Klar is the single source of truth for growing e-commerce companies. Their software aggregates data from shop systems and ad platforms and turns it into highly customizable reports, providing brands with deep insights into their costs, where to allocate marketing budget, how to optimize ad performance, and boost customer lifetime value.

In this episode of Building The Future Of, I spoke with Maximilian Rast, Co-Founder and CMO of Klar, about the company's journey transforming a 'not-new' category and their go-to-market strategy, which focuses on providing immense value.

Topics Discussed:

- How Max’s frustration with spreadsheets sparked the idea for Klar

- The limitations of spreadsheets and traditional BI tools

- Using mock reports to gather feedback and validate the idea

- Klar's go-to-market strategy: prioritizing product, service, and word-of-mouth over traditional sales and marketing

- Hiring former e-commerce operators in customer-facing roles

- Building the largest e-commerce community in the DACH region

- Klar's international expansion plans

Visit Klar's website to learn more: https://getklar.com

Connect with Max: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilian-rast

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In this episode of Building The Future Of, I'm speaking with Asparuh Stoyanov, co-founder and CTO of Keyward.

Keyward helps engineering teams extract, clean and transform their simulation and experimental data. This data can then be used for analysis and to train predictive AI models, making it easier to find the best balance between engineering performance and design parameters. The company was founded in 2021.

Check out Keyward: https://keyward.io

Connect with Asparuh: https://linkedin.com/in/asparuh-stoyanoff1111

Timestamps:

(00:00) The problem Keyward solves

(02:28) How their product works and why companies come to Keyward

(06:03) Why Keyward is the first tool of its kind in the engineering market

(08:55) The initial idea for Keyward and how it has evolved

(11:04) The first 6 months after Keyward was incorporated

(13:00) Keyward's ideal customer

(14:40) Challenges of building a product for and selling to engineering teams

(17:43) The 3-year vision for Keyward and building a startup in Europe vs. US

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In this episode of Building The Future Of, I'm speaking with Lyubomira Dimitrova, CPO of Veriom.

Veriom is a risk intelligence platform that gives companies complete visibility into the health and performance of their technology estate. Using AI, it uncovers hidden security compliance issues and offers technical teams actionable steps to address them early. The company was founded in 2024.

Check out Veriom's website: https://veriom.io

Connect with Lyubomira: https://linkedin.com/in/lyubomiradimitrova

Timestamps:

(00:00) The problem Veriom solves and how their platform works

(05:04) The types of risks Veriom identifies and their impact on businesses

(10:43) The inspiration behind Veriom

(12:31) Why Lyubomira joined the company

(14:57) Veriom’s ideal customer profile and primary users

(18:53) The competitive landscape of cybersecurity and compliance solutions

(22:46) How Veriom acquires customers

(26:44) Building trust as a startup

(32:03) Veriom's upcoming feature and 3-year vision

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In this episode of Building The Future Of, I'm speaking with Owen McCarthy, Co-Founder and President of Medrhythms.

Medrhythms offers a medical device called InTandem that helps adults with chronic stroke improve their walking ability. InTandem is based on Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation, an intervention that uses music to drive coordinated movements. Sensors clipped to each ankle analyze a person’s walking pattern and feed the data back into an algorithm, which adapts the music over time.

Check out Medrhythms: https://medrhythms.com

Connect with Owen: https://linkedin.com/in/owenzmccarthy

Timestamps:

(00:00) The problem Medrhythms solves

(01:11) How Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation works

(02:56) Why Owen and his-cofounder decided to develop a medical device

(05:10) The improvements patients see using inTandem

(07:18) The business model behind inTandem

(12:42) Why Medrhythms focuses on walking impairment and chronic stroke first

(14:40) Partnering with hospitals and researchers for clinical trials

(17:50) Bringing inTandem to market

(21:33) The importance of choosing the right investors for your industry

(23:42) Unique aspects of marketing a medical device

(25:27) Medrhythms' marketing channels

(26:27) Making fast decisions

(27:40) Owen's vision for the future

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In this episode of Building The Future Of, I'm speaking with Margaret Upshur, founder and CEO of Mobius Materials.

Mobius is a marketplace to directly buy and sell excess electronic components, helping manufacturers save 10-70% off common parts, get access to rare stock and reduce waste.

The company was founded in 2021.

Check out Mobius: https://mobiusmaterials.com

Connect with Margaret: https://linkedin.com/in/margaretupshur

Timestamps:

(00:00) The problem Mobius solves

(02:21) The inspiration behind starting Mobius

(03:56) How Mobius solves the chicken-and-egg problem in marketplaces

(06:03) Bridging the trust gap in international transactions

(09:55) Mobius' goal: making procurement more agile

(12:01) The role of brokers in the electronics aftermarket

(15:23) How much manufacturers can save on costs with Mobius

(16:31) Committing to your idea and the journey to product-market-fit

(19:06) The goal for Mobius in 2025

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In this episode of Building The Future Of, I'm speaking with Alex Marantelos, co-founder and CEO of Intryc. Intryc uses AI to automate quality assurance for customer support.

Consumer software companies handle millions of support tickets annually and must continuously evaluate the performance of their support agents. However, this is largely a manual process, and QA teams are often only able to review 4-5% of tickets. This creates the risk of negative interactions going unnoticed, potentially leading to churn and non-compliance. Intryc's AI can evaluate 100% of tickets and extract customer insights in real time.

Intryc was founded in 2023 and is part of YC S24.

Check out Intryc's website: https://intryc.com

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmarantelos

Timestamps:

(00:00) Alex's background, his co-founders and the inspiration behind Intryc

(06:01) The problem Intryc solves and how the product works

(09:22) Who within a company uses their product

(10:59) Their latest feature: real-time customer insights

(14:17) The difference between being an employee vs. being a founder

(16:07) Building the MVP quickly

(17:00) The importance of testing for willingness to pay and learning to handle rejection

(20:24) The quality Alex looks for in team members

(22:29) The feeling of community within YC

(23:58) Alex's experience and lessons learned during the accelerator

(27:14) Where Alex thinks the customer support tech industry is headed

(29:05) The vision for Intryc

(32:20) How to learn more about Intryc and get in touch with Alex

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