Dean Koenning - Founder & CEO at VOICO

Welcome to another Founder Wisdom podcast. Today with us is Dean Koning. Dean is founder and CEO at a company called Voico. It's in Germany. It's AI voice company. And yeah, for now for the German market, but soon expanding. They're targeting dealerships, right? So we're going to talk GTM, how the company has been. It's been 1.5 years. Previously to that, Dean was a chief sales officer, occupied various sales positions at a bunch of companies, including HelloFresh that I know. So Dean, welcome to the podcast. Tell us a bit more about yourself, what you've been up to.

Hi, Charles. Yeah, thanks. Thanks for the invitation. Looking forward to this. And yeah, I mean, you mentioned already the most important stuff. So I'm Dean, founder of VoiceSoul. together with 2 other co-founders, and we developed the voice agent infrastructure for the European market, especially focusing on automotive industry. And yeah, it's been already 1.5 years since we started coming up with the idea. We saw something in the US that is happening, and we took this opportunity to make the product that is already working in Silicon Valley GDPR compliant and EU-friendly. And, uh, yeah, now we are here, uh, almost live for 1 year because the, the 1.5 years wasn't like live from day 1, obviously. We had an MVP phase developing and then, yeah, but next, in the next 2, actually next week, we're gonna have 1-year anniversary when we are live. Yeah,

interesting. How's the How's the company came about, right? Like, why did you start that company and not, uh, keep on, uh, occupying sales positions?

Yeah, good question. I mean, for me, uh, it was personally all time pretty clear that at some point I, I want to have my own company. Uh, I, I come from an entrepreneurial family and it was pretty obvious. It was just waiting for the right time. And yeah, I used to love sales and I encourage everyone that is about to start a company to start with sales. And that was also our approach. So basically what I did within the sales positions that I had, especially the last one as a CSO of a German OEM, I was really into digitalization. And yeah, improving processes there. And at some point I thought, okay, this might not be the only company that has these issues. So how can I sell basically digitalization to other companies? And that's how I founded the company. We pivoted really, really fast just to an AI company offering chatbots, voice agents, and company wikis. And then also another pivot took place like a couple of weeks after because we found out, hey, we have the biggest motion in these voice agents. At the same time, all the questions and boundaries that we are facing are related to the locations of the companies basically, and that were simply Silicon Valley startups. And tech-wise, they are ahead. But as I said, regulation-wise and all this type of stuff, stuff that really is valuable in you, they didn't have any chance. So basically that's what we did. I searched for my CTO co-founder now and asked him, can you copy these guys and make this EU-friendly? And yeah, that's how it went.

So far, how's it been growing? Like, you've been 1.5 years at it. Like, what's been the The zero-to-one moment.

Yeah, I mean, we are 1.5 years into it, definitely. But as I said, like, we are live since November last year. So, I count this as the starting point where we really, really start collecting cash. And yeah, so far we are constantly growing. We are now a team of 12 people and the Actually, there were 2 moments when I saw, okay, this might be a really big thing. The first moment was when there was still an MVP phase, when we became Deutsche Telekom T-Systems partner. And I was questioning myself, why is this the biggest company in Europe, like one of the biggest companies in Europe wanted to help us? And then we found basically out, okay, if It's a huge oil tanker, these type of companies, and we are a fast speedboat. And so as soon as they made the decision, the strategic decision to do some research in this field, we are already ahead. And yeah, that was the first moment when we decided, okay, we might have to put it a little bit more professional. So at this point, we also changed the company from my personal company to an— in the US, you call it LLC. And then we had another big moment when we were able to secure Kia as a client. And yeah, then we had the proof, okay, the automotive industry is the right ICP for us. So let's double down everything on this. And from that point on, yeah, we We secured other big clients in this automotive industry, and the feedback is quite good.

Yeah. How did you get Kia? Like, what's your favorite way to go to market and attract these top of funnel?

I mean, automotive industry in Germany is special. Back in the days, I was selling also some online marketing services. For B2B companies. So I was always the guy that was really into basically selling online marketing service, lead gen, and this type of stuff through online channels. But when you really do B2B enterprise sales in Germany, you have to choose another channel as well, which is presence, basically. So any kind of presence is very much needed here. So Kia especially, we talked to them on an expo, then we went to their headquarters and yeah, then it took their way. So for go-to-market, we are riding multiple channels, but especially for the deal-making with B2B high-ticket enterprise sales, you definitely need some kind of Yeah, real human interactions. It might be an expo, it might be some after-show event of an expo, which is obviously, in my point of view, the best networking opportunities. And then you have to build a relationship. Yeah, it's a process.

Right. You, your co-founder, how do you split the responsibilities in between both? How's your day-to-day different?

Yeah. Good question. I mean, since we are growing, the team is growing, we are capable of assigning more and more responsibilities or no, the other way around, less and less responsibilities to each and every person, which is nice, but always also always quite some challenges approaching us. But when it comes to the 3 co-founders, it's basically someone who's fully responsible of the technical side. Me, I'm handling hiring, vision, strategy, and also sales. And then Nico, who's responsible for whole marketing, basically included everything, organic content, performance marketing, and all this type of stuff that you can do. And yeah, that's how we share the responsibilities. But Nico and I are working really closely together. There might be also some some parts where we collaborate also. For example, the deal that we were talking about with the car dealer, the OEM, we both closed it together.

For this year, what do you want to accomplish with the company?

Yeah, I mean, the year almost over. Q4 is now there, so we definitely want to speed up everything a little bit more. Since it's the first full operational year, we want to stick to the path that we are working on right now. So acquiring a couple more customers, fulfilling a couple of new orders, and then also speed up everything since the market is crazy. More and more competitors popping up and the valuation of some of our competitors us is insane. So that basically puts us into some kind of high pressure. And that's why we decided, okay, we're going to attack a small family and friends round to speed up all the processes. We were able to become profitable until the last hire, but that's, I think, the The typical startup story. So yeah, we want to get to some certain KPIs. ARR should increase a little bit more and then, yeah, closing the last business angel or the family and friends round. That's the goal.

And who are you hiring nowadays?

Who or where? Boom. Yeah, good question. I mean, when it comes to hiring, I made— obviously it depends on the department, definitely, but when it comes to developer, we made really, really good experiences with people that are just finishing uni, data science students and stuff, Because they are really capable of using AI. And this is one of the first questions that we basically ask in a hiring process is, what is your favorite LLM? If they cannot answer this question, they're out immediately. And then it's also some type of a gut feeling that I follow. Still a small team and we are working on a daily basis together. So I also love to enjoy the time. time working with my colleagues. Obviously, we require a certain degree on— not a degree in certifications of school. I don't care about this, but a certain degree on motivation and proactiveness. This is something I really look into the hires. Also some kind of entrepreneurial mindset, because in a startup, It's not working off every task. It's also coming up with your own ideas, improvements. And yeah, so basically proactiveness, entrepreneurial mindset and motivation, and then a gut feeling. And yeah, obviously AI expertise.

Will you raise another round soon?

That's something we're discussing. First of all, we want to hit the $1 million ARR by next year. And with that, we are already in contact with a lot of VCs that reached out to us because they identified our vertical and product as a nice portfolio, nice fit to their portfolio. But we are not at this stage, and I'm pretty honest about this. I want to hit certain goals before we're taking Uh, deeper conversations to, to that matter. But, uh, as I said, uh, like 2 sentences ago, uh, our competitors are raising a shit ton of money, and that's why it puts a little bit— yeah, we have to think about this, even when I'm a little bit more conservative, uh, in a way. Like, I just want to spend the money that we are earning and that we have, uh, but anyways, the market requires more speed. And so definitely, yeah, we, we, uh, but we don't want to have stupid money. Uh, there should be some strategic background and some strategic synergies behind it. And then, um, we are open for conversations, but the decision is not made, to be honest. Yeah.

Well, it's been hard running that business.

Yeah, maybe the speed. AI is speeding up everything. And also for me, it's quite tough to make an assumption about what's happening in the next 5 years because in my opinion, nobody knows what's really happening. And if you assume you can think of what What is what is going to happen in the next five years? Then I think I call you a little crazy. But anyways, like this is this is definitely something we have to deal with. I mean, we use it as our advantage as well. The speed obviously, but also it's a it's a threat. And then something that I definitely underestimated was people management in general. So that that is a task. Like that, that you weren't prepared, uh, in the past when you do sales, for example, and then all of a sudden you have to be father, uh, coach, boss, mentor, uh, everything for, for your whole team, uh, while having— while handling your own problems. Uh, this is quite tough, but I'm learning every day, building more resilience here and there, and, um, Yeah, but this is tough. How was it? Was— how was it for you, basically?

Yeah, but I mean, I've been 10 years in the game, right? So it's less tough, but it's still hard. I mean, it's like running an ultramarathon, right? Like, it never really gets easier. You adapt to it, but yeah, that's about it. The adaptation's pretty much everything. So how do you manage your stress then in that game?

Yeah. Routine. Basically, this is something I learned. Also, my girlfriend is helping me a lot with that. I mean, I had a really high level of stress my whole day, my whole life. But basically, yeah, routine is super important. I just set, for example, a rule after 10, no more laptop at night because then I found out I was struggle with sleeping, and then you try to hit the gym. Um, I mean, it's a non-negotiable, but at some point, yeah, especially the last couple of weeks, uh, you, you— I wasn't able to go because we were just hopping up from expo to expo. Uh, it was 12 expos in the last 3 weeks, so impossible to do any kind of sports. And that was my stress level like really maxing out. But, um, overall routine is super important. Uh, I found out also some Some, some small tips like writing down your 3 main goals for the day, because you— if you really wrote it down and you can check it, then it's, yeah, easier at some point to, to call it a day, you know. And, um, yeah, that, that's my way, like routine, fitness, and, uh, yeah, close the laptop latest at 10. And that's working out pretty good as of now. How do you handle it? That, that's I want to know.

Yeah, dog walks, running on a daily basis or biking or roller skating or boxing or gym, saunas, I would say spending time with my wife and daughter a lot. My daughter is like 6 months old, so it's like, it's very much in their playful phase and it's, I spend lots of time with her. Sometimes video game if it's not too healthy is like is like last recourse. Hmm, I think that would be it. Meditation is great, right? Stretching. I'm trying to integrate my routine like yoga helps a lot. So and yeah, talking with great people, right? Like communities is I guess most of the the problem here. Voice AI, what's the state of it? Like Can I use it for outbound as well? Like, what's your take on that?

100%. Yes, definitely. I mean, when it comes to the use cases for outbound, you have to really take a deep dive if it's doable or not, if you're facing any regulations, because something that is possible technically is cold calling, for example, but we don't suggest to do it. Because no one wants to get called from an AI to— I mean, no one wants to get a cold call anyways from a real person. So you don't want a voice agent to call you and try to set an appointment. But also the regulations in the EU are really tough when it comes to this. But definitely, I mean, we always tell potential clients and partners that almost every telephone interaction can be done through a voice agent already. It totally depends on the level of the voice agent. Definitely how good is the prompt, how good is the knowledge base, what API calls are possible, what webhooks, whatever do you have connected to it. And yeah, but definitely outbound calls is more and more coming. For example, also when we are talking about go-to-market, we have some agents live. That you sign up for an offer in a funnel. And after they sign up, I'm interested in a funnel or an offer for photovoltaic, for example. The agent picks up the phone and calls you and qualifies the lead even more and maybe makes out of one lead 2 leads. That's happening in this industry because they're asking for, hey, you're interested in a photovoltaic system. You might be interested in heating pumps as well. And so you made lead qualification, market research via outbound, appointment reminders, all this type of stuff. And as I said, basically any call that is now doing, that the company is now doing on the phone can be done through a voice agent to a certain level. Obviously not B2B enterprise sales closing. That should be still a real human interaction. There's a lot of possibilities.

Yeah, I can see this. What about the legality of outbound? Like, for example, yeah, I'd love to just call founders and CEOs and invite them to my podcast, right? Like, I mean, I'm not soliciting, right? Like, I'm inviting them to podcasts. So it's not like if I'm robocalling them. Do you think I can do that? And yeah, what tool would you use for that if you would use one?

I would use our tool for sure, but that's something we are not setting up because we are focusing on the EU market and we are familiar with EU regulations, not with US and Mexico, for example. So for you, It might be possible. Definitely, if you want to get— if you really want to do it the right way, then you should have an opt-in somehow that you can contact these people, and then the channel doesn't matter. Like, the government doesn't distinguish between real human phone calls and voice phone calls as of now. They will probably change this in the future, but as of now, you're good to go. And yeah, so you can you can test this. I mean, you sign you sign a contract with us that you basically be in charge of what you do when we are not doing the setup. And but I don't encourage anyone to do it. Like if you have an opt-in, go for it. Vamos, but not not cold.

Got it. Nice, man. Well, thanks for being on. Where can people find out more about you, Dean?

Yeah, definitely. I'm on all socials doing building in public and YouTube. So I picked up the camera from day one founding the company and also obviously Insta, LinkedIn. I'm really active on there. So yeah, would love to get some more to the community.