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“Make sure you know why you are doing what you do”: Interview with ResponSell, a Startup Highway startup

As Startup Highway’s Demo Day approaches, it’s high time to present the startups that have been putting all they have into making these last three months of the acceleration programme count.

The first startup is ResponSell. Enjoy the read and we promise to keep you posted with the rest of Startup Highway’s Class of 2012 in Vilnius, Lithuania!

Hey ResponSell, how are you doing in these key moments before the Demo Day?

Good day. Over the last couple of months we had quite a journey. We joined the accelerator with only an idea of what we would be doing. Today, we have a full picture of where we are going and how to get there. So we should say, we are great.

A team member from last year’s programme told me once that his initial reason for taking part was a trip to space. He wanted to go to space, take a photo of Earth and tag his all friends. So, what is yours?

Our greatest dream is contributing to the development of AI for the business world, so all the boring jobs are done by machines.

What’s the name of your company and what do you do? Can you tell us about the product, the problem you solve, the competitive advantage you have, and market you target? 

ResponSell is the name. We are developing a proposal management tool for creative industries. Several research studies, including our own, have shown that most sales teams are slow to respond to incoming sales enquiries, thus, diminishing business success; on the other hand, most commercial proposals produced during the sales process fall short of addressing the specific needs of the client. The automation of the most labour-intensive tasks in terms of proposal management is our main advantage over competitors and key selling point to creative industries in the UK.

How did you come up with this idea?

Like most ideas, it all started at a pub. We had a long history of frustration and personal experience in composing and receiving proposals via traditional sources. The idea came out of a desire to simplify and automate most of the jobs common users dislike and offer a user-friendly exceptional tool, able to take hassle away from sales process rather than adding to it.

What expectations do you have in terms of expansion and revenue?

Although the initial target market is creative industries in the UK, it can be adapted and utilised by any market or segment. The way we are building the tool allows us easily adapt it to any particular situation. Optimistically we are expecting annual turnover in the range of £150k in the first year, rising to £250k – £400k subsequently in the following years.

What’s next after Demo Day?

Regardless of the outcome of the Demo Day, we intend to present the product to the market in the coming months. Demo Day is just one of the investment opportunities we are considering among others, some being direct, some being indirect.

You’ve had a number of mentorship sessions; how were they? Do you have a favourite one?

A number of mentors (or probably better put, advisors) gave us the answers we were looking for, but only a few actually struck the chord and helped us get on the right track. It is pretty difficult to rate any of them against each other, for they all come from different experiences and have different approaches.

Is this something you would like to tell to other startups?

Be strong, have your opinion, and make sure you know why you are doing what you do and that it really matters to the market, otherwise do something else.

By the way: If you’d like to stay up-to-date regarding startup news and interesting opportunities, make sure to subscribe to our free weekly EU-Startups Newsletter.

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Andrius Neviera
Andrius Neviera
Adrius Neviera is the person behind the biggest entrepreneurship conference in the region - Silicon Valley Comes to the Baltics which attracted over 2 500 people in 2013. His work with Lithuania's government and extensive network allows him to reach out to the most promising stories both in the region and across Europe. Feel free to contact if you have a great story to share, are excited about your startup or just feel like grabbing coffee!
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