Meet The Cohort
Shoden AI
Shoden aI
As part of our AI Venture Forge “Meet the Cohort” series, we’re excited to introduce Shoden AI, a company on a mission to transform sales through full-cycle automation. Shoden AI takes the manual grind out of prospecting by automating every stage of the outbound process, from identifying and researching leads to crafting personalised messages, managing follow-ups, and scheduling meetings.
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Company | Sales Intelligence
What made you want to automate outbound sales with Nezumi?
At Shoden AI, we recognised a critical gap in sales development. Traditional Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) are not only costly but often lack the productivity needed to scale effectively. We created Nezumi to address this challenge by automating outbound sales with an AI-driven solution.
Nezumi acts as a personal AI SDR that can handle lead generation, outreach, and follow-ups, all while being more affordable and much more efficient than a human counterpart. Our goal was to automate sales processes to reduce costs, increase productivity, and allow sales teams to focus on closing deals, rather than repetitive tasks.
How does your AI SDR differ from other sales automation tools?
What sets Shoden AI apart from other sales automation tools is its unique blend of AI and human collaboration. Our AI SDR is designed to work seamlessly with human input, not replace it entirely. This hybrid approach allows for the personal touch of a human while reaping the benefits of automation. While other tools might rely solely on AI or scripts, Shoden AI offers a “human-in-the-loop” model, where the AI learns and adapts based on real-time human feedback. This makes Nezumi smarter with each interaction, ensuring that the sales process stays relevant and highly effective. We focus on quality outreach, continuous improvement through feedback, and ensuring that every pitch feels personalised.
What measurable benefits have your early customers seen?
Early customers have seen impressive results with Shoden AI. For instance, they’ve experienced a 7% reply rate with a staggering 44% of those replies expressing interest. These figures reflect the high-quality outreach that Shoden AI enables. Customers also report significant reductions in their sales development costs, with our AI SDR being 5x cheaper and 2x more productive compared to human SDRs. This productivity boost allows businesses to scale their sales efforts without increasing headcount, optimising both time and resources.
What support do you expect from the Venture Forge programme to scale your traction?
We’re looking for support from the AI Venture Forge programme in several key areas to accelerate our growth and secure the necessary funding to scale.
First and foremost, we are seeking funding to fuel the next stage of our development. This includes securing angel investment or venture capital, and we’re eager to gain guidance on the best ways to raise these funds. In addition to capital, we’re keen to receive expertise in funding from understanding the funding process, valuation methods, and how to present our business effectively to investors, to identifying the right types of investors for Shoden AI. This is critical as we look to bring on investors who are aligned with our mission and vision.
Furthermore, collaborations and connections are crucial. We hope to tap into the Venture Forge’s extensive network to connect with potential investors, partners, and industry leaders who can help propel Shoden AI forward. Networking with key stakeholders and understanding their interests and expectations will play a vital role in our fundraising efforts and in scaling our product effectively.
What challenges have you faced in convincing teams to trust AI in sales prospecting?
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced is overcoming scepticism about AI in the sales process. Many teams are used to the traditional methods of prospecting and can be hesitant to rely on AI for a task as critical as sales outreach. Convincing these teams that AI, in the right context, can actually outperform humans in terms of speed, consistency, and scalability has required a lot of education and trust-building. However, once teams see the tangible results from Shoden AI, like the improvement in response rates and the time saved on administrative tasks, they are more inclined to embrace the technology. We also offer real-time feedback loops to ensure that the AI is always improving, giving teams confidence in the system’s continuous learning.
What’s your ultimate vision for Shoden AI in the next 18 months?
Over the next 18 months, our vision for Shoden AI is to become the leading AI-powered sales development tool that businesses rely on for automated outreach and prospecting. We aim to expand our customer base, grow our revenue, and further improve the capabilities of our AI to handle even more complex sales tasks. Our ultimate goal is to reach €1M ARR by Q4 2026 and to build a solid team in Dublin to support this growth. We want to make sure that sales teams, no matter their size, can leverage AI to accelerate their sales processes and drive results at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.
