B2B sales data is notoriously fragmented and disorganized, causing precious leads to go dry and ultimately leading to the loss of potential revenue, but the all-in-one prospection solution, Cognism, is fixing this through its patented Revenue AI engine. Congism is fully GDPR-compliant; it enables sales teams to identify ideal buyers and scale audience outreach by gathering data from high-quality public and private sources (S&P Global, Crunchbase, etc.).
London TechWatch spoke with founder and CEO James Isilay about Congism’s success and plans to expand into the US and Asia, as it has now raised a total of $16.9M across five rounds.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
The investors were PeakSpan Capital and we raised $10M. It was the Series B funding round.
Tell us about your product or service that Cognism offers.
Cognism is a sales acceleration platform providing B2B sales teams with real-time data about company, people, and events, which streamlines prospecting and generates new revenue. We use our patented AI and machine learning technology to assist our customers to find and engage with their next best business opportunities.
What inspired you to start Cognism?
It all started when I was working in financial trading. I was tasked to develop an app to provide financial intelligence based on big data and real-time events.
I quickly realised that the same solutions which worked for financial intelligence could also be applied to sales.
How is Cognism different?
Unlike many of our competitors, Cognism is an all-in-one prospecting solution. Using our platform, you can identify your ideal buyers, build an audience, and outreach to them. Our solutions are powered by our patented Revenue AI engine, which ensures the quality and accuracy of our B2B sales data.
Cognism is also a fully GDPR-compliant B2B data company, which differentiates us from most of the competitors in our space.
What market is Cognism targeting and how big is it?
We believe the market for sales and marketing data services is at least as large as the current CRM market, which is worth $42B today and is projected to be worth $80B by 2025.
Who do you consider to be your main competitors?
DiscoverOrg and ZoomInfo.
What’s your business model?
Cognism is delivered via the SaaS (software as a service) model.
What was the funding process like?
We started the Series B funding round in January 2019. We ran a funding process and selected Peakspan Capital from that process.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The biggest challenge was in ensuring the continued growth of the company while the funding process was going on. As CEO, you have to juggle two very important jobs at the same time – securing funding and making decisions that keep the company growing. Time management is a factor – you have to devote equal time to both activities. It’s important not to get distracted.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Cognism is a high-growth company. Last year we grew our overall revenue by 657%. Our headcount has more than doubled over the last 12 months. We have a great product and great people working behind the scenes. We listen to our customers and we’re always striving to improve and add to our product features.
We’re also operating in a very exciting and vibrant marketplace, which has lots of potential for future opportunities and growth.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
On the business side of things, we will be expanding Cognism and opening new offices in Asia and the USA.
Product-wise, we will be releasing our new machine learning prospect list building service.
In September, we will be hosting our first conference at the Science Museum in London – Revenue AI. It’s a learning and networking event for tech-driven sales and marketing leaders.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
My advice would be to focus on sales and growing your company. If you can demonstrate that your business is growing fast and has potential for future growth, investors will start coming to you.
My advice would be to focus on sales and growing your company. If you can demonstrate that your business is growing fast and has potential for future growth, investors will start coming to you.
If you’re struggling to grow your sales, then talk to Cognism!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
The aim is to get to $10M ARR in the next 12 months.
What is your favorite London pub to grab a pint with the team?
The Rose in Vauxhall is a popular pub with Cognism’s employees!
