The problem
Salespeople often asked questions about the products they sell, especially regarding specific features of products they may not fully understand. When this happens, they usually consult with knowledgeable colleagues to get the necessary information, which they then pass on to their customers.
In another scenario, a business owner needs to understand how your product competes against others. They may need to compare all the features of your solution with those of your rivals. In this case, specialized marketing research is required, which takes time and resources.
So, how can we help the business in this context?
The solution
1up (https://1up.ai) has developed an enterprise-grade question-answering system designed to automate knowledge for sales, marketing, and product teams.
In summary, it is an AI assistant that enables sales or marketing people to obtain answers to their questions 10 times faster than traditional methods, like independently searching through documentation or waiting for responses from the relevant people.
The platform allows teams to automate various tasks such as responding to queries, handling objections, analyzing products, and monitoring competitors. It’s also useful for activities like automating RFPs, handling marketing inquiries, and any other tasks where specific information is needed.
How does it work
You can pose various questions, and 1up will promptly supply you with the appropriate answers to present to the customer.
You can even ask 1up about competitive products. For instance, if your competitor launches a new product and you want to understand its details and explain to your customers why your product is still superior. 1up promises to help. Even in such relatively complex scenarios.
1up integrates a various internal and external knowledge sources to provide accurate and up-to-date answers.
These could be internal knowledge base, cloud documents, posts and other sources.
You can ask questions on 1up and receive answers in the channels you commonly use, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat.
Under the hood
The platform utilizes various Large Language Models (LLMs). With numerous LLMs currently available, the company is exploring a range of them. The product is designed to provide accurate and timely answers within seconds. It’s also worth mentioning that the platform is built with enterprise-grade security, ensuring full control over data.
Furthermore, the platform employs guardrails to limit incorrect answers from its generative AI-powered responses.
The value
The turnover of salespersons has seen a significant increase in recent years. According to various sources, the average turnover rate for salespersons has more than doubled over the past couple of years, with figures ranging from 25% to 39%.
Practically, this means that businesses need to hire new sales and customer support personnel quite often. At the same time, even for an experienced salesperson, it will take significant time to get used to the product they sell.
1up aids in solving this problem by offering quick and convenient access to the company’s internal knowledge base. This tool can be used by new salespeople to swiftly close their knowledge gaps.
Another key benefit of 1up is that the platform assists you in tracking your competitive analysis, a crucial aspect for every business.
Business model
The company offers three per-seat licensing plans.
- $249/month for 5 users with limited number of sources
- $849/month for 50 users and moderate number of sources
- Custom enterprise plan
What’s interesting
This model, where the AI instructs the human rather than vice versa, is somewhat unusual. In this scenario, when a salesperson communicates with a customer, they may seem more like a narrator who retells what the AI instructs.
To some extent, the salesperson might appear superfluous here, especially considering the startups developing various customer support chatbots.
However, in-person communication continues to be a vital aspect of sales and business negotiations. Having such a “neuralink” that provides us with useful information when needed could prove very beneficial.
The founders
George Avetisov (Founder and CEO)
Manoj Abraham (Co-founder & Head of Product)
Before founding 1up, George Avetisov was the founder and CEO of HYPR, a biometric security company that raised $72 million in funding.
Investors and funding
Funding
Pre-seed round – $3.3M (Nov 1, 2023) from 12 investors
Investors
- Samuel Clemens
- Lightbank
- Gaingels
- RRE Ventures
- Natalie Diggins
- Aviso Ventures
- Alumni Ventures
- Italmobiliare SpA
- Calm Ventures
- Andrew Peterson
If you are planning or already creating a startup like the one under discussion and you need expertise on business model, marketing strategy or simply need to strengthen your team, we are ready to help: