“$1 billion may seem like an audacious goal, but when you think about the lives we’re impacting, the economy we’re adding to and, most importantly, the businesses we’re helping — it fires me up.”
Casey Graham
CEO
May 10, 2019
The Atlanta-based company has taken the customer retention and payment recovery space by storm since launching in 2017. It’s already recovered more than $15 million in single-saved transactions over the past 20 months and is on pace to double its revenue — and staff — in 2019.
“Before I started Gravy with my partner, Renee Weber, I owned an online business built on recurring subscriptions and memberships. Although we saw incredible growth month over month on the front end of the business, we always had trouble recovering failed credit card payments and retaining customers that were about to churn,” says Gravy CEO, Casey Graham.
Even after selling that company, Casey continued to hear about industry peers with the same problem — but no one could justify the budget for an in-house team to focus on this issue.
That’s when the idea for Gravy was born.
“Gravy is a team of full-time, US-based, retention specialists that help companies with recurring subscriptions and memberships retain customers,” Renee Weber says.
In a space previously dominated by dunning software and cut-throat collections tactics, Gravy’s warmth and personalized communication approach — undergirded by its custom workflow technology — have cut through the noise.
This human element is necessary in the exploding membership and subscription-based business world, says Gravy Board of Directors member and Atlanta businessman David McDaniel, who saw Gravy’s unique value and didn’t hesitate to get involved.
“Gravy combines an empathetic human touch powered by serious technology,” McDaniel said. “The result is that customers experience a company that loves them, values them, and wants them back, in the most positive way.”
The startup is already cash-flow positive thanks to early success but saw such a huge opportunity to raise money to fuel the organization’s continued growth. With the help of its Board of Directors and a few local entrepreneurs, Gravy secured a $1 million seed funding round to attack its mission of returning $1 billion to small businesses by 2023.
Ken Polk, another Board Member and long-time supporter of Gravy, chimes in on what he thinks sets Gravy apart in the marketplace.
“Getting a new client is the focus of most organizations, but the facts are clear: It is 3 times as hard — in effort and cost — to get a new client versus keeping a current client. Gravy allows a team to focus on new growth while retaining the most valuable assets: The current clients.”
Fellow Board Member Brian Kohr added, “Gravy’s business model is genius because they’re helping organizations create more opportunity and revenue from the customers they’ve already won.”
With the infusion of funds and resources, Gravy has been able to attack target markets, establish its brand, amplify its go-to-market strategy and invest in top talent.
“We’re just getting started,” Graham says. “$1 billion may seem like an audacious goal, but when you think about the lives we’re impacting, the economy we’re adding to and, most importantly, the businesses we’re helping — it fires me up.”
To learn more about Gravy and to see its new branding and website created by whiteboard.is, visit gravysolutions.io.
Original Press Release