radd. founders: “We have been best friends since we were five years old”

eCommerce is a $5 trillion industry that is increasingly relying on new technologies to help sell products and make the experience better for shoppers. Israeli startup radd. is helping innovate the space by offering data-driven and real-time story reviews via videos.

Co-Founders Sivan Baram and Natalie Staub have been lifelong friends who started radd. in 2019. The company is currently seeking to complete a $3 million Seed round to help scale its R&D and marketing efforts.

radd. Founders Sivan Baram and Natalie Staub.

"Natalie and I are both experienced Digital Marketing and eCommerce professionals who have been looking into helping online brands leverage and measure user-generated content in an efficient, seamless and affordable manner and that is exactly what radd. is offering,” explained Co-Founder and CEO Baram.

The company joined CTech for its Startup Boarding Pass series to share its plans for the future.

Company Name: radd.

Sector: AI

Product/Service description:

An eCommerce Intelligence platform for boosting user-generated content via LIVE and data-driven stories.

Founder Bios:

Sivan Baram is the Co-Founder and CEO of radd. and a passionate entrepreneur with over 15 years of content marketing experience.

Natalie Staub is its Co-Founder and CMO, an experienced Digital Marketer and Senior Lecturer for marketing and research.

Year of Founding: 2019

Last Investment Round: $200,000

Last Investment Stage: Pre-Seed

Date of Last Investment: March 2022

Total investment to date: $700,000

Investors (leading and all): Sarona, Techstars, StarFund

Current number of employees: 6

Open positions:

Product Manager, Sales Manager, Full stack developer

Website and social media:

Website: www.raddcontent.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radd_content_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raddcontent
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/radd.

Interview:

How was the idea born?

Natalie and I are both experienced Digital Marketing and eCommerce professionals who have been looking into helping online brands leverage and measure user-generated content in an efficient, seamless and affordable manner and that is exactly what radd. is offering.

One of the most interesting angles of our story, and the reason we have such a strong team, is the fact that we have been best friends since we were five years old. We grew up together in a small village in Israel (Yokneam Hamoshava, Emek Izrael) and Natalie moved to London with her family when we were 10. We stayed very close and started the company together in 2019.

What is the need for the product?

Online brands constantly seek innovative ways to increase traffic, engagement, and conversion, which are their three biggest pain points.

The radd. story reviews that are uploaded by the customers increase engagement and conversion by over 15% on a month-by-month basis.

The radd. LIVEcasts allow influencers to drive traffic directly to the eCommerce sites and hold live broadcasts that significantly increase traffic, engagement, and conversion by over 700%.

How is it changing the market?

On top of a beautiful visual experience that is highly engaging and valuable, our unique value proposition relies on an AI video-based reviewing technology that is data-driven - a first of its kind reviewing solution for the eCommerce space that personalizes the story reviews on the user side on the hand, and offers automatic insights to the brands on the other, based on the customer behavior on the site.

How big is the market for the product and who are its main customers?

The eCommerce market is huge and constantly growing, with over $5 trillion in annual sales globally expected in 2022. We are targeting large eCommerce brands.

Does the product exist already? If not - at what stage is it and when is it expected to hit the market?

We are live on Shopify with a selection of pricing plans, and going live on several additional eCommerce platforms as well. eCommerce platforms are incredible marketing channels that help us scale faster with SMBs as well as tempt the larger brands to upgrade to our more advanced plans.

Who are the main competitors in this sector and how big are they?

There are reviewing apps and live options but as far as we know there are no video-based reviewing tools that include a live broadcast option.

What is the added value that the founders bring to the company and the product?

Sivan and Natalie bring vast experience as digital and content marketers. Sivan is a passionate entrepreneur with over 15 years of content marketing experience and this is her second startup. Natalie is an experienced Digital Marketer and Senior Lecturer for marketing and research methods at a university in London.

What will the money coming in from the round be used for?

We are aiming at scaling fast and growing significantly this year, so mostly marketing, sales and R&D. We are now raising our next $3 million Seed round.

In the "Startup Boarding Pass" section, CTech will cover the (relatively) small investments made in companies during the early stages of their existence - and the entrepreneurs and startups who have not yet had the opportunity to reveal their stories to the world. Please use the linked form and fill it out according to the guidelines. This form is intended for startups raising between $500,000 and $3 million from venture capital funds, angels, or official grants from Israeli and foreign institutions. If relevant, someone at CTech will be in touch for follow-up questions.