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Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Ofer Ronen, CEO & Co-Founder of Tomato.ai, an accent softening platform that’s raised $12 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- AI in contact centers: Ofer has built three startups focusing on contact center AI, seeing the potential for AI to solve language processing problems and improve customer service experiences.
- Large-scale deals take patience: Closing large contracts, like the $300 million call center deals Ofer managed, typically involves 18 months of navigating gatekeepers, pilots, and bake-offs.
- Human empowerment, not replacement: Unlike many AI initiatives aimed at automation, Tomato.ai focuses on enhancing human agents with AI, particularly through accent softening to improve customer interactions.
- Accent softening for global agents: Tomato.ai uses AI to modify agents’ speech in real-time, reducing accents to help agents communicate more clearly, reduce repeat explanations, and improve the customer experience.
- Focusing on a niche for success: Ofer stresses the importance of focusing on a narrow problem—starting with Filipino and Indian accents—and perfecting it before expanding.
- Creating a new market: Accent softening AI is a nascent category, and Ofer is positioning Tomato.ai to be a leader in a potentially multi-billion-dollar industry as demand for AI-enhanced communication grows globally.
Actionable
Takeaways
Focus on solving one problem exceptionally well before expanding:
Ofer emphasizes the importance of startups focusing on a specific problem, perfecting it, and becoming known for that solution before considering expansion. This prevents dilution of efforts and builds a solid foundation for future growth.
Patience is key for enterprise sales:
Closing large deals with enterprise clients can take up to 18 months. Ofer’s experience shows that perseverance, navigating internal gatekeepers, and succeeding in pilot programs are critical to unseating entrenched competitors and winning multi-million-dollar contracts.
Enhance, don’t replace, human talent with AI:
Rather than automating away human roles, Ofer believes in using AI to augment human capabilities. By offering “human superpowers,” such as accent softening, companies can improve both employee performance and customer satisfaction while maintaining a human touch.
Start SEO investments early:
Ofer highlights the importance of investing in SEO from the beginning. As SEO strategies take time to mature, early investments ensure that by the time the business is ready to scale, it is discoverable and has an established digital presence.
Prepare to lead in new market categories:
Accent AI is a nascent category, and Tomato.ai is strategically positioning itself as a leader. Ofer recommends that startups looking to enter emerging categories need to define their niche, understand the market potential, and be prepared to educate and create demand as the space matures.
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