In Startup50 2017: Pi Ventures-backed, IOT-based energy efficiency company, Zenatix, helps its enterprise clients enhance energy efficiency in their office buildings and retail outlets. Incorporated in 2013, the company has installed its IOT product Wattman in over 1200 outlets and services marquee clients like State Bank of India, Vodafone and Dominos.

Founder: Vishal Bansal

Powerful consumption

Zenatix’s product – WattMan – uses advanced Machine Learning algorithms and helps enterprise customers in reducing their electricity spend by up to 30 per cent. It typically caters to B2B companies whose electricity consumption is quite high like malls, retail chains, banks and so on.  Some of its clientele include SBI, Vodafone, FabIndia and Dominos.

The company has grown from around 200 locations of banks/retailers in April 2017 to serve almost 1200 locations in August 2017. It aims to increase this number to more than 5000 outlets by March 2018.

Both IoT and machine learning being new technologies, the biggest challenge the company faces is in making customers understand and adapt to it. 

Customer acquition

Customer acquisition for the company, works through direct sales and channel partnerships. Being a product operating in a relatively nascent space, education and awareness becomes key to its marketing.  The company uses a variety of marketing channels to create awareness about its product. Some of these channels are content marketing strategies implemented through blogs and videos, email marketing and direct sales to potential customers.

Differentiation factors 

The company delivers customized solution to its clients. As the company has developed the entire end-to-end IoT stack in-house, it has control over the value chain. And hence, it is able to provide a better value proposition to its clients when compared to the other players in the industry.  

This apart, it is the first IoT company to offer a subscription-based (opex) pricing model. It doesn’t charge an upfront payment, instead signs a multi-year fixed fee subscription contract. Due to its clear value proposition, Zenatix’s clients are able to see the benefits right from the first month of usage.  

The goal for Zenatix in the coming years is to continue to develop use cases for its products and innovative technologies to reduce cost of hardware and improve robustness. In fact, as it further grows its base, the company even envisions expanding from energy efficiency to smart retail.

Quick facts

• Caters to B2B companies whose electricity consumption is quite high like malls, retail chains, banks and so on
• The company delivers customized solution to its clients 

Number BOX:

30% : Reduction in electricity spend by using WattMan’s advanced machine learning algorithm

5000 : target number of locations of banks/retailers by March 2018

Rs. 10 crore raised from Blume Ventures, Pi Ventures, Angel Investors (Rajan Anandan, Kunal Bahl, Rohit Bansal, Rahul Khanna, and others)