Local startup EyeRate is a data aggregation and incentive program that rewards employees for facilitating positive customer engagement online.
I first met the founders of local startup EyeRate at a StartupSac Happy Hour in May 2019 where we featured local serial entrepreneur Sonny Mayugba. I was immediately impressed with how eager they were to jump into the local startup community having moved back to the area from the Bay Area. They’ve continued to impress me ever since. We had the pleasure of welcoming the EyeRate team for our fourth cohort of StartupSac Warm-Up pitch in September 2019. It’s been a lot of fun watching them gain traction and watch their sales numbers grow every month. Here’s my interview with EyeRate co-founder Ray Weisberg.
Let’s start out by having you introduce yourself and telling people about your startup.
My name is Ray Weisberg and I am a co-founder and the CEO of EyeRate. EyeRate is the first to market reputation management platform that rewards employees with cash for facilitating positive customer engagement online. We are on a mission to help service employees earn $1 Million more by 2022.
How did the idea for your startup come about?
My co-founder, Michael Arredondo and I are childhood friends. We grew up together in Elk Grove and always discussed starting a business. After college, we worked together at a Sequoia backed startup called NimbleRx. There we learned how to scale and manage a sales team plus put a relatively unknown product into the market at a very fast rate. When NimbleRx went through a pivot we developed a MVP, validated it, then took what we learned to start EyeRate.
Talk about the problem/challenge that you’re solving
Studies show that online reviews impact the revenue of a business. Generally, service employees act as the face of the business and are the primary influencers of the customer experience but only make $13-$17 per hour. This compounds the problem because employees don’t have enough skin in the game to truly care about a businesses online reputation. Business owners attempt to solve this by outsourcing expensive marketing teams.
How did you validate that your solution was viable?
We sold our MVP into the market as soon as we possibly could and then evolved our solution based on customer feedback.
What are some of the biggest accomplishments or wins you’ve had so far?
Early on we were able to work with some of the largest national franchise brands like Massage Envy and European Wax Center.
The team was accepted into one of the most prestigious accelerator programs called Launch and got our first investment from one of the top investors in the world, Jason Calacanis. He was an early investor in companies like Uber, Robinhood, and Calm.
When the COVID shutdown happened we pushed through and found a niche in other industries allowing us to maintain a 26% month over month growth rate.
The City of Elk Grove issued grant funding for EyeRate which helped provide an amazing office space and accelerate our growth.
We won the Spark Venture pitch competition through the Carlsen Center and were awarded a $7,500 cash prize.
EyeRate is now the leading customer interaction platform in the cannabis industry and we partner with many of the top retail brands in the country including the Sacramento based KOLAS group.
What were some key entrepreneurship lessons-learned you’ve learned so far?
Put your idea into the market as quickly as possible and get feedback.
You need to surround yourself with people who fill in your weaknesses but who also fit into the team culture and understand the vision.
Candid feedback is essential, so constantly ask your co-founders, customers, team, and network for their input. Be careful not to act on all feedback.
You need to be self-disciplined and be willing to take massive action. A high sense of urgency balanced by emotional patience is key.
Your narrative and storytelling abilities are extremely important.
Be lucky.
What stage are you at and what’s next?
Currently the business is in the pre-seed stage. We raised $100k from Jason Calacanis/Launch plus $75k in grant funding from the City of Elk Grove. Our goal is to raise $1 Million for our seed round early this year.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome as a startup founder?
By far the biggest challenge was accelerating through COVID when all of our partners stopped operating. The team had a quick response and refocused efforts into industries that were thriving. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise and was a catalyst to exponential sales, product, and service improvements.
What needs do you have to grow and take it to the next level?
We need to build an enterprise sales team, automate our operations, and continue to develop an innovative product that will allow us to escape competition in the industries we are focused on.
What’s your take on the startup scene here in the Sacramento area? What has been helpful?
Organizations like StartupSac have made it very easy to network and meet extremely helpful people. The first StartupSac event we attended we met an accomplished Sacramento entrepreneur named Sonny Mayugba who had a startup go through the Launch Accelerator. When we applied and started the interview process he was instrumental in helping us get accepted. Without StartupSac we may have never made that connection.
What do you think as an entrepreneur would be more helpful to have here in the region?
More access to capital and accelerator programs.
Do you have any words of advice, inspiration, or encouragement for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Operate as lean as possible for as long as possible, learn how to sell, and stay laser focused on one or two things. As an entrepreneur you will have thousands of ideas but you need to silence the noise and stay locked in to build something amazing. Lastly, surround yourself with lucky people who won’t give up during adversity.
How can people find out more about you and your startup?
Website: www.eyeratebusiness.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/eyerate
Email me directly at: raymond@eyeratebusiness.com
