Flying high
Startup Kiite uses artificial intelligence to help sales forces
WATERLOO — Joseph Fung finds a place to sit in the common area at the Communitech Data Exchange and talks about his latest startup — Kiite.
“I always knew I would go back and do it again,” said Fung.
After just 10 months, Kiite employs 15 people, has raised $3 million and is earning revenue from more than six businesses that use the startup’s artificial intelligence platform to coach and support frontline sales reps.
“It’s been a fun ride for 10 months,” said Fung.
Fung is a well-known serial entrepreneur in Waterloo Region with a growing list of startups behind him — Lewis Media, OnMyBlock.ca and TribeHR, a human resources software company that was founded in 2009 and acquired by Netsuite in 2013.
After leaving Netsuite, Fung studied the changing demographics of the workforce. Millennials, those born after 1980, now make up the majority of the workforce, and some of the traits they are known for can make more work for managers, said Fung.
For example, millennials are known for moving from job to job with no loyalty to a single company. So their managers have to do more hiring and training. Millennials want more interaction and feedback from bosses. That also takes more of a manager’s time. And millennials want their work life tailored to meet the demands of their private life. That, too, must be managed.
When Kiite put out the first versions of its software for testing, the startup quickly got feedback. The companies trying it wanted the technology to support frontline sales people. So Kiite focused on building a platform that uses natural language processing, machine learning and data analytics to quickly answer any question a frontline sales rep might have.
Kiite, the Japanese word for listen, integrates with the chat platforms commonly used by companies, such as Slack, Skype and Workplace by Facebook.
Once Kiite’s technology is integrated with a company’s
chat, users can quickly find anything they need to know. What is our brief pitch? Where can I find demos? Who owns this account? Can I use this customer as a reference? How many signatures do I need on a contract? What is this customer’s annual revenues?
“We give every employee a product and company expert that is dedicated, theirs, confidential, just kind of there in their back pocket 24-7,” said Fung.
Kiite’s platform scans all of the information, policies and procedures used by frontline sales reps.
“You just ask it, and it gives you the answer so you can move forward,” said Fung. “And it learns by reading all of your company’s documentation, and support materials.”
If Kiite does not readily know the answer, it searches through all of the company’s documentation, finds it and memorizes it.
The startup, housed in the Data Exchange on Erb Street West, targets companies with more than a dozen sales reps. It also works with financial service firms that need to share a lot of information with a lot of people.
Fung is Kiite’s chief executive officer. His sister, Donna Litt, is a co-founder, vice-president and chief operating officer. Derek Hall is the principal software developer and co-founder. Rob Chaplinsky, the fourth co-founder and chair of the board, lives in Menlo Park, Calif.
Fung and Hall went to high school together. Along with Litt, they held senior positions at TribeHR. In fact, the core team at TribeHR followed Fung to Kiite.
News quickly spread through the region’s tech sector that Fung had a new startup company with experienced leaders at the helm, and that it was looking for customers.
“We had people signed on to be a customer before we even had a product,” said Fung. “Without seeing the product, they had enough faith in our team to make that happen.”
From the beginning, the startup made diversity a core value. More than half of its employees are women or minorities. The industry average is about 20 per cent.
At this point, Kiite’s technology is focused on sales support and coaching, but it has potential to help anyone dealing with customers, said Litt.
“It really is an opportunity that could go very far,” said Litt. “So it is certainly very exciting for us because it means we are not working with something that is a flash-in-the-pan.”