The pandemic has changed the way that most organizations approach their businesses with a rapid acceleration in digital adoption across most industries. Professional services firms are no different. Long reliant on human relationships and expertise, these types of businesses are now adjusting to the reality of building business relationships where virtual connections are dominant and customer engagement aided by technology is absolutely necessary. B12 is an all-in-one platform for professional services firms to launch and maintain their businesses online. The platform offers a suite of services that handle common tasks such as website builds, payment processing and invoicing, SEO, CRM, email marketing, and online scheduling. B12 focuses on sub-50 employee firms across the accounting, consulting, mortgage brokerages, and law verticals. Since the company’s founding in 2015, B12 has helped more than 150,000 professional service firms. Pricing for the basic package starts at $149/mo. plus a one-time $999 setup cost.
AlleyWatch caught up with B12 Cofounder and CEO Nitesh Banta to learn more about how a middle friendship led to the formation of the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $28.1M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Our investors this round were Tola Capital, General Catalyst, Naval Ravikant, and Breyer Capital. It was a Series A that totaled $15.7M.
Tell us about the product or service that B12 offers.
B12 offers professional services firms an all-in-one solution to establish, run, and grow their business online, including websites, online payments and invoicing, contact management, SEO, online scheduling, and more. Our teams of experts powered by AI set it up for our customers so that in 30 days, they have a digital presence with all of the necessary tools to serve clients.
What inspired the start of B12?
Adam and I have known each other since middle school and always worked well as a team. We both have a passion for using tech to help small businesses.
The idea behind B12, which continues to drive its development today, came from our realization that while software was being built for small businesses, they were still having trouble using it. This gap motivated us to start building tools like Orchestra, which combines AI with experts to do more for its users. Now, we’re focusing on creating tools and features that do more for small service businesses.
How is B12 different?
What sets us apart is our all-in-one platform. It’s one system with all of the functionality you need to run your business online. B12 is also unique in that we do it for you — everything from establishing a digital presence, creating custom forms and content, and making updates when you need them.
What market does B12 target and how big is it?
We target professional services firms with fewer than 50 employees, such as mortgage brokerages, accounting firms, law practices, and consulting firms. The U.S. professional services industry generates approximately $2 trillion/year across 1.2 million firms and continues to grow. We want to be the platform that powers those businesses and helps future-proof them.
What’s your business model?
Our core business model is offering subscriptions to small businesses. We also monetize our online payments product and on-demand services to our customers, such as blogging and SEO.
What are your post-COVID office plans?
We’ve always had team members across the globe, but the pandemic pushed us to go remote-first. We’re thrilled to be hiring all over the world, and we currently have B12ers in 5+ countries and 10+ states. We’re willing to hire the right people wherever they are, but will continue to maintain small hubs where there’s a density of team members, like NYC and Bishkek.
What was the funding process like?
We had the chance to chat with several different firms during the process, some that had been tracking us for a while and some we were introduced to by close friends. Fundraising is always a rollercoaster and conversations can move fast. We were lucky to have some excellent options for our round and bring on great new partners.
One thing that was notably different than the last time we fundraised was we sensed more enthusiasm around small business enablement software. The first investor we ever worked with, General Catalyst, supported HubSpot and BigCommerce early on, so they were forward-thinking in identifying the trend. Now, more and more investors are aware of how big a business can be built by serving SMBs.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Communicating the services component of our business was challenging at times. While self-service small business tech is increasingly prevalent, the do-it-for-you model is less common. B12 and other companies like Pilot.com are showing we can do more for SMB customers, but investors are still learning how automation is impacting service and onboarding on platforms like B12.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
The number-one factor is our amazing team. We’re lucky to have an awesome group, with people who have expertise in automation and building great products. We have employees who attended MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley, with experience working at Shopify, Salesforce, and Google.
Investors also saw the changes happening in the world of professional services. The way that Amazon created the need for Shopify and Uber Eats led to the formation of Toast, emerging platforms in the professional services industry (e.g., LegalZoom and Better Mortgage) have created a need for an SMB-enablement platform like B12.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We are focused on getting our new products into customers’ hands, including the recently launched Client Engagement. We’re also working to scale our go-to-market strategy and make more and more professional services users successful using B12. Additionally, we are hiring for some critical roles and remain focused on building the best team possible.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Be deliberate around your 3- and 6-month milestones. Use the time you have to accomplish the goals/tasks that will have the biggest impact on your business. It’s difficult to stumble into the right outcome, you really have to be purposeful. Do everything you can to increase the chances of getting to where you want to be by planning intentionally.
Be deliberate around your 3- and 6-month milestones. Use the time you have to accomplish the goals/tasks that will have the biggest impact on your business. It’s difficult to stumble into the right outcome, you really have to be purposeful. Do everything you can to increase the chances of getting to where you want to be by planning intentionally.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
B12 will continue to be deeply embedded in the professional services segment as we determine adjacent categories beyond mortgage, accounting, legal, etc. We want to partner with other people who service this segment and of course focus on growth in our business.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC
B12ers love food! The team in NYC likes to split up, grab takeout from different spots around our office, and meet up in Union Square Park to eat together.
