How he Doubled ACV to $480k selling niche SaaS to 10 Grocery Stores, now $11m in revenue

Updated: November 19th, 2023

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Shekar Raman & Francisco Borges launched Birdzi, a provider of a unique Personalized Shopper Engagement & Analytics Platform, in 2014. The business idea was a brainchild of Shekar’s 11-year-old girl when she dreamt of designing an app to assist consumers in locating items in a grocery store in 2010.

Shekar, Birdzi’s CEO and co-founder, adopted his daughter’s concept and began the process of invention and innovation that became the core of Birdzi’s Shopper Engagement & Analytics Platform.

Birdzi Inc offers a platform for retailers and brands to improve their shopper engagement and analytics. It allows brands to connect with shoppers at the right time and place, increase sales, and improve their marketing ROI.

This platform can be implemented quickly and does not require integration with the retailer’s systems. In addition to the platform, Birdzi provides white-label solutions to improve digital engagement and the in-store experience.

Shekar began his career in university research, focusing on the Human Genome Project at UPenn and UNLV. During this time, he developed algorithms for pattern recognition in proteins and retroviruses.

After working at AT&T Bell Labs in the Speech Group, where he gained expertise in systems, storage, and scripting, Shekar transitioned to IT. In this field, he worked as an infrastructure architect for various telecom companies and was involved in designing and implementing various projects.

In addition to gaining new clients, Birdzi’s ongoing relationship with Weis Markets found even greater success in 2021. Ron Bonacci, VP of marketing and analytics at Weis Markets, received a Retail Innovator Award from Retail Touchpoints for his work with Birdzi.

Key Notes:

  • In 2021, Shekar Raman and Gary Hawkins, Birdzi’s advisor, introduced “The Retail Perch,” a podcast that helps retailers stay informed about industry news and technology.
  • The Retail Perch celebrated one year of episodes in August, with 40 episodes featuring guests from various companies and organizations
  • Birdzi values the contributions of all members of its community, including employees, clients, and partners
  • As of Q3 of 2022, Birdzi only served grocery stores but plans to offer the services to other retail stores.
  • Birdzi plans to introduce health and wellness-based solutions and retail media networks to benefit its customers.
  • In 2022, Birdzi had 10 paying customers with average revenue of $40K per month per customer, making the total ARR $480K

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