We recently had the privilege of interviewing Halyna Kamyshanska, Co-founder and CEO of Rainex. In this insightful session, Halyna speaks about Rainex and the story behind its advent two years back. Halyna has been in this field for over a decade, creating, managing, and automating a SaaS billing system for small and medium-sized businesses.
Rainex is a billing and subscription management platform for startups and businesses globally. Emerging as a single-stop solution for businesses, Rainex is one of the leading and promising names in this field.
Genesis Of Rainex
We started the interview by asking, “Can you take us through the inception and evolution of your business?”
Halyna shared, “Rainex story began in 2022 – before launching my product, I worked for 15 years in the IT field and was very familiar with all the problems faced by owners of subscription-based products. Therefore, when the time came to start my own business, I had no doubts about what kind of product it would be. I knew who I needed on my team and, most importantly, what clients needed in this product.
Our MVP contained a very minimal set of features, but this allowed us to launch in just three months. Additionally, during the MVP creation process, we parallelized the efforts of our development and sales teams: we built a waitlist, so by the time we launched the first version of Rainex, we already had 23 early users who provided invaluable feedback and helped us understand what was missing in the MVP and how to set the right priorities.
We refined and expanded our features, always focusing on making the platform cost-effective and highly customizable to meet the unique needs of startups and growing businesses. Rainex started as a simple solution and it has grown into a comprehensive platform that helps businesses manage their subscriptions and receive payments smoothly, no matter where they are in the world.”
Embracing Technological Advancements
We were interested to learn how Halyna Kamyshanska integrates technological advancements in Rainex. So, we asked, “How do you integrate emerging technologies into your business strategy?”
She replied, “Our primary focus in technology is on AI, and we will share more details about AI-based features later. We also continue to emphasize classic automation. For example, our invoicing system automatically determines tax rates and amounts. Currently, we are working on implementing threshold calculations for different countries. This will help our clients remain tax compliant regardless of where their customers are located.”
Redefining Businesses – Impact Of AI
AI has revolutionized the way businesses perform. To learn more about it, we asked Halyna Kamyshanska, “What potential do you see for Artificial Intelligence in shaping the future of your industry?”
Halyna replied, “To my mind, the potential for AI in shaping the future of the SaaS industry, particularly in billing and subscription management, is immense.
AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants can handle routine customer inquiries, providing Automated Customer Support. For example, we offer our clients two onboarding options. The first is the classic version, where the customer manually configures the system by selecting and toggling options. The second is AI onboarding, which streamlines customer setup by having AI configure the system based on user responses, saving time and reducing errors significantly. In the future, we plan to transfer all tasks submitted by users to the AI assistant.”
She added, “AI can also identify unusual patterns and anomalies in the payment process, helping in fraud detection and prevention in real time. We have customer verification in place, and on our roadmap, we plan to enhance it by adding automatic VAT number verification.
Moreover, Rainex uses AI to segment audiences more effectively and automate targeted marketing campaigns, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of customer acquisition efforts. By the way, one of Rainex’s standout features, GetLeads, uses AI to generate prospects. This tool saves sales managers up to 40 hours per month by automating the cold outreach process. Lastly, by analyzing usage patterns and engagement metrics, AI can predict which customers are at risk of churning and deleting their subscriptions and trigger proactive retention efforts. It’s something we also plan to implement soon.”
Strategic Decision-Making
We further asked, “How do you approach strategic decision-making to ensure the sustainability and growth of your business?”
“To ensure our business’s sustainability and growth, we focus on constant market analysis, trend monitoring, and customer feedback. We use data analytics to make informed decisions and stay ahead of changes in the subscription industry.
Regular engagement with customers helps us refine our offerings and build loyalty. Our data-driven strategy ensures that every decision aligns with our long-term goals. Finally, we maintain flexibility to adapt to new opportunities and challenges swiftly.” Halyna replied.
Triumphs Of Halyna Kamyshanska’s Career
Eager to learn more about Halyna’s achievements in her professional path, we inquired, “What has been your most significant achievement in your entrepreneurial journey?”
She replied, “That’s a great question – I hope that my most significant achievement is still ahead. For me as a founder, implementing new product features and gaining new customers are significant achievements. But let’s look at the bigger picture.
In less than two years, we’ve successfully launched Rainex in the USA, Canada, the European Union, Africa, and India. We’ve integrated our platform with some of the most popular payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal, and Paystack. Next month, we will complete our integration with Razorpay, the leading gateway in the Indian market.
We’ve sold nearly 1000 plans on AppSumo and were recognized as the ‘2nd Product of the Day’ on ProductHunt. These milestones are certainly gratifying.
However, for me as a founder, the most meaningful achievement has always been and will always be the positive feedback from our customers and their willingness to recommend us to their partners. This approval and trust from our clients are the true testaments to the value we bring and the impact we’re making.”
Fostering Creativity And Collaboration
We asked, “How do you cultivate a culture of innovation and collaboration within your team?”
“We launched an AI challenge within our team, where each member describes an interesting case and demonstrates how they solved it with AI. The most impressive one is rewarded with a prize. Implementing this challenge fosters a culture of innovation and continuous learning. Integrating AI into our culture ensures we stay competitive by leveraging the latest technological advancements.” She responded.
Adaptability Amidst Uncertainties
In a rapidly changing business landscape, constant improvement and monitoring of industry trends are crucial to stay ahead of the curve. So, we asked, “How do you adapt your business to the rapidly changing market demands and consumer preferences?”
Halyna said, “Adapting a business and building a data-driven strategy are synonymous to me. In today’s market, it is impossible to grow without constantly monitoring news and data. Direct communication with customers helps to identify their needs and preferences, both in the present and for future scaling.”
Pivoting Business Strategy
To learn about the events when Halyna had to change her business strategies due to new obstacles, we asked, “Can you share an instance where you had to pivot your business strategy to address new challenges?”
Halyna replied, “Initially, we developed our platform to help customers manage billing, issue invoices, set up subscriptions, and automate these processes. Our focus was on features that made receiving payments more flexible and seamless. We implemented a robust feature to reduce payment failures, integrated Rainex with popular payment gateways, and developed a highly customizable notification system to meet our client’s needs.
After some time, we realized that while these features were strong, they didn’t set us apart from our competitors. Our first major enhancement was expanding the customer journey. We introduced a frontend Customer Portal, allowing our clients’ customers to choose, upgrade, or downgrade their subscriptions and make payments easily. This feature significantly increased the attractiveness of our platform, making it stand out in the market.”
“Another significant pivot for us was implementing our GetLeads feature, designed to help our clients acquire more customers. This AI tool generates potential customer leads and automates outreach through messages and communications. You can create prospects based on existing customer profiles or target specific industries. Although we’ve only launched the first release, we’ve already received positive feedback from our clients.
To summarize, as a startup, you should always be looking for ways to help your customers grow their businesses. Don’t be afraid to deviate from your original direction if it leads to enhancing your product. All pivots are worthwhile if they add value to your offering.” She added.
Plans We Asked Halyna Kamyshanska
We were also curious to learn about the plans Halyna has set for her business. So, we asked, “What are your upcoming plans or projects that you are particularly excited about?”
She shared, “We’re particularly excited about our upcoming plans and projects, which focus on addressing some of the biggest challenges faced by startups: finding new customers and ensuring they stay engaged and paying over the long term. To tackle these challenges, we’ve prioritized several innovative features on our roadmap for this year.
- AI generation of high-quality leads and automation of outreach.
- Analytic tools to integrate to increase sales and boost the average transaction value. They will provide deeper insights into customer behavior, allowing our clients to tailor their offerings and promotions more effectively.
- Feature for customer retention. We understand that keeping existing customers engaged is crucial for sustainable growth. To support this, we’re developing a suite of retention tools, including personalized customer experiences, automated follow-ups, and enhanced customer support features.
Overall, these new features are designed to empower our clients with the tools they need to grow their customer base, increase their revenue, and retain their customers more effectively. We’re confident that these developments will not only set our platform apart but also drive significant value for our client.”
Words Of Wisdom For Beginners
Lastly, seeking guidance for beginners, we asked, “What guidance would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in your industry?”
Halyna concluded, “First of all, keep the focus on solving real problems, prioritize user experience – great UX will differentiate you from rivals and foster customer loyalty. Be prepared to adapt quickly to feedback and market changes. And one more thing -invest in your customer success, because your success is tied directly to your customers’ success. Provide exceptional support and build strong relationships to ensure long-term retention and advocacy.”
Follow Halyna Kamyshanska on LinkedIn.
Find Rainex on LinkedIn and visit their website https://rainex.io/
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