As part of our Zenarate Insights blog series, we’re thrilled to introduce Melanie Jordan, Vice President at Volition Capital, a growth equity firm laser-focused on investing in high-growth, capital-efficient businesses.
Earlier this week, we announced a $15 million investment from Volition to accelerate our mission of transforming how people learn and perform through AI Simulation Training. Our approach utilizes the most advanced natural language AI to develop customer service and sales agents – not replace them. Melanie joined us to discuss her perspectives on our recent partnership.
According to Jordan, Volition Capital invests in less than 1% of the businesses they evaluate. One of the key factors that made Zenarate stand out was the unique expertise of our management team. Brian Tuite, co-founder and CEO of Zenarate, brings firsthand industry experience and a deep understanding of the pain points in support centers. Meanwhile, Rab Govil, our co-founder and CTO, possesses the technical skills and experience scaling companies. This dynamic combination is crucial for building strong product-market fit and addressing the significant challenges faced by contact center and sales leaders today.
“We talked to nearly half of Zenarate’s ARR through customer conversations across geographies and industries. It is rare to hear unanimous plans to expand usage of a product. Meanwhile, Zenarate’s business and customer ROI KPIs speak for themselves,” says Jordan.
Zenarate’s technology provides a more engaging way for agents to learn and train, which is reflected in positive customer reviews. Agents appreciate the platform because it assists rather than intimidates them. “We are thrilled to be partnered with the team.”When asked about the benefits of Zenarate’s AI Simulation Training, Jordan highlighted its usefulness for agents who are now working from home. Agents can train whenever they want, at their own pace, and in a low-stress environment. This is especially beneficial for hybrid work environments where training may not be as readily accessible as it would be in a traditional office setting.
“It’s no longer debatable if simulation training is the most powerful form of learning—just look at how pilots learn to fly a plane or how surgeons practice before operating on patients,” said Tuite. “With recent advancements in AI, customer service and sales leaders can now leverage the power of natural language simulation training to help their agents master the skills necessary to solve complex problems and deliver superior empathetic experiences and performance.”
We respect this human-centric vision for AI applications and believe it will help Zenarate capture a new generation of technology adopters across a wide range of industries.”
While contact centers have historically lagged in technology adoption, Jordan and her team see a seismic shift occurring across the industry, and organizations consistently identify training and retaining talent as critical pain points. “Zenarate addresses this issue by guiding training leaders through AI adoption in a way that does not threaten the agents’ jobs but enhances their day-to-day work,” Jordan said. “We respect this human-centric vision for AI applications and believe it will help Zenarate capture a new generation of technology adopters across a wide range of industries.”
Jordan believes that AI technology, specifically the transformer-based approach like Zenarate, is the leading innovation that tangibly improves productivity. “Though there is some trepidation around AI, we believe companies like Zenarate will improve people’s jobs. Our investment partnership in the company reflects our belief in AI’s potential to transform industries that rely on human connections to serve customers better, at a time when customer experience is more critical than ever.”
Jordan also shared how Volition Capital plans to help us accelerate our path to growth and success. The capital investment will allow us to accelerate our product roadmap with additional technical resources and provide more value to a larger set of customers by adding sales & marketing and customer support experts.
Volition Capital’s investment in Zenarate reflects its commitment to helping high-growth, capital efficient companies succeed. We at Zenarate are thrilled to partner with the firm as we execute our mission to transform how people learn and perform for the better.
We want to thank Melanie for sharing her insights and perspective on our company and the future of AI. We look forward to a long and amazing partnership with Volition Capital!
"As an innovative marketing specialist with 5+ years of driving brands to the next level, I am committed to bringing Immersive learning to the forefront of employee training programs across contact centers globally."
