Imagine programming without knowing how to program or “coding.” That’s what Jestor, a Brazilian startup founded in 2020, makes possible thanks to a tool that allows companies of any sector and size to create internal, customizable apps on their own without the need to build a programming code. The startup’s thesis draw the attention of Y Combinator, an American accelerator famous for unveiling giants such as Rappi and Airbnb, and was selected for its program. In addition to a $125,000 investment, Jestor will participate in YC’s Demo Day and present its solution to investors and companies from around the world.
Jestor’s ace in the role is the customizable and intuitive platform that provides more autonomy to the companies. With a lean team of 10 people, Jestor currently serves a client base of 11,000, including startups like Loft and Sami, and Endeavor. In a talk with LABS, Jestor’s CEO Bruno Bannach, one of the co-founders along with Guilherme Pinheiro, explains that Jestor was born to help companies scale their operations, allowing databases and automation to be integrated with apps and internal tools in a few clicks.
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“Every operation of each company is unique. There is no off-the-shelf software that meets all demands in a standardized way. Jestor has this flexibility for the company to create the tool exactly for its flow and process,” explains Bannach.
It’s no use creating a tool for today, you have to create a tool that evolves along with the company’s operation. You have the classic ERP, which takes two years to implement and by the time the implementation is complete, it’s already outdated.
Bruno Bannach, CEO and co-founder at jestor
By creating a login and accessing Jestor’s interface, the user will find a series of features that can be combined in order to create a solution for a particular operation – it is possible to create automation, dashboards, BIAS, among others.
Jestor’s focus is the companies’ operations teams. This is because they realized that these teams need support to develop better internal applications, a demand that usually the technology teams cannot meet because they are involved with external applications.
We help this operations team to get the superpower of the developer, which is the biggest benefit of no-code. Because this team can create automation, use relational database logic without even needing to know what it is. What they need to know is what problem they need to solve.
BRUNO BANNACH, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER AT JESTOR
An example of an application customized by the company itself on Jestor’s platform is the one created by a homecare startup that had a lot of difficulties with the management of medicine stocks that were at the base, in each ambulance, and at each patient’s home. Via Jestor, the health tech was able to create an integrated multi-stock application.
Bannach emphasizes Jestor’s versatility as one of its greatest competitive advantages: the platform runs on computers and smartphones and on any browser. In addition, it can be used to automate financial, logistics, Human Resources operations, among others.
As it has an open and moldable API, it can also be integrated with other platforms and distinct databases. “Basically, if the other tool allows integration, we integrate it. Our clients don’t even need to talk to us to access our API and do the integration,” says Bannach.
Today, Jestor’s solution can be accessed free of charge or through a subscription plan. The startup does not charge by the number of users or functionality, but by usage – a metric in which the user will pay more the more actions performed on the platform. There are three plans – Startup, Growth and Pro. An example of a usage metric is the creation of a new variable or a new component in the dashboard. There are customers who run over 400,000 actions per month and there are customers who run 400 actions per month.
A technology company that solves problems with technology
Jestor will not disclose absolute numbers but states that it expects to grow tenfold next year. Besides the investment from Y Combinator, Jestor also received a round of BRL 1.8 million, led by the venture capital firm Canary and followed by angel investors Renato Freitas, 99‘s co-founder, and Paulo Silveira, from Alura.
According to Bannach, the company is now preparing to expand internationally, starting with the United States, and to expand its capacity to serve startups and larger companies. “But without losing the kernel of a technology company that solves problems with technology, keeping a lean team, very technical and focused on the product.”
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Regarding the access to investors and funds that Y Combinator’s program will provide, Bannach explains that the company does not look for investments just for the money.
“What we try to evaluate is who are the partners we want. We are creating a company to change the technology standard for companies. This partner is very important for our future. We will talk to potential partners and evaluate what makes sense for us. Capital itself is not something that restricts us, but having good partners is crucial.”
