Donna, a Belgian AI-based assistant for sales professionals, has raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding. Led by Pitchdrive (which backed Henchman and Oper Credits), the round saw participation from Everywhere Ventures, Fortino, Syndicate One, and WeLoveFounders.
It also saw contributions from angel investors – Jorn Vanysacker (Henchman, Intuo), Gilles Mattelin (Henchman, Intuo), Felix Van de Maele (Collibra), Willem Delbare (Aikido, Officient, Teamleader), Matthias Geeroms (Lighthouse), Anthony De Clerck (Dovesco), Gino Engels (Lighthouse), Mattias Putman (Piesync), Jan Van Hoecke (Ravn Systems), Frederik Lebeer (Shine BV, Bain & Company), Marc Coppens (McCapital, Yuki), Bram Couvreur (Cooley), Hans Kluwer (McCapital), Christophe Morbee (Besox), Ewout Meyns (Piesync), Jeroen De Wit (Teamleader), and Rodrigue Delépine (Comiti PR)
Donna will use the funding to attract new talent and further accelerate its ambitious rollout in the EU and US.
What challenge does it address?
A major challenge for sales professionals is accurately and efficiently entering relevant information into the CRM system. This is a time-consuming process.
Donna, an AI-powered sales assistant was launched to help sales professionals before, during, and after every sales interaction. Since these salespeople are frequently on the move, it calls them to accurately update their CRM system and initiate the next steps.
“A major challenge for sales professionals on the go, who often make 5-10 prospecting or customer visits daily, is efficiently and accurately entering relevant information into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Processing a meeting takes an average of 20 minutes, time that could be better spent on selling,” said Jonas Deprez, co-CEO and co-founder of Donna.
Who is behind Donna?
Donna is led by experienced entrepreneurs from the Ghent startup ecosystem – Nicolas Christiaen, Jonas Deprez, Xander Berkein, Lander T’Kindt, and startup studio StarApps.
Nicolas founded the fintech company Cashforce, which he sold to German payment platform TIS in 2022. Jonas launched the retail data company Daltix, which was acquired by Colruyt Group in 2023. Xander previously served as Team Lead within Belgian-based unicorn Deliverect, and Lander worked at StarApps, which has produced successful startups like Realo and Bizzy.
An AI personal assistant
It’s often not possible to record a conversation at a prospect’s location. This is where Donna comes into the picture. It calls the salesperson after the visit, collects the necessary information, and automatically updates the CRM. It also drafts a follow-up email to the client or prospect.
Additionally, Donna uses familiar communication channels like WhatsApp, iMessage, and email, allowing users to stick with their preferred tools. The AI sales assistant also integrates seamlessly with popular CRM tools like Salesforce and HubSpot.
In one year of its debut, the AI startup already has 200 active users and has attracted interest from leading companies in the food service industry, business services, real estate, construction sectors, and some growth capital funds.
“This reduces the administrative hassle after each sales interaction, giving salespeople more time to sell,” said Nicolas Christiaen, co-CEO and co-founder of Donna. ‘With Donna, every salesperson gets their own personal assistant at a fraction of the cost.’
What do we think about Donna?
Donna is an AI assistant transforming sales efficiency. With $1.6 million in pre-seed funding, it addresses the challenge of CRM data entry, saving sales professionals valuable time. Led by experienced entrepreneurs, the company seamlessly integrates with popular CRMs and uses familiar communication channels. This innovation allows salespeople to focus more on selling, enhancing productivity and customer engagement.