As you read this, there are probably thousands of sales people in Austin on the phone hoping to lock in their next deal. And, as soon as they hang up, they'll likely navigate to a spreadsheet and start calculating how much commission they might expect if and when the deal closes.
AJ Bruno saw this happening all the time back when he was former CEO and co-founder of Austin ad tech startup TrendKite, which was acquired by Cision for $225 million earlier this year.
TrendKite's sales team was particularly fast-paced, and Bruno said that the management team struggled with managing the backend of the sales system as they scaled and sought to accurately track commissions and other metrics. He saw many iterations of sales software that gamified sales, created leaderboards and other motivators.
“None of them were doing a great job for the end user – the sales team," Bruno told Inno.
That led him to team up with TrendKite Director of Revenue Cole Evetts to create a new startup, QuotaPath, which allows individuals or entire sales teams to quickly track sales, commission and sales quotas -- as well as communicate with team members. And, on Thursday, QuotaPath made its product live for individuals and companies.
"I want this to be a win for both Austin and Philly, and I want it to be on an even bigger level."
In addition to tracking sales, the app gives sales people a tool to cross-check the figures their company provides when it totals up commission payouts. QuotaPath also creates a record of individual sales data that a person could show a prospective employer as proof of their experience and success.
The company, which is split between Austin and Philadelphia, has 15 employees. Engineering is mostly based in Philadelphia, and sales and marketing is mostly in Austin, Bruno said. Four of the Austin employees used to work with Bruno at TrendKite.
“I’m exited to get this into the hands of as many users as we can," Bruno said. “But we’re more excited about the big picture in the long term.”
QuotaPath's dashboard already includes a lot of sales tracking features. And, as it grows, Bruno said the company will launch MyPath, which tracks after-tax earnings, goals and other metrics that can help individuals build their career paths and sales teams manage goals and forecast. It's also tying in with Salesforce and other sales software to provide instant integrations.
Bruno said he's being methodical about how QuotaPath grows and he is applying lessons learned from his experience leading TrendKite.
“Doing this a second time, I have an opportunity to think about it more intelligently," he said.
QuotaPath has raised $5 million, which includes funding from ATX Seed Ventures and 20-plus sales VP angel investors, since its founding. Bruno said his investors understand the company isn't driven by key performance indicators and revenue right now.
“I’m focused on the end user, the engagement numbers and the copy in the app," he said. "We’re continuously talking to users, and we're telling our investors that we’re not worrying about revenue right now.”
But Bruno said he believes QuotaPath will become a billion dollar company.
“I want this to be a win for both Austin and Philly, and I want it to be on an even bigger level," he said, comparing it to TrendKite. “It’s about the community we’re building, and we’re living our mission and values.”
