SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders EP 629: Mexico's Gaszen Raises $700k, Uses Roof Meter to Tell Mexican Households When Gas Is Almost Empty with CEO Jennifer Reyna
Apr 14, 2017
17:54
In Episode #629, Nathan interviews Jennifer Reyna. She's got a lot of energy and more importantly, she studied business creation and development in Mexico. She's created 3 startups so far, Agri DeliCo which is a socio-company, Brain Fusion which is embedded in software development, and Gaszen or gas management. They've raised over $650K in Mexico and have developed their own working product. She's a mother, lover, sister, and daughter that enjoys her life and lives with zero regrets. She said, after all, there's only one life and she's in a constant pursuit of the best version of herself.
Famous Five:
- Favorite Book? – Lean Startup
- What CEO do you follow? – Elon Musk
- Favorite online tool? — Slack
- Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— 6
- If you could let your 20-year old self, know one thing, what would it be? – "That hard work can make everything happen for sure"
Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 01:34 – Nathan introduces Jennifer Reyna to the show
- 02:22 – Jenny realized that people complain about their gas
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- 02:38 – Jenny created a device that works with stationary tanks
- 02:48 – Gaszen has an application where the consumer can see his gas consumption, statistics, and choose the best gas supplier
- 02:59 – Gaszen monetizes through selling information to gas suppliers
- 03:08 – Gaszen also monetizes from a consumer who wants automation
- 03:34 – Gaszen isn't in the market yet and is still finishing its development
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- 03:41 – Gaszen will start selling in April
- 03:43 – Gaszen already approached gas suppliers and has pre-ordered from them
- 03:57 – There are already 2 gas suppliers who have bought from Gaszen
- 04:05 – Gaszen also has real estate clients
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- 04:31 – Gaszen has partnered with 3 real estate firms
- 04:35 – Gaszen is currently in discussion with 15 more real estate firms in Mexico
- 04:48 – The firm buys the device for $77
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- 04:59 –The device will go directly to the buyer of the house
- 05:21 – Gas suppliers get a discounted price for buying the device in bulk
- 05:48 – Mexico has problems with gas suppliers giving updates
- 06:08 – Each gas supplier bought 5k units of the device
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- 06:19 – The amount per piece will be $50
- 06:38 – Having clients before the actual launch of the product is good for Gaszen
- 06:49 – Gaszen's first Kickstarter
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- 07:07 – Gaszen raised 80K Mexican peso
- 07:19 – Gaszen had 111 backers
- 07:41 – Gaszen is B2B focused
- 07:48 – Gaszen has raised their first seed round with a total of $350K
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- 08:05 – It was an equity round
- 08:14 – Gaszen started 2 years ago
- 08:26 – Gaszen had Angel investors and won the biggest Hackathon in the world
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- 08:47 – Gaszen raised $300k with Angel investors
- 09:13 – From the gas suppliers, Gaszen charges after the 6-month trial, a monthly fee is charged per device or per device and user
- 09:32 – Gaszen charges 9 Mexican pesos per automated service
- 09:59 – Gaszen has no MRR currently
- 10:23 – The team has 5 people in management and 3 junior engineers
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- 10:43 – The team is based in León Guanajuato, México
- 11:03 – It costs Gaszen $36 to make the device
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- 11:30 – The whole device is made in Mexico
- 11:43 – The volume needed per year is 50K units in order to get a better price
- 12:13 – Gaszen wants to keep manufacturing in Mexico, if possible
- 13:45 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
- Look at the most common problem and create a solution.
- If you can keep sourcing and manufacturing locally and with a good price, the better.
- Keep at it—hard work definitely pays off.
Resources Mentioned:
- The Top Inbox – The site Nathan uses to schedule emails to be sent later, set reminders in inbox, track opens, and follow-up with email sequences
- Organifi – The juice was Nathan's life saver during his trip in Southeast Asia
- Klipfolio – Track your business performance across all departments for FREE
- Acuity Scheduling – Nathan uses Acuity to schedule his podcast interviews and appointments
- Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for the cheapest price possible
- Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5-hour drive) to listen to audio books
- Freshbooks – Nathan doesn't waste time so he uses Freshbooks to send out invoices and collect his money. Get your free month NOW
- Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives