Simplifying Decision-Making to Revitalize Customer Service, with Juan Jaysingh of Zingtree

Summary

In this engaging interview, Juwan Howze, CEO of Zingtree, discusses the company's no-code interactive decision tree engine designed to streamline customer support operations. Zingtree's organic growth, bolstered by a recent Series A funding, has attracted enterprise clients like Hilton and SpaceX. Howze shares insights on the company's transition to a remote-first culture and emphasizes the importance of nurturing a strong team dynamic, even in a distributed work environment.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Zingtree is a no-code, interactive decision tree engine designed to assist call center agents in identifying and resolving customer issues quickly through guided agent scripting software.
• 🚀 The company recently announced its Series A funding, marking a significant milestone in its growth.
• 💡 The idea for Zingtree originated when the founders, running a B2C company, hardcoded a decision tree to resolve customer support tickets, which reduced their tickets by 40% and inspired the creation of the software.
• 🛠️ Zingtree was built as a side project while the founders maintained their day jobs, and it organically grew with inbound product-led growth (PLG) DNA from the start.
• 🔍 Juwan, the CEO, joined Zingtree in 2020 after initially consulting in 2019, emphasizing the importance of aligning with the team and understanding the product-market fit.
• 🌐 Zingtree has customers in over 50 countries, including enterprise names like Hilton, Kaiser, Peloton, and SpaceX, who found the product and grew with it organically.
• 💼 Initially thought of as a contact center product, Zingtree is used organization-wide, revealing its potential as a horizontal platform for various departments.
• 📈 Juwan aimed to prove that Zingtree could scale to enterprise-level deals, with an average sales price (ASP) ranging from $2k to $3k, and successfully secured deals worth tens of thousands.
• 🔑 The vision for Zingtree is to support human decision-making in enterprises, helping to manage information overload and guide employees through complex problem-solving processes.
• 👥 Zingtree's success is attributed to a people-first culture, where trust and decision-making are emphasized, even as the company scales.
• 🏢 Reflecting the shift to remote work, Zingtree has adopted a completely remote-first approach, investing in culture and HR from an early stage to ensure a cohesive team dynamic.

Q & A

What is Zinc Tree and what problem does it solve?

Zinc Tree is a no-code interactive decision tree engine designed to assist call center agents in identifying and resolving customer issues quickly through a guided agent scripting software.

How did the founders of Zinc Tree come up with the idea for the product?

The founders were running a B2C company that was receiving a high volume of support tickets. They hardcoded a decision tree to help customers troubleshoot their issues, which reduced their tickets by 40%. This success led them to believe that the solution could benefit other SMB businesses as well.

What is the significance of Zinc Tree being a no-code solution?

The no-code aspect of Zinc Tree allows customers to find, onboard, and support themselves without the need for technical assistance. This has given Zinc Tree a strong product-led growth (PLG) DNA from the start, enabling organic growth.

When did Juwan join Zinc Tree and what was his initial role?

Juwan joined Zinc Tree as a consultant in late summer 2019 before becoming the CEO. He started as a consultant to ensure that he was making the right decision to commit to the company.

What was Juwan's impression of Zinc Tree when he first started?

Juwan was impressed by the organic growth of the company, the fact that it had customers in over 50 countries who had found and signed up for Zinc Tree on their own, and that among these customers were enterprise-level companies like Hilton, Kaiser, Peloton, and SpaceX.

How did Juwan perceive the potential of Zinc Tree beyond just a call center product?

Juwan realized that Zinc Tree was being used organically throughout various organizations, not just in call centers. This indicated that Zinc Tree was a horizontal platform with potential in a much larger market.

What was Juwan's vision for Zinc Tree when he joined?

Juwan's vision was centered around the idea that human decision-making is critical and needs technological assistance. He saw Zinc Tree as a tool to help humans make better decisions every day amidst information overload and complex problems.

Can you provide an example of how Zinc Tree works in a real-world scenario?

Sure. If a customer's earpods stop working, they might call customer support frustrated after failing to resolve the issue online. With Zinc Tree, the call center agent can quickly access a decision tree that guides them through resolving the issue efficiently, providing a customized and quick solution that enhances the customer's experience.

How did Zinc Tree determine its ideal customer profile and decide to focus more on the enterprise market?

Zinc Tree analyzed signals such as where most of their revenue was coming from and recognized that they had been winning large deals from enterprise companies in the contact center space. This led to the decision to focus on the contact center as their go-to-market strategy.

How does Zinc Tree apply its own decision-making principles to internal company decisions?

Zinc Tree uses its own product to assist with decision-making, such as through a decision tree on their website for customer support inquiries. However, the company is cautious not to overuse the product in areas where it may not be fully equipped to handle certain tasks.

What is Zinc Tree's approach to building company culture in a remote-first world?

Zinc Tree invests in culture from day one, even hiring HR staff early on to focus on building a strong company culture. They are committed to being a remote-first company to avoid potential cultural divides between office and remote workers.

How does Juwan view the future of work and how is Zinc Tree adapting to it?

Juwan sees the future of work as increasingly remote and has adapted Zinc Tree to be a remote-first company. He believes in the importance of investing in culture and people, even in a remote setting, and sees Zinc Tree's product as even more critical in helping remote workers make effective decisions.