We couldn't find a solution with proper integrations with all our internal systems and processes. While we developed the solution for ourselves, we have realised that it looks like a proper software to get out to market and to develop as a SaaS. 1 year later, we have 100+ paying customers already.
Candid is a platform that helps any Brand or Retailer build, grow, and run their wholesale business online. It was built to simplify and digitalise wholesale business infrastructure, to help both sides of the market, providing a universal wholesale management platform to help companies ranging from fledgling boutiques to generational brands to move wholesale online. Candid wholesale order, payment and logistics management platform provides an ideal ecosystem to buy, sell and pay for wholesale. For a decade, Founder and CEO Avery Bloom had built an apparel brand with his wife, designing and manufacturing apparel for women and kids in their factory. As they grew, they hit a wall for both brand and store as wholesale was going to ruin them. While their ecomm business thrived with strong tech and tooling to support it, for wholesale, they were left cobbling together a dozen pieces of software just to keep everything straight. Candid was built to fix this.
My decision to start ParcelPanel came from a previous experience where I wanted to track an order I had made but could not do this conveniently. I had to contact the merchant online repeatedly, but their response speed was slow. Although I eventually got my order, I realized e-commerce merchants were at a loss on how to help their clients, hence my decision to partner with my co-founder and start ParcelPanel. Our app allows customers to enter their order tracking code and know where it is at any time. E-commerce merchants can focus on other aspects of running their business in the meantime.
We started our company during a summer coworking retreat in Barcelona. It happened on the rooftop terrace of the apartment we rented and those five minutes changed our lives. I was complaining to my two co-founders how I spend 35+ hours each week recruiting writers, sending them tests, interviewing, getting back to them with feedback. I spent so much time recruiting that I had very little energy left over to do my Director of Operations duties in our marketing agency. My now cofounders and I were brainstorming about automations we can do to make this process easier, but couldn't find anything that would fit our needs. So we decided to make it! One year and 100 annual customers later, turns out I wasn't the only one who spent every waking moment hiring writers!
I started my SaaS company when I noticed a gap in the market for an innovative software solution. After a lot of research, I determined that the solution should be a cloud-based platform that could be easily accessible to customers. With that in mind, I worked on developing the software from the ground up and got it up and running in no time. I then began to market the product, and it wasn't too long before I had customers using my SaaS platform. It has been an exciting journey and I'm thrilled to see how far I've come.
The story goes back to IIT Delhi, where I completed my undergrad and also met Mayank Goyal and Anand Prajapati, the other two Co-founders at Leena AI. The three of us had great synergy as a team and we often found ourselves working together on projects. Back then, in 2015, the arena of startups was taking a rise. As we were about to graduate, we began toying with the idea of entrepreneurship. That inspiration led us to creating Chatteron, a chatbot-building platform. We soon realized that in larger companies, employees had very little access to information about company policies, salaries, and benefits. Based on this insight, we built Leena AI, a SaaS enterprise virtual assistant that was entirely HR-centric. Since then, we have expanded our suite of solutions to IT as well, and are currently working on expanding them further to Admin, Legal, etc.
Creating a fantastic idea is the first step in launching a SaaS business. This entails developing a concept for a software program that users will find appealing. It's crucial to test your SaaS concept with potential clients after you've developed it. This will enable you to determine whether there is a genuine need for the proposed solution and whether customers are willing to pay for it. Building a top-notch SaaS application is the next step after your idea has been proven to be sound. This entails creating and designing your program to satisfy the requirements of your users. An intuitive and well-designed application could draw users in and enhance their experience. While developing SaaS programs, make sure to incorporate SEO-friendly images or keywords in various locations.