Kyle
The intuitiveness of the algorithms used to deliver Google adsense and Amazon suggestions can seem eerily close to home, but even as good as they are they still sometimes miss grasping what you are really looking for and what you really want to buy. Proximity based coupon apps are great but unless they are generic in nature it’s hard to say what you’re going to buy.
That’s why Boston startup, and Techstars alum, Saverr offers the best couponing proposition to the coupon user. Saverr gives you coupons based on what you actually buy based on what you actually bought using your receipt.
You know those machines that set next to the register tape at Target and the grocery store? You know the ones that spit out the coupons at the end of your visit? Well Saverr is giving you that machine, inside your phone. Pretty bad ass huh?
Saverr uses your actual receipt, the entire receipt, to give you coupons on the items that you just bought. Most likely you are going to buy them again right?
The idea came about when the Israeli team was trying to create a shopping discovery app of sorts. What they quickly found wasn’t that the world needed another discovery app, but the world needed a money saving app. Their proprietary receipt scanning technology is the back bone of their app.
The best part for the consumer is since Saverr is working on the manufacturer coupon side of the world, you can get coupons based on receipts from all types of stores. You’re not relegated to the store that you’re currently shopping in.
We got a chance to talk to the Saverr team which relocated to Boston for Techstars and is staying around for a while. Check out the interview below:
What is Saverr?
Saverr is an app that helps grocery shoppers receive custom coupons and circulars based on previous receipts. By scanning your receipt right in Saverr, the app analyzes your purchase and give your your custom results. Eventually we will add a feature that shows which grocery stores you can purchase all of your items for the least amount of money in your area.
In layman’s terms, how does it work? (In other words how would you explain it to your grandmother)
In the simplest form, Saverr takes a picture of your receipt. That picture is then analyzed and you get back a list of coupons and circulars just for you. The more receipts you scan, the more coupons and circulars you will get. It saves you time and money.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
The three founders are the CEO, Eyal Yair, the CTO Eyal Molad, and the COO Eylon Ohevya. They are originally from Israel and started the company there. All three have startup backgrounds at different companies including a website for indie musicians to be found, a medical software company, and a fundraising platform. They all knew each other before starting Saverr, but decided working on a team together would be an amazing opportunity.
Where are you based?
The company started in Israel, but in July, the company was admitted into the Boston TechStars program and has moved to the US. We are currently working out of Cambridge at the TechStars space.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
There is an amazing startup community here in Boston. Everyone is like a big family and we are all about paying it forward. With TechStars and MassChallenge here in Boston, there is a really good sense of innovation and entrepreneurship here.
How did you come up with the idea for Saverr?
Eylon, Saverr’s COO, has 5 kids. Every week he went grocery shopping and, even though he tried to find the best deals, he ended up paying the same because it was really hard to find the best deals for what he was buying. He thought, “There has to be a better way to save”. He really wished there was a way to just scan his receipt and figure out where his items would cost less. There were plenty of ways to search around for coupons or enter individual items and see where they might be the least expensive, but there was no way to see how to save on his entire list, so he decided to create a way to do so and Saverr was born.
How did you come up with the name?
The first idea was “Shopper” since the app is all about getting crowdsourced pricing data. After some thought, we realized that it wasn’t about shopping, but more about saving, not only money but time as well. From there it was easy to see that Saverr was the way to go.
What problem does Saverr solve?
There are plenty of apps to search for individual items and coupons, but there is no way to get information on your whole list. In today’s economy, when grocery costs account for 13% of the average family’s monthly income, people need to find every opportunity to save money. Saverr makes it easy and fast for families to save some extra money to use on what really matters.
What’s your secret sauce?
It is all about the receipt scanning technology. Because Saverr can read your whole receipt, you get the most custom, tailor-made offers on the items your purchase week in and week out. It saves you time and money.
Are you bootstrapped or funded?
We currently have some seed funding from investors in Israel as well as the seed funding from TechStars.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
We have had some pivots already. The original idea was that once you scan your receipt, you get a list of close by grocery stores, than Saverr lets you know if you would save money at these stores or pay more. The only issue with this is that it is crowdsourced so you need a lot of data before this is actionable. That feature will eventually be added after we have enough data.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
We really like what Waze has done as a company with their crowdsourced mapping app. Seeing how they were able to scale has been really helpful to us. Of course there is Katie Rae and Reed Sturtevant here at TechStars. They have been amazing as well. Also Richard Dale of Big Data Boston Ventures has been a great help to us and we appreciate his guidance.
What’s next for Saverr?
Our roadmap is to add more viral components soon. Also once enough data is compiled, there will be a shopping list price comparison feature as well. In the future we are planning to apply this model to pharmacies too.
Linkage:
Here’s their Google Play store link
Have more startup interviews from everywhere else
