[Startup Interview] Dimitri Kalamoudacos,Co-founder, Entrepreneur Suite, South Africa

Entrepreneur Suite is a South African startup targeting micro retailers with an application that records valuable sales information that is then served back to the business owner as demand forecasting suggestions which are designed to provide profiting opportunities. The startup’s co-founder Dimitri Kalamoudacos elaborates.

 Tell us about your startup

Suite, or more formally, (because the domain name wasn't available), Entrepreneur Suite, is a mobile app built to solve the pen and paper problems shared by entrepreneurs all over the world.

Who founded Entrepreneur Suite and what are their professional backgrounds?

The startup was started by Dimitri Kalamoudacos , Ntsako Maringa and Brandon Chetty

We all worked at a startup previously that was quite successful and then split paths as we sought a more fulfilling and freeing work environment that allowed for innovation and financial returns.

In this company, although the environment wasn't everything we wanted, it pushed us to learn fast, work fast and generate results and we were dammed good at it.

How is Entrepreneur Suite financed?

We finance ourselves through bootstrapping and bespoke development projects that we take on. We have built some pretty big projects in the past and we are really blessed to learn from each of these projects.

At this stage, we would love a spot of funding so that we can dedicate our efforts to product development and growth.

What would you say are the dynamics that are shaping the retail tech space?

The dynamics of our target market is simply "hand to mouth" as is the culture of so many South Africans. However, we believe with technology, we can provide the information these micro-retailers need to increase profitability month on month through demand forecasting.

Why did you start Entrepreneur Suite? What opportunities did you see?

Dimitri Kalamoudacos first noticed the issue when observing his partner sell clothes at the local market and noticed she hardly had time to record any of her sales, because as she started writing the next customer was ready to purchase.

This prompted thinking that an app scanning a QR code could easily record this information in seconds. He spoke to Brandon Chetty after setting up the basic process to get the app going and draft one was born.

After a few trial months, we tapped into an app specialist Ntsako Maringa a talented developer and tech enthusiast. He finished the app and our MVP was available for the market.

Now the opportunity is a stunning thing because we literally stumbled upon it. Suite records sales information and in each product, there is a certain amount of detail per product.

Here is where it gets interesting.

Let's say you are selling clothing, each item is a particular material, in a particular print with a specific size and style. This is a lot of information and you can learn a lot about a market from understanding customers’ preferences and location.

Here's a target for you, ok you have all this information but at different geographic locations, because the nature of micro-retailers is that they move around - from one market to the next.

With this rich data for each location you sell at, Suite gives you the power through simple text suggestions as to what you should provide at each market for the most profitable return. Our ML models can help you with manufacturing suggestions. For example, your customers enjoy slinky more than lycra, try manufacturing more of your garments in slinky.

These suggestions may seem simple but what they do is help the micro-entrepreneurs better understand and service their market equaling in increased profitability.

What problem or problems is Entrepreneur Suite trying to tackle?

The pen and paper problem for starters, demand forecasting for fun and then ultimately understanding your customer and turning that understanding into profit.

What gives Entrepreneur Suite the competitive edge?

Suite makes understanding your customer easier...and mobile.

Who are your customers?

Micro-retailers across the world from the street vendor to boutique stores. We understand that this solution does not serve big business however our ML API will.

What does Entrepreneur Suite need in order to grow?

At the moment we need capital for marketing and further product development into the area of computer vision.

What is your growth strategy?

Our growth strategy is to enter the market by solving the pen and paper problem for millions of entrepreneurs and generate a healthy subscription base.

Then as our ML package gets better and better licence it out to the larger corporations who have stumbled over BI for the past few decades whilst analyst after analyst presented on "what's next".

In which markets are you looking to establish your presence?

As a company, we would love to establish a strong base in South Africa and then move into Europe where market culture is rich. As we generate revenue and partnerships we hope to return to Africa to with a focus on Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.

What are your plans for the coming 12 months?

We plan to launch our commercial applications and dive into computer vision to cater for the more informal market. Simultaneously we will be monetizing and pitching to get investment all over the country and abroad while we continue to tweak our tech stack.

www.entrepreneursuite.xyz

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