Kuona
Optimizing pricing and promotions through the power of AI.
Startup Snapshot
Startup name: Kuona
Industry: Retail Tech
Business Model: B2B SaaS
Founder: Chema Sanroman & Agustin Magaña
Operates in: Mexico, the US, Brazil, South America, and Europe.
HQ Location: Monterrey, Mexico
Stage: Series A
Investors: Cometa, Seaya Cathay, Femsa Ventures amongst others
Accelerators: YC Fellowship
Website: www.kuona.ai
What does Kuona do?
Leveraging artificial intelligence, Kuona helps consumer brands and retailers optimize their prices and promotions.
What’s your backstory?
Chema and Agustín, the founders of Kuona, first met over a decade ago at a Startup Weekend event. This event brought together aspiring entrepreneurs to collaborate and create a startup within a weekend. Chema has a consumer-packaged goods (CPG) background and studied Chemical Engineering at the Tec de Monterrey, followed by an MBA at INSEAD. Agustín, on the other hand, studied Computer Science and is a professor of Data Science at Tec de Monterrey. They quickly hit it off, realizing that they complemented each other's skill sets and shared a passion for entrepreneurship, eventually leading to the creation of Kuona.
A 1% price optimization can have a 10% impact on profits, while a 1% cost optimization only has a 1% impact on profit.
How did you come up with the idea?
Chema has a background in consumer products, with over 15 years in the industry, and is well-versed in the problems they face. One of their premises is that companies generally make decisions with limited data. After launching several products related to this, and finally concluded that they could provide the most value to their customers with what they now offer: price and promotion optimization.
Price is the primary lever for these companies to improve their profitability. A 1% price optimization can have a 10% impact on profits, while a 1% cost optimization only has a 1% impact on profit. This is a significant issue because 80% of promotions do not generate a return on investment. Their price changes often do not yield results, and brands even lose money.
How did you acquire your first customers?
Chema and Agustin had to knock on many doors to acquire their first customers. After several attempts, one customer agreed to try Kuona, which turned out to be a resounding success. With this early success, they acquired several clients and leveraged their brands to attract even more clients. Another thing that worked in their favor was that their product was enterprise-grade. The team ensured that it exceeded customer expectations by providing a product that was orders of magnitude better than what they were accustomed to using.
When did you realize you had achieved PMF?
Chema and Agustín realized they had achieved product market fit when customers began to renew their contracts and even grow the contract to cover their operations in other countries while not losing a single customer.
What's your motivation?
Kuonas' goal has always been to create top-notch, world-class technology. They strive to be leaders in their field by focusing on innovation rather than copying others. With Chema's 15 years of experience in CPG, they are looking to reimagine the space through the application of technology, in particular AI.
What's next for Kuona?
Continue their international expansion as they have been doing with their customers with operations in Mexico, the US, Brazil, South America, and Europe as well as launching new products that deliver value to their customers.
Tips for other founders:
Never give up. Being a founder is challenging, so persistence is critical.
Fall in love with your customer, not your solution. Be relentless in adapting your product to solve your customers’ problems.
Learning from successful founders and great minds through books is invaluable.
The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz
Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra
Founders Launchpad Jobs:
Discover amazing opportunities in tech: https://getmatched.axented.com/jobs
Join the network: https://getmatched.axented.com/talent-network
Learn more: https://getmatched.axented.com
Special thanks to our sponsor:
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With over 10 years of experience and a diverse portfolio of more than 300 projects delivered in over 15 countries, Axented has established itself as a trusted partner in the tech industry.
Renowned for its expertise and commitment to excellence, Axented provides innovative solutions to help businesses thrive in a digital world.
Muy interesante! 👍🏽👍🏽