Startup Spotlight #158: Alluxo
Startup Spotlight #158: Alluxo
Alluxo turns your existing ecommerce and finance data into actionable insights.
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I got the chance to speak with Safa Mahzari, founder and CEO of Alluxo, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.
Prior to starting Alluxo, Mahzari worked at a venture capital fund investing in B2B software and at two fast-growing tech startups. These experiences helped him realize how much time is spent manually trying to access, format, visualize, and analyze data. He started Alluxo to help people get answers to their questions – without lifting a finger.
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Startup Spotlight: Alluxo
Problem: Small businesses use 102 SaaS apps today, which leads to fragmented data and constant context switching for business owners. Business owners also lack the time to fully understand their financial performance, to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Market: There are 2.1 million e-commerce brands in the United States, which is our first target market. Across the globe, SMBs spend over $600 billion on software each year.
Solution: Alluxo automates financial reporting by allowing you to track key metrics with a single click. We provide a single view into how your business is performing – from website visitors to revenue to cash in the bank.
Team: Chris Hernandez is Head of Engineering. He’s been immensely helpful and will say that I bug him too often on Slack.
Recent Success:
Mahzari: I’m really proud of how our podcast came together and what it’s done for us. We’ve interviewed founders, CEOs, VPs of e-commerce, VCs, and more. Our process was very simple: we identified a niche (the real stories behind startups) and built a process. I have a single Google Doc that I share with people who are interested and, at the bottom of it, have a Calendly link. It’s amazing how many people sign up to talk for 1 hour through that link. People who we could have never reached through cold emails or cold calls.
I’m also proud of our technology. When we started, we had a vague idea of what we were building. But we got really honest feedback and went back to the drawing board. We’re super excited about where this can take us.
Recent Struggle:
Mahzari: I’ve personally struggled with feeling like a failure even when the business is doing well. People can understand feeling bad when the business is not working. But even when things show a little promise, it’s still difficult. There will always be too many things competing for your time and you will be constantly doing tasks that you’re not good at.
In the early days, you have to do everything yourself. But as the company grows, you have to get more comfortable with maintaining laser focus and delegating. This shift is not easy for most people.
Founder Advice:
Mahzari: Don’t start by building. Start by listening, getting feedback, and validating your concept thoroughly. I know you have a big vision. I know you are super ambitious. I know you have succeeded earlier in your career. But don’t go build something because you kinda sorta have an idea of what to build. Instead, think about how you run the smallest possible experiment to validate your concept.
Figure out a way to get consistent feedback from potential customers without writing a single line of code, whether that’s through content marketing, personal branding, no-code tools, whatever. Trust me, there is a way.
Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:
Mahzari: Here are three founders you should check out next!
JD Jernigan, Founder of Propagate: Propagate allows anyone to invest in private ecommerce brands, opening up a $10 trillion dollar asset class.
Jeremiah Prummer, Founder of KnoCommerce: KnoCommerce is an ecommerce survey platform that drives real results.
Brian Maurer, Founder of Bristle: Bristle analyzes your saliva to measure your oral health and alert you of risk for cavities, gum disease, and more.
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