Startup Snapshot:
Startup Name: Cayena
Industry: Retail Tech
Business Model: B2B Marketplace & B2B Financing
Founders: Raymond Shayo, Gabriel Sendacz, and Pedro Carvalho.
HQ Location: Brazil
Team Size: 60+
Founded: 2019
Investors: Vine Ventures, MSA Capital, Picus Capital, Canaan Partners, Clocktower Ventures, FJ Labs, Femsa Ventures, Gilgamesh, Astella, Endeavor and GraoVC.
Website: https://cayena.com/
What does Cayena do?
Cayena is a Brazilian B2B wholesale marketplace whose mission is to revolutionize the procurement process for the restaurant industry.
They designed their platform from the ground up, specifically focused on streamlining the purchasing process for buyers and suppliers in the food and beverage industry. By facilitating bulk purchasing, they enable easy price and vendor comparison and optimize order processes. This enhances efficiency, reduces costs, and helps manage inventory more effectively for restaurants and suppliers. Additionally, it helps connect restaurants with new suppliers they might not have discovered yet, strengthening the entire supply chain and creating a symbiotic ecosystem where both customers and suppliers can thrive.
Why now?
The B2B market, with an estimated value surpassing 100 trillion USD, stands as a testament to its colossal potential. Yet, in an age where B2C e-commerce experiences have significantly evolved year over year, B2B transactions remain deeply entrenched in conventional procurement practices, including phone calls, emails, and even the antiquated use of faxes. The adherence to these traditional, if not prehistoric practices, presents an extraordinary opportunity for innovation and disruption in the sector.
What sets Cayena apart?
Cayena stands out as a comprehensive solution for restaurants, bars, and industrial kitchens looking to streamline their inventory management and procurement processes. By offering an all-encompassing platform that ensures real-time inventory visibility, next-day delivery, and an innovative drop-shipping fulfillment approach, Cayena eliminates the cumbersome need for manual price comparisons. This efficiency is further bolstered by exceptional post-sale support and a suite of credit solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of its clients. Through its seamless integration, Cayena empowers establishments with increased bargaining power, optimized supplier allocation, and a fluid exchange between buyers and sellers, setting a new standard in the industry.
The platform's robust competitive edge is sharpened by its strategic utilization of network effects and switching costs, coupled with an attractive economic proposition that lowers barriers to adoption and fosters instant value generation. Cayena's strategic alliances ensure a marketplace brimming with trust and growth potential, by connecting quality buyers and sellers. Moreover, Cayena's lean operational model allows for the outsourcing of high-cost elements of the value chain, while simultaneously harnessing data to unlock invaluable insights.
Additionally, the recent introduction of CayenaPay, a comprehensive embedded credit and installment payment solution, addresses critical customer pain points by offering credit analysis, loans, collections, and risk management. With Cayena, buyers and sellers can easily connect and facilitate bulk ordering while also receiving financing options at more competitive rates with minimal time and effort compared to traditional financing options.
The Team
Raymond Shayo has a background in investment banking at J.P. Morgan and experience in private equity and special situations funds at Brookfield Asset Management.
Gabriel Sendacz previously worked at Neo Investimentos, where he focused on private equity and structured debt practices.
Pedro Carvalho is a former investment banker at Merrill Lynch and also served as the head of growth at LooqBox.
Cayena by the Numbers:
2019, year Cayena was founded.
50+ cities where Cayena operates.
60+ Cayena team members.
30% average savings using Cayena’s daily discounts.
96% of orders are delivered in one business day.
100+ suppliers.
3,000+ product categories.
60,000+ products.
$200 million USD in annualized transactions.
$100 trillion USD B2B market opportunity
Key Takeaways:
Cayena addresses the challenges of traditional procurement methods in the B2B wholesale marketplace by offering an all-in-one solution for buyers and sellers in the food and beverage industry.
Network effects, low switching costs, and strategic partnerships deliver value to their customers on day one by enabling the discoverability of buyers and suppliers. Bulk purchasing offers immediate savings for buyers and incentives for transactions benefiting sellers.
CayenaPay offers embedded credit and installment payment solutions that enable streamlined financing at competitive rates, which would typically require significant effort to secure with traditional banking.
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