Estii
About the Company
David Peek and Dom De Lorenzo, co-founders of Estii, previously worked together for 12 years at Deltatre, a global product and services company specializing in live and on-demand video services. At Deltatre, they encountered challenges with complex project estimations involving multiple internal and external stakeholders. This experience inspired them to create a streamlined solution for estimating and pricing.
Estii was established in May 2021 in Sydney, Australia, and focuses on improving the interface between sales, solutions, and delivery teams. With over 50 active workspaces and $20K USD in monthly revenue, Estii has become an essential tool for service providers.
Idea Behind Company
The idea for Estii stemmed from David and Dom’s experiences at Deltatre, where project estimation involved complex calculations and multiple stakeholders. Traditional spreadsheets were slow, error-prone, and disconnected from the sales and delivery processes. Existing CPQ solutions were inadequate for businesses selling services, leading David and Dom to develop a better tool.
They began creating Estii in their evenings, with early concepts tested on real opportunities. They realized that improving the integration between sales, solutions, and delivery teams was crucial for differentiation. Encouraged by corporate transactions at Deltatre, they decided to focus on Estii full-time.
Creating the Company
Building the first version of Estii was challenging yet rewarding. David and Dom had to design and build not only the product but also solutions for documentation, support, marketing, and more. They initially tried to create a natural language approach for commercial calculations but realized it was impractical. Instead, they focused on developing a clear taxonomy for describing business and project models.
Using serverless technologies from Cloudflare helped manage operational costs. Despite some missteps, they built a comprehensive platform in 10 months with a $10K investment, excluding their salaries.
Launching the Business
Estii was launched in April 2022 after a three-month early access period. Their launch strategy involved leveraging professional networks on social media and a cold outreach campaign via LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Building relationships and trust with potential customers was crucial, particularly for enterprise clients.
The initial six-month period was challenging as they juggled long sales cycles and conversations with potential customers. However, their targeted marketing campaigns on LinkedIn and Google, along with attending tech trade shows, proved effective in attracting and retaining customers. Engaging directly with decision-makers and being responsive to customer feedback were key strategies for growth.
Earnings
Since its launch, Estii has seen steady growth, with a current monthly revenue of $20K. Despite a challenging financial climate for startups, Estii has managed to bootstrap its growth and expand its market focus to the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. They plan to introduce localization to enter European markets.
David and Dom have learned valuable lessons, particularly in deciding what to build versus what to buy. Choosing the right tools and focusing on the core value of their product has been essential. Their experience highlights the importance of perseverance, as exhaustion often comes from unsuccessful attempts rather than hard work.
