To launch a successful startup, it helps to identify a pain point that’s not being addressed among potential customers with the proven ability to pay for a solution. Aiming high is a major plus. Justin Winter, the Co-Founder and CEO of Durham-based Boostopia, believes his startup checks both boxes.
Boostopia helps the support and help desk managers within companies better run their departments. The startup provides data and information that allow the managers to make changes and ultimately save their company money. As for shooting for the stars? Consider:
“We want to be the next Pendo,” Winter said. “We think we’ve found a heavily under-served person that’s in every company, and we’re excited about the potential of building a high-growth company here.”
With the presence of Covid-19 globally, Boostopia is seeing a change in their customers, and are therefore making a change themselves.
The company has launched a ‘Support Operation Audit’ to support organizations going through the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. It includes a free audit of a customer’s existing support department plus free recommendations on projects and adjustments to quickly save money and improve their customers’ experience.
The company’s goal is to make life less stressful for customer-support managers and agents. Boostopia’s technology and tools could help companies save money by, for example, showing that they only need only eight agents on staff instead of 10, Winter said.
“The results end up being companies treat their customers better,” he said. “When they know what’s going on, they can improve things.”
The company started four years ago, but is just now publicly launching its software.
Winter founded Boostopia along with Paul Davis and Mel Fisher-Wellman. The trio had previously worked together at Diamond Candle, at which Winter was also the CEO. Diamond Candle grew its revenue run rate to $12M within just 12 months of launching in 2011 despite not taking any outside funding.
They believed when they left Diamond Candle that they had a sustainable startup idea, but they also knew that in order to continue working together, they needed to immediately start making money.
Instead of raising money or spending months (or more) developing the software, the four decided to work with companies essentially as advisors, promising them software later down the line.
They pitched themselves to companies as offering audits showing how a company could save $10,000 a month and only pay Boostopia $3,000 for the information, Winter said.
The name idea came from Davis, who has a degree in brand strategy. The team wanted something not overly descriptive, like other software companies in the space. Both the terms “boost” and “utopia” have positive connotations, and thus Boostopia was born. Plus, the domain name was available. That’s always a bonus.
Four years and one added co-founder later, and the software is here. The fourth co-founder, Jared Chmielecki, is head of engineering and leads the software development.
The software launched in beta in November to existing customers, and launched publicly on Feb. 28.
The first product Boostopia is offering is a reporting product, and later an entire suite of products will follow.
Boostopia is hoping to raise a seed round of funding later this year, now that they have a product and people using it, Winter said.
