Leadsales, a Mexican tech startup, raised USD $3.7 million in an initial funding round led by Ulu Ventures and Blue Pointe Ventures.
The funding will be used for new hires and to expand into the Brazilian market, where WhatsApp is highly popular.
The company focuses on offering a unique way to manage sales in the mobile commerce space in Latin America, mainly through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
The company has partnered with Meta and created a specialized Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.
This tool allows for real-time sales funnel automation and personalized organization of customer chats.
Businesses can categorize inquiries about billing, product questions, and other topics and assign them to the most suitable sales leads.
Founded in 2020 by Roberto Peñacastro and David Villa Cañez, Leadsales initially focused on logistics solutions for e-commerce businesses in the region.
However, upon noticing a growing trend among small and medium-sized businesses shifting to sales via WhatsApp, they decided to create a CRM platform tailored to these needs.
In an interview with TechCrunch, the startup pointed out that its native chat integration within its CRM tool is unique, specially designed for small businesses that rely on instant messaging to close sales.
Peñacastro and Villa Cañez bootstrapped their way to more than 1,400 customers and annual recurring revenue of USD $1.6 million before seeking venture capital.
Peñacastro argues that while there is an increase in funding for conversational commerce startups like Yalo, Whym, Charles, and Wizard, Leadsales’ main competition comes from traditional CRM providers like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive.
However, the firm sets itself apart by focusing on native chat integration for small businesses.
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