💥290% increase in annual revenue
💥2,700% increase in annual SaaS revenue
💥715% increase in annual acquired customers
These are just a few of the incredible achievements the team at Bevz made since participating in the 2022 Stage 2 Capital Catalyst.
Bevz is transforming the snack and drink industry with the first-ever SaaS platform for convenience stores. With hundreds of stores and counting, and multiple paid and strategic partnerships with companies like DoorDash, Uber, GrubHub, Lotte, RNDC, Core-Mark, Pepsi, and more, Bevz has quickly become a key industry player and the go-to technology partner for convenience stores that want to grow their business.
We were first introduced to Bevz when they applied for last year’s Catalyst cohort, and we’ve been impressed with their team ever since. We sat down with CEO and Co-Founder Jason Vego to chat through Bevz’ remarkable growth, and discuss their experience with the Stage 2 Capital Catalyst.
What drew you to apply to the Stage 2 Capital Catalyst?
“Most accelerator programs out there are general, or focused primarily on fundraising and pitching,” Jason says. “We love that Catalyst is all about go-to-market, which we needed the most help with at the time. We had a great product, but we needed guidance and support on how to acquire, engage, and retain a really tough customer.”
“We found Stage 2 to be very founder friendly,” he adds. “We were drawn to the expansive community of Limited Partners and advisors, and were excited to partner with companies that have extremely relevant experience, like Toast.”
What was the Stage 2 Capital Catalyst like? How did the curriculum fit your needs?
“Several learnings from the Catalyst came to fruition even sooner than expected.” Jason recalls. “We were able to define our leading indicators of customer retention, which allowed us to quantify and measure our product-market fit. We were also able to determine scalable unit economics to support fast growth, while staying capital efficient. And we built a robust hiring and compensation plan for our Sales and Customer Success functions, just to name a few things.”
“A lot of the content was evergreen,” he shares. “You might put something to work the week you learn it, or you might hold onto something you learned and apply it a year later. For instance, we used territory modeling and sales compensation learnings immediately, but we waited almost a year to start using the paid digital marketing tools and best practices.
Who did you receive mentorship from? Have you stayed in touch since last year’s Catalyst wrapped up?
“During the program, we had two lead mentors, along with various advisors every week depending on the subject matter,” Jason says. “Adam Mavrikos [VP of Revenue Growth at Toast and Stage 2 Capital LP] was a key mentor because he understood our business and customer so well.”
“After the program ended, Adam agreed to keep meeting with us on a bi-weekly basis. His honest feedback and advice was critical as we continued to put Catalyst learnings into practice, and he eventually joined our advisory board.” Jason recalls. “Adam has assisted with everything from recruiting and hiring, to go to market strategy and territory modeling, to sales messaging and measurement.”
“Adam then helped us interview and select our first sales leader, and has been meeting with us regularly to help with scaling efforts,” Jason says. “In our new sales leader’s first quarter, we hit 120% of quota.”
What has overall growth looked like, and what’s next for Bevz?
“Since we started the Catalyst program in July 2022, our ARR tripled, our SaaS sales grew insanely fast, and we have been able to consistently acquire and retain more customers every month,” Jason shares.
“After executing in the last year and raising additional capital, we are doubling down on our current sales motion, expanding nationally, adding some innovative product features, and starting to target larger-scale enterprise and channel partners,” he adds.
We’re wishing Jason and the Bevz team all the best as they continue their impressive journey! Learn more about Bevz here: https://www.bevz.com/