ALN Technology, a Virginia Beach company that offers AI-powered software to improve customer relations in the semiconductor industry, is one of nine startups going through the 757 Accelerate program this fall. Founder and CEO Jeana Feely is aiming for the mentorship and resources from the program to help her prepare to scale her company, which she believes can be expanded to other industries.
The 10-week 757 Accelerate program, backed by Norfolk’s 757 Collab, is the first accelerator for Feely. Prior to founding ALN, Feely was in semiconductor sales with Huntington, California’s Infinity Sales Inc. and was a reactor mechanical division officer on the USS Nimitz, the lead nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy and one of the largest warships in the world.
Feely said one of her biggest frustrations in the semiconductor industry was the time it took to get quotes to customers and the sales she lost while waiting. It could take days or even weeks to go through the manufacturer or distributor for a quote, she said.
“We’ve been trained by Amazon that we can get anything within two days, so when someone has to wait for two weeks, it doesn’t work for business,” she said. So, a little more than a year ago, she created a new system.
Feely spent six months developing the prototype and has now been selling it for seven months. The company is bootstrapped with no debt. It has made $150,000 so far, and is on track to double revenue to $300,000 by the end of the year, she said. Although ALN has just one official employee in Feely, she does work with a team of outside software developers. Sam Adrian, CEO of data and software company Reporteq, sits on ALN’s board, as well.
“The past seven months since we launched have been a whirlwind,” she said.
ALN connects companies’ customer resource management systems to single-point corporate email systems. It sends AI-generated emails in response to customer inquiries and can reply with instantaneous price and availability quotes. ALN uses natural language so the emails read like they were written by people, and it pulls accurate information from company databases. The software integrates with price books and platforms including NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics. In addition to the initial setup costs, part of ALN’s revenue comes from a recurring monthly service agreement. Feely said she’s focused on increasing the company’s annual reoccurring revenue for next year.
In addition to three enterprise customers, ALN has two beta customers currently testing out a marketing application of the platform that will generate email newsletters and outbound content, Feely said. She is forecasting company revenue of $1 million next year.
One of Feely’s goals is to streamline the integration process and get customers up and running faster. Although ALN is starting in the semiconductor industry, Feely has her sights on other industries down the road.
“Perhaps companies are distributing paper or furniture or household goods, but they’re using distribution networks and are struggling with the same types of challenges,” she said.
As a first-time founder, Feely said she has enjoyed joining the startup community.
“It’s so different than the corporate world, the way people think and the types of discussions we have. Even the types of reading material,” she said. “Startups are just a different life. I love it.”
