Sector: Technology
Principals: Aomi Jokoji, Bryce Edwards
Year Launched: 2023
Unique Selling Proposition: Ensuring that small businesses don’t miss customer calls and the resulting business.
Strategy: Use of an AI receptionist who immediately texts back missed callers.
Website: conju.ai
If you operate a small business and miss a call from a prospective customer, how do you handle it — if you even know about it, that is? There’s a solution.
In early summer 2024, UVic graduates Bryce Edwards and Aomi Jokoji were working on their idea about an AI-assisted work flow tool for small business, but they soon jettisoned the concept after an unexpected headwind. While doiSmall Smng research, they found business owners wouldn’t pick up the phone, recalls Conju cofounder Jokoji.
The pair were focused on home-servicing companies and, as they made phone calls, they found that about 70 per cent did not answer. “The average home-service business misses 40 per cent of their calls. That’s lots of missed revenue,” says Conju cofounder Edwards. And it’s not just local. “The problem is global,” adds Jokoji, with U.S., U.K. and Australian small businesses also experiencing high levels of hit-and-miss communications. Over 80 per cent of possible customers who don’t get an initial answer will move on to another business, Edwards says.
The pair quickly saw the potential, and then the solution. Jokoji, a software engineer and Edwards, an economist, made a “called”-for pivot and started to conjure Conju. Last autumn, the AI-enabled office assistant was unleashed.
When a yard-care business owner is in a tree or plumber is under a sink, they can’t pick up the phone — but Conju will, within a minute, text back all missed calls, 24/7. Conju immediately responds to customer questions and has the ability to provide estimates and collate all of the customer/job details via its relevant questions.
“You can go from missed calls, to estimates, to booking,” Edwards says. Given that Conju is easily activated, requiring a 15-minute conversation with the customer and a day to set up, the service can be used across Canada and beyond. Would-be customers can try a free two-week trial.
The AI-receptionist is serving a variety of small businesses throughout Canada and the U.S. As well, the Conju duo continue to fine-tune the program as they respond to clients’ needs, Edwards notes. “We want to hit 200 customers in 12 months,” he says.
