[watch the June pitches and fireside chat]

Technology Entrepreneurs Prove That Customer Insights Drive Results

Two co-founders pitched their growing startups on the Verge stage, and neither of them would have much to talk about if it weren’t for the market traction they gained after leveraging market insights they gleaned from close relationships with their customers.

BoxFox’s Chris Palmer Makes a Major Breakthrough Based on Customer Insights

Chris Palmer pitched BoxFox. It was only through the experience of testing his market hypothesis with SupplyKick that Chris was able to identify and pursue the business model that has now taken the front seat, BoxFox. After doing some market research, Chris found some rather striking statistics.

“99 percent of US retailers have four or less locations,” he said on the Verge stage. “That makes up over 700,000 retailers in the US that collectively have over $6 billion dollars of excess merchandise every year that they have no good way of liquidating.”

Without understanding the nature of his customer’s problems, Chris would never have developed the market knowledge to offer his solution to a bigger market problem. Getting out and validating your learning through making sales is the fastest way to determine the best direction for your startup.

Lesson.ly’s Max Yoder Solves Customer’s Problems Better Than the Big Guys

Max Yoder pitched Lesson.ly. Max and his team identified the problem Lesson.ly aims to solve through first-hand experience managing companies. In other words, their first tier of market research was their cumulative direct encounters with the business problem they solve. After some market research, Max was able to sharpen the Lesson.ly market hypothesis to address specific pain points around cost, ease of use, and effectiveness.

Watch Chris, Max and 58 other technology entrepreneurs pitch and exhibit at The Innovation Showcase >>