Sent
Setting the Scene
Brands use SMS texting for marketing, appointment reminders, and login codes, yet current methods are inefficient and costly.
Problems with brands sending mass SMS texts:
Cost: On average, brands are charged 11 cents per SMS message, amounting to billions spent each year.
Reach: Individuals don’t always receive SMS texts due to geography or because they spend most of their time on messaging platforms like WhatsApp or iMessage.
This week’s company allows brands to message their customers across various platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp etc.) for 80% less than cost traditional SMS aggregators.
In a Sentence
Sent lets brands message their customers across messaging platforms while optimizing cost and maximizing deliverability.
Platforms: Sent’s proprietary messaging routing model identifies where consumers spend most of their messaging time and allows brands to message customers on platforms like iMessage or WhatsApp.
Optimizing Costs: Sent reduces the cost of SMS services by as much as 80%-90%.
Maximizing Deliverability: Unlike other SMS platforms, Sent improves deliverability by letting brands seamlessly message customers worldwide.
Bulleted Version:
- Sent is like switching from relying solely on USPS to using FedEx, UPS, or DHL—where businesses no longer have to send all messages through SMS, but can now use the most efficient platform, like WhatsApp or iMessage, to reach their customers.
The Basics
- Headquarters: New York, NY
- Employee Count: 2
- Investors:
- Business model: B2B SaaS, API fees
- Early traction: 55k ARR after onboarding two beta customers, onboarding Accor, Xsolla, Dua.com as alpha customers this week, 2000+ enterprise companies on their waitlist 🤯
Due Diligence
WHAT WE LIKE
Market Opportunity: Sent captures the massive $1.8 trillion mobile messaging market, as we see the shift toward more personal and immediate engagement with audiences or users.
Sent has the potential to not only take market share from incumbents, but also expand the market to businesses who previously couldn’t use messaging due to the cost.
Propriety Technology: Sent's unique technology optimizes messaging by identifying a customer's most-used platform, ensuring cost-effective delivery.
As AI advances, Sent is positioned to enhance message personalization, automate interactions, and provide predictive analytics, further increasing its value to brands and consumers alike.
Infrastructure: Companies can directly integrate Sent into their apps or leverage it as a platform to build additional products.
POTENTIAL RISKS
Customer Onboarding: With a 2,000-enterprise customer waitlist and only a two-person team, scaling could face delays, potentially impacting timely revenue growth.
Regulatory Challenges: Sent must navigate global communication regulations across different platforms, which could become increasingly complex.
Data Privacy: Managing user phone numbers and ensuring high data privacy standards will be critical for maintaining customer trust.
Founder Profile
Daniel Vataj, CEO: Previously founder at xGrow Agency and TokenTag, with vast experience in audience growth, creator space.
Comps
Twilio: Publicly traded raised $614M, early backers include by Techstars, Bessemer, and Union Square Ventures.
MessageBird: Raised $1.1B, early backers include Y-Combinator, Accel, and Spark Capital.
Sinch: Raised $1.5B, early backers include Index Ventures, Balderston Capital.
Why Sent
By optimizing cost and deliverability Sent is sending us into the new era of business messaging.