also saw an opportunity to choose the right investors for their business.
StandUp Ventures Managing Director Michelle McBane told BetaKit that the company invested in Supportbench in large part because of the experience of its founders.
“We’re looking to invest in resourceful, pointless, founders who have a deep understanding of the problem they’re solving and empathy for their customer-especially when this deep understanding gives way to a unique perspective. , ”McBane said.
Customer support management software space is huge. Zendesk has more than 100,000 customers worldwide, and its competitors include big names such as Freshdesk, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Zoho Desk.
Many of these platforms work with both B2C and B2B clients. And although they may not have specific B2B offers, Zendesk, for example, teaches the ability to work with such clients. Where Supportbench hopes to win is by creating, initially, a platform that only targets B2B customer support.
McBane stressed the need for those like Supportbench. “Customer support is fundamentally different for B2B and B2C,” he told BetaKit. He defended that B2C customer support engines focus on ‘first-in-first-out’ systems that respond to high volume and simple, one-touch communication issues.
“Contract costs are low and mistakes are cheap,” McBane said. “On the other hand, B2B contract costs are high, mistakes can be very costly, and customer retention is critical. Freshdesk and Zendesk are responding to B2C needs, leaving significant whitespace for in a solution that serves the pain points addressed by the Supportbench. ”
With built-in email, ticketing, and more, Klimuk said Supportbench has eliminated the need to switch between different tools, whether it’s Zendesk or a separate chat solution.
Supportbench uses its seed capital to attract customers.
“We have a very crowded market with competitors with huge marketing budgets that can spend on us,” Alibhai said. “So we do as many creative things as possible just to be aware [how] we are here, ‘just test us.’ ”
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