Why we started Ctrl

We are excited to share with you why we started Ctrl, the problem we are solving and the huge vision we have to help knowledge workers simplify how they work.

‍

‍The journey began with finding a problem -
We started by talking to as many founders as we could find, along with dozens of conversations with knowledge workers, followed by over a hundred discussions with people from Revenue teams.

‍

‍We asked: what caused them the most pain?
Again and again, we heard the same thing: they had a system of records containing everything they needed but the data, actions and information were not easily available when and where they were needed.

‍
Here are some of the specific responses we received:

• “I wish I had the customer data I need at my fingertips.”
• “I’m about to speak with a customer about an up-sell, only to find I just opened three new bugs.”
• “I always forget to update my CRM.”
• “It’s difficult for me to understand all the interactions with a customer when they’re spread across five different communication tools.”

‍

‍
Learning the landscape & finding the gap -
With all of the information we had gathered, we started looking into solutions that could solve some of these problems. We quickly realized a few things.
‍

1. In a siloed experience, users usually get what they need, but problems arise when there is cross-app interaction (e.g. “What was the last conversation with customer X?” This could be in Slack, Gmail, etc.)
2. Platforms are not designed for the end user (e.g. for an actual salesperson, the Salesforce user experience isn’t great).
3. Revenue teams don’t want to be forced into adding another system of record.
4. The problem isn’t a lack of data itself, but the accessibility and the engagement with that data.
5. Sales and customer success platforms are overwhelming users with information and an unfriendly, high-maintenance user experience.

‍

From here, we determined our core product values -

1. Build a product that is driven by the end user; it must have an outstanding user experience.
2. It has to be both super easy to use and customizable so that anyone can start working with the product in a couple of minutes while adjusting it to their specific needs.
3. It needs to help the user to work cross-context, seeing only what they need from each app when they need it.
4. It should be a system of engagement rather than another place to store data.
5. Finally, it must be bi-directional so that actions happen instantly and the user can complete an entire workflow from a single view.

‍
Where are we now -
We started to work on Ctrl less than a year ago and have already had plenty of engagements with early adopters. We are almost ready to release our alpha version, and we’re super excited to share it with other teams.
‍
We’ve been lucky enough to attract top talent that has helped us build and execute our vision while at the same time creating a vibrant culture. We've leveraged our geographic location to hire amazing people across the UK and Israel, giving the team an international feel from day one.
‍
Finally.
We’re thrilled for the journey ahead of us and hope our product is going to help many people have a more efficient, enjoyable and productive day.
‍
We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments, so please feel free to reach out to us directly.
‍
Omri & Aviv

‍