Conserv, a hardware and software startup that allows museums and archives to preserve their collections, is making a push into Europe.
The company has grown since moving to Hardware Park and is capitalizing on momentum from a $500,000 raise in March, according to Chief Technology Officer Nathan McMinn.
The company now has around 40 full-time paying customers being served by six full-time employees, and Conserv will look to pursue another funding round in 2022, which could potentially double the size of the team.
To capitalize on growth, Chief Executive Officer Austin Senseman said the company is eyeing expansion into The Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Senseman said with Europeans having a strong sense of cultural heritage through museums, libraries and collections dating back hundreds of years, the need for environmental monitoring and a product like Conserv’s is a major deal and a reason why the company is looking to tap into that market.
The company has been piloting its product to potential customers in various locations to build confidence in the product and see how Conserv stacks up against competition in Europe. This strategy could eventually lead to long-term deals and/or a tweaking of the product to fit the customer’s needs. Pilot programs in Europe include the UK Parliament building in London and the Pompidou Center in Paris.
Senseman said the company needs to move slowly and methodically in its growth to tailor the product to various nations and situations, particularly due to different languages. For example, if they are looking to be successful in France, they need a French language version of the app, but this wouldn’t be applicable in Netherlands. Conserv has also sought assistance from the state to help them navigate the nuances of working with European clients.
The company expects to work out the differences and have customers by the third quarter.
“What’s great about that is even though those are trials, we usually go into that saying it’s going to be a several month-long experiment. We have all the certifications to sell the product in Europe. We had every confidence that things were going to go our way, but until you actually put it on the ground somewhere, it’s all theoretical,” McMinn said. “There are things that can go wrong. But people from those trials are already ordering more products, which is amazing.”
To stay ahead of European competition, Conserv is focusing intently on collections and museums, which will separate them from the pack.
“It’s easier to do in the U.S. because out of all the monitoring companies in the U.S. We’re the one cultural heritage focus group, and so it’s fairly straightforward,” Senseman said. “In Europe, I think we’re going to win the same way we will win here — from our customer service and the way we deal with people. The words we use are that we want to be a partner and not just a vendor. In Europe, the people that compete in cultural heritage — they still work with other industries.”
Currently, a member of Conserv’s advisory board is based in The Netherlands, but Senseman said they will most likely need a physical presence in the future either by having an office or finding someone to partner with, as it will make it easier to ship in bulk.
After Conserv’s product reaches a certain level of sophistication and product market fit worldwide, company leaders will look to achieve $500,000 of annual recurring revenue. Leadership is also trying to tailor the company to specifically meet the needs of museums and collections by hiring people in that space.
“The people that we’re hiring now are people with backgrounds in conservation, collections, which is really unique. All the people we compete against — they are generic companies serving a large generic audience, so they aren’t hiring those kinds of folks,” Senseman said. “We are creating jobs in the space and people can call us and they won't have to explain to us what they’re doing. It’s really unique, it’s really different.”
