More Than Punch Cards: Loyalty with Mike Bausch

SPEAKERS

Mike Bausch, Zack Oates

Pete Peng (preview)

It’s no secret that the next interface is going to be voice, you know, because, what we’ve done is we’ve kind of created like these awkward interfaces like the keyboard and the mouse, you know, and the touchscreen and things like that just in order for us to really interact with technology. But the ideal user experience is just really being able to just talk to whatever device it is.

Zack Oates

(Intro) What’s up? Zack Oates here – author, entrepreneur and customer relationship guru. Welcome to Give an Ovation: growth strategies for restaurants and retailers, where we find industry leaders to share their secrets to grow your business. This podcast is sponsored by Ovation, the actionable guest feedback tool that works on or off premise, and is easy, real-time, and actually drives revenue. Learn more at Ovationup.com.

Welcome to another edition of Give an Ovation! I am joined today by Pete Pang who is the founder and CEO of Jetson, an incredible AI tool for restaurants and retailers to easily sell products and services through voice interface. He’s also a soon-to-be-reality-TV-star. We’ll talk about that more in a little bit. And he has a fascinating story about how he how he funded Jetson, but, Pete, thanks for joining us today, man.

Pete Peng

Yeah, definitely. Thanks for having me on the podcast. I really appreciate it.

Zack Oates

Absolutely. So first of all, let’s talk about Jetson. What does Jetson do? Someone hears “Voice AI for restaurant retailers to sell more”, It’s like, wait, “You lost me at voice!” What? Like, tell me about in like, you know, as like a seventh grader – What do I -how do I use Jetson?

Pete Peng

Yeah, I mean with Jetson, it’s really about looking at the next revolution in terms of the interface. With the rise of speech recognition technology, reaching about 95% accuracy, and there’s a rise in AI investing, it’s no secret the next interface is going to be voice. Because what we’ve done is, we’ve kind of created like, these awkward interfaces, like the keyboard and the mouse, you know, and the touchscreen, things like that just in order for us to really interact with technology. But the ideal user experience is just really being able to just, you know, talk to whatever device it is, and then, you know, really add tree utility to the voice assistance of today so that you can do things like ordering, you know, or book something, and then really just really add more convenience to your life.

Zack Oates

So give me an example of how does, you know – I know you work with a lot of great brands around the country. How does one of your customers use Jetson?

Pete Peng

Yeah, so the way you can use Jetson today is you can – so we’re really an omni channel platform, and we consider ourselves as voice first. So really, you know, tailoring the experience to the smart speakers of today, the voice assistants of today, and really acting as a new sales channel for a lot of merchants that come into the space. So if somebody wants to use Jetson, they can actually download the app in the App Store, they can set up their profile, and then they can start to use Jetson on multiple channels. So whether it be you know, over the phone, they can call, they can text, they can use the in app experience with the microphone and you know, keyboard if they want to just have conversational, you know, ordering experience or if they want to use like a you know, Alexa or Google Home or integrated into them into those channels as well. So it really starts to become a really true omni channel, commerce platform, you know, for next generation consumers.

Zack Oates

So you’re saying if I download Jetson, I can say: “Jetson, I want a burger from Burger King.”, and it’ll order one for me? Does that work?

Pete Peng

Yeah. So one of the first partnerships that we struck, was with delivery.com. So delivery.com, you know, with their integration allowed us to onboard over 13,000 restaurants into our ecosystem. And with voice technology and voice commerce, ordering food is probably one of the most difficult things you can build and scale because of all the different cuisine types, you know, pronunciations, customization, things like that. So it’s very, very complex. So being able to bring on delivery.com onto Jetson’s marketplace has really helped us to really provide that ordering experience to the end user. A lot of third party apps like Grubhub and so forth, they only have that one-shot reordering on Alexa or something like that, but with Jetson you can actually order from scratch. So that multi-step conversation is really, you know, what the future is really looking like in terms of adding shoe intelligence and human-like intelligence to the ordering experience.

Zack Oates

So I’ve got a 20-location, fast casual restaurant. Can I use Jetson?

Pete Peng

Yeah, so when I first created Jetson I created e a core technology, right? And we just had a really quick demo, r And then we were able to raise like our first million dollars, you know, I’ve moved up to New York City do that, and we built out our own NLU technology (Natural Language Understanding). So really being able to allow merchants to onboard their restaurants onto Jetsons platform at scale, right. And just very easily. So if you’re, like a mom and pop restaurant, you know, or just ecommerce store, you don’t really have to figure out how to drag and drop and design your own, you know, voice experience, in terms of having to create your own voice store. What what essentially Justin is, is like the Shopify, you know, voice AII, so it really helps onboard merchants real easy and at low costs at $49 a month. And if you had a 20, location, you know, restaurant it would be $49 per location.

Zack Oates

Awesome. So it is something that really anyone can use, and that’s the beauty of it, is that you’ve built the technology that big and small companies can equally benefit from.

Pete Peng

Yeah, that democratization of that technology is really going to help really usher in, I think the age of automation. I really believe that, you know, more and more people are trying to take these menial jobs and that people don’t want to do right, like picking up the phone and, you know, take an order, right. So if the AI can do that, that actually frees up the staff to actually provide better customer service to the customers, if that makes sense.

Zack Oates

Does that make sense – Yeah, man, that’s like, customer service. That’s what it’s all about, you know, and I think that creating better experiences is awesome. And that is what really is going to make these next restaurants, these next generation of restaurants stand out, is how do you provide customer service and how you provide a great customer experience without adding an incredible amount of manpower? And I think that there’s wonderful tools, like Jetson, that can help us do that. Now I want you to share a little bit about how you fund it. Because typically, you know, with a technology like yours, you’re gonna have some investors. And you know, maybe you have one, maybe you have 2,3,4. You know, we’ve got like seven. Pete, you’ve got 354 investors in your company, which when you hear about that for the first time sounds crazy. So how does that work for you? Oh, how did you do that?

Pete Peng

Yeah, and when I first created this company, I was able to raise like, a million dollars from like, family office, right? And then, you know, a few $100,000 here and there from angel investors, and then again, you know, really, you know, I was looking at new ways of raising capital. And because voice AI was still in its early stages where it was still too early at the time, you know, I started this thing in 2017. Right. And it wasn’t until 2020 when COVID hit when everyone needed like contactless solutions, right? Where voice is completely contactless, right, is when it started to kind of take off, but like, in the early days, really just kind of funded my technology. My dream was – I had to be really, really scrappy, right? So I was able to, you know, take money from several different types of investors. But equity crowdfunding was one that kind of just fell into my lap. One of my friends, he worked at a company called micro ventures and they were in the equity crowdfunding space. He goes, Hey, do you want to just raise like a hundred thousand dollars? I was like, all right, it can’t really hurt. And then like, you know, a few weeks go by, and then all of a sudden, like, we just started seeing a ton of traction. He’s like, Hey, we got to raise this up to a million dollar limit. Right? And you know, we actually maxed out that limit. And we actually even oversubscribed, it, you know, in that round that initial round in 2019. And so what we did recently was, we actually, you know, you have to wait 12 months until you can do another equity crowdfunding campaign. So we just launched a new one today, or not today, but a few weeks ago as well. And we’re already we’re nearing $300,000, you know, in a matter of weeks.

Zack Oates

So that 354 investors, that’s just for this recent round. No way. So how many investors do you actually have then?

Pete Peng

Yeah, I have a lot of investors. I have, like, about, like, 3000 investors on our —

Zack Oates

No way. Yeah. Oh my gosh. 1000s of investors. That’s crazy.

Pete Peng

Yeah, equity crowdfunding is like, heavily regulated. So it’s like, a good stepping stone to like, potential like IPOs, and things like that. So really understanding email, the laws around the SEC, things like that. And taking in retail investors, it’s definitely a new way to fundraise, I think it’s definitely growing. The SP just raised the limit from, for regulation CF, from, you know, 1,000,070 to up to 5 million that you can raise in a 12 month period. So, we’re definitely seeing a lot of traction there. And especially with COVID, where you can’t really go out there and network, like you used to, we’re definitely seeing that this digital age is really helping with entrepreneurs that are looking to fundraise as well.

So, you know, trying to take advantage of, you know, some of the new and emerging things that the governance programs that the government’s put into place in order for us to, you know, fund some of these emerging technologies, which is really, you know, exciting on our part, and it’s like, it’s a fun way to fundraise as well. I go to a ton of VCs, and they everyone tells me no. It’s really, do you believe in the product, do you believe in, you know, the founder? Do you believe in the vision? Do you believe in where it’s headed? You know, I think that having that micro investment makes it a lot easier to really get everyone on board, as well. And it’s, it’s really, it’s a really fun, like, marketing, an opportunity as well. So and it really showed me a lot on how to even just market even my own product, because it’s not just based off of who do I know that has money that can give me money. It’s really you’re building this brand, this movement, things like that. And it’s really exciting. I really loved it. I really loved equity capital.

Zack Oates

Yeah, it looks like it’s been a crazy ride. I didn’t even know the whole story. Glad you shared that. So I know you can’t talk a lot about it, but talk to us about this reality TV show that you’re going to be on?

Pete Peng

Yeah I was just focused on you know, Jetson, I’m focused on fundraising, and then I’m on LinkedIn, and then I see a message come through, and it was one of the producers of the show called “The Social Movement.” You know, they, they already had a season one that was filmed in Canada. Their production company, they do very, very cool reality TV shows that are centered around business. And, for me, I’ve always had an altruistic kind of motive of creating Jetson, right, I really want, you know, AI to help change the world, right?

And Social Movement, what it does is it takes some of the world’s smartest people, and they put them in a room for like four days. And you what you have to do is you have to create a company that’s going to really solve some of these world problems, right. So economic inequality, like, you know, the education system, climate, climate change, things like that. And, you know, for me, the way I look at it is like, you know, with the technologies that I’m building, like AI, we could potentially start to take away jobs, right. So, how does that, you know, kind of play in that into, you know, really helping economic inequality, right, like if we can start to tax the AI, you know, create, like, provide like a universal basic income, things like that, while we assimilate people to new jobs in the digital age. You know, I think like there’s a lot of different things that kind of tie into what I’m already doing that You know, ties back into the show. So, you know, for me, it’s really, it’s really about being on the show to really, you know, have my ideas around my technology to be able to come to life on the show, but then also really help brand Jetson as well. So that, you know, as we move into the market, the more that we continue to build trust, you know, with whoever’s the next video as well, so, but yeah, it’s definitely gonna be a really great experience.

And, you know, I didn’t think that they wanted me to be on the show, you know, I think he, all he did was ask for feedback on, you know, he’s like, watch the trailer, like, I just wanted to get some feedback. And I thought he just wanted to get some ideas, because I was kind of in this, like, really cool space. Right, you know, and, and eventually, it’s like, you know, so I got a I get on the call. He, you know, we don’t, we don’t have like a television, we don’t have a video screen or anything like that. We just, were just talking over the phone. He just really, really asked me about Jetson. You know, really my purpose, you know, why did I create it? Things like that. And then eventually, he’s like, hey, do you have a you know, he really liked me my story. He’s like, do you know, do you have a video? So I was like, yeah, so I turned it on. And then like, he was, like, cool, to be on the show. And, you know, so I think I think he really liked my personality. And, you know, I think being able to really connect with, you know, people in their writing could be pretty good as well. So I, you know, I’m hoping that, you know, you know, me being there being on the show is really gonna help, you know, bring some attention around the product and what we’re doing.

Zack Oates

So awesome. So what advice would you have for restaurants, retailers who are listening?

Pete Peng

Yeah, so I would be open-minded around new and emerging ways that you can start to sell more, right? And look, look at new and emerging channels, and look at AI and automation, and see how you can continue to innovate, you know, I think if we look at, you know, restaurants, you know, you know, Domino’s has a similar technology, but proprietary to them, right, but what we’ve done is taking that technology, and kind of also democratize it as well, right? So being able to really innovate first can really set their brand apart. And they could become, you know, even if it’s a small burger brand, right. But they start to, you know, capture market share on these new and emerging channels first, then they might be the next big brand, right, like Amazon was one of the first to start selling books on the internet, right, and then became a massive company. So there’s a lot of, you know, ways to think about it. And you know, of course, such a low cost and low barrier to entry. Really, you know, looking at this type of technology, you know, they don’t have to build it themselves. They can use Jetsons technology, and start to become relevant in this in this space as they start to compete.

Zack Oates

Love that, Pete. Here are my key takeaways:

Number one: The next frontier of user interface is voice. That’s going to usher in an age of automation, I really do think that there is a lot there. I think that the as AI improves, as we’re able to be more conversational with AI. I feel like that’s where we go next. And there’s something you know, when we went from the pen, to the typewriter to the, you know, keyboard, that’s where things have kind of like stopped, right. And I think that voice is a huge potential there. I’m grateful for companies like yours who are pushing that forward.

Two: I love – always be learning. That’s one thing that I’ve, I’ve, you know, since since we met, and since I’ve researched you, that seems like something you’re just a very curious person. And I love that about you. I love how you’re always out there seeing what’s next what could be.

Number three, be opportunistic and open. As you look at what what Pete’s done with AI, with his funding with the reality TV show, even, it’s all about being open to these opportunities and taking advantage of them. You know, yes, yes, opportunity knocks, but like, you got to make sure that you’re at the door, and I love how Pete’s been there at the door.

And then lastly, check out Jetson.ai, it’s a really cool platform, see how you can use it as a consumer for your restaurant. And so Pete, how do people find you/follow you?

Pete Peng

Yeah, Instagram is my favorite channel. So if you want to follow me on Instagram, I just opened up my profile to be public. So it’s @Jetsonpete is my handle on Instagram so you can go ahead and follow me there. That’s also on Twitter. And yeah, so you can go ahead and follow me there and then if you are interested in kind of getting on the ground floor of being able to invest in AI you can always also go to start engine.com/Jetson as well.

Zack Oates

Awesome. Well, Pete for being an inspiration for us, for getting out there for showing us, voice is not the future, it is the now, today’s Ovation goes to you, my friend. Thank you for joining us on Give an Ovation.

(Outro) Glad you were with us today. And thank you! Thank you to the risk takers, the troublemakers, the crazies who are keeping this world clothed and fed. You’re the ones who deserve an Ovation. Again, this podcast was sponsored by Ovation! To see how we can help you grow your business, go to Ovationup.com. Don’t forget to subscribe, and as always, remember to give someone in your life an Ovation today!

Learn about the next big thing in user interface design and how Jetson is pushing voice AI forward from it’s CEO and Founder, Pete Peng.

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Pete Peng is the founder and CEO of Jetson, the “Shopify of Voice Commerce”. Jetson is a platform that enables businesses of any size to easily sell products and services through voice interfaces using AI technology. On this episode, Pete and Zack discuss how Jetson can help restaurants, how it was funded, and Pete’s upcoming appearance on a business-centered reality TV show.

Here were a few of our main takeaways from Pete’s episode:

1) The Next Frontier of User Interface is Voice

Just as we moved from the pen, to the typewriter, to the keyboard, Pete believes the next big interface is voice. The artificial intelligence in the voice space is only getting better, with some software reaching 95% accuracy.

2) Always Be Learning

Pete founded Jetson as a way to truly help consumers and push the boundaries of AI voice technology. He’s continuing to share his knowledge on the upcoming season of the Social Movement, a reality show that tasks business minds with solving current sociopolitical issues.

3) Be Opportunistic and Open

Jetson has crowdfunded over a million dollars, which wasn’t Pete’s original plan, but he had built a quality product and was ready when the funding opportunity came.

4) Check Out Jetson AI

Restaurants can sign up as vendors on the Jetson platform, where consumers can create multi-step orders through the sole use of their voice. Give it a shot!

For more from Pete, you can find him on Instagram as @jetsonpete.

Thanks for reading! Make sure to check out the whole episode, as well as other interviews with restaurant gurus by checking out “Give an Ovation: A Podcast For Restaurants” on ovationup.com/podcast or your favorite place to listen to podcasts.

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