615. Sid Masson, Co-Founder of Wokelo.ai, a Powerful Tool for Commercial Due Diligence

Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Show Notes:

Sid Masson, co-founder and CEO of Wokelo.ai explains that Wokelo is an agentic platform for investment research and commercial due diligence, automating market research and desk research activities performed by consulting firms, investment banks, private equity analysts and so on. It offers private market research and allows the user to pass through hundreds and 1000s of data sets in a matter of minutes, but beyond just research, it automates end-to-end deliverables, all the way to a well formatted PowerPoint deck in a format of your choice.

How Wokelo.ai Works

Sid mentions that Wokelo has been in production for two and a half years and commercially launched in November 2023. The platform has 40+ paying customers, including big four consulting firms like KPMG, investment banks, and venture capital firms. Pricing starts at $30,000 annually for five seats and proportionate usage. Sid explains that larger enterprises use bespoke models which cost more and cases where certain boutique consulting firms who may not have may not need five or 10 seats and are offered customized pricing.

Wokelo also ensures various security levels, including SOC 2 compliant cloud, private cloud instances, and on-prem deployments.

A Demonstration of Wokelo

Sid explains Wokelo's web application, which offers several workflows for different tasks. The platform includes standardized workflows like company research, industry research, and market maps, as well as custom workflows designed by users. He demonstrates the process of creating a live report for a company, including adding company attributes, uploading files, and generating insights. The platform generates a detailed, editable notebook with insights, sources, and charts, which can be exported in various formats. Sid lists the data sources Wokelo uses, including third-party data partnerships, public data scraping, and user-uploaded data. The platform has partnerships with CrunchBase, PitchBook, SNP Cap IQ, and IEP Query for patent data. Wokelo's proprietary private company database includes detailed information beyond firmographics, such as product catalogs and management profiles.

Wokelo’s Custom Workflow Feature

Sid explains the custom workflow feature, which allows users to design their own bespoke workflows to mimic their existing methodologies. Custom workflows can include custom analysis, synergy potential mapping, and IC memos, tailored to specific user needs. The platform's user interface is designed to be easy to use, with guardrails and standardized constraints to ensure high-quality outputs. Wokelo's editable notebooks and charts are designed to be user-friendly and customizable, allowing for detailed and professional reports.

The Wokelo Team

Sid shares the background of the Wokelo team, including his and his co-founder's experience in management consulting and AI. The team has grown from 10 to 25 members in the last 12 months, with a focus on building a solid product and team. Wokelo has raised two rounds of funding: a pre-seed round in 2023 and a seed round in September 2022, totaling $5.5 million. The funding has helped the team build a solid product and team, focusing on quality and value rather than excessive funding. Sid discusses the challenges of selling to large firms and the initial skepticism they face. Wokelo plans to continue iterating and improving the platform, focusing on user experience and domain expertise. The team aims to expand their customer base and offer more customized solutions to meet the evolving needs of their clients.

Timestamps:

00:02: Overview of Wokelo and its purpose

02:47: Customer base and pricing

05:51: Demonstration of Wokelo's features

08:50: Data sources and security

19:24: Custom workflows and user interface

27:04: Team background and funding

35:46: Challenges and future plans

Links:

https://www.wokelo.ai/

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