AI e-commerce startup Constructor lands $25 million Series B led by Sapphire Ventures without actively fundraising. See the deck it used.
- Constructor raised a $25 million Series B despite not actively fundraising.
- CEO Eli Finkelshteyn presented a sales deck that convinced Sapphire Ventures to invest.
- Constructor uses AI to power personalized product discovery for enterprise e-commerce companies.
Eli Finkelshteyn wasn't looking to raise new funding for his startup, Constructor, which develops AI-powered search and product discovery technology for enterprise e-commerce companies like Bonobos and Sephora.
But he always keeps up regular conversations with investors, and during one recent meet-up, Sapphire Ventures partner Rajeev Dham asked Finkelshteyn if he would be open to talking to the firm about his business.
Finkelshteyn, who is Constructor's CEO and cofounder, said he told Dham he didn't have a formal pitch deck prepared. However, he did have a deck that the company's salesforce used to pitch potential customers.
"He asked if I'd be open to doing it with our sales deck and some slides from our last board meeting. I figured, why not? I was never much good at pitching investors and hadn't done it in years, so figured I'd probably get some good practice and some good feedback," Finkelshteyn told Business Insider.
"Instead, I woke up the next morning with an offer to invest and a term sheet in my inbox."
Sapphire led Constructor's $25 million Series B, which also included participation from existing investor Silversmith Capital Partners. The Series B values the company at $550 million.
E-commerce companies use Constructor's tech to serve customers search results based on their browsing history. They can also make personalized product recommendations, landing pages, and quizzes and integrate Constructor's AI shopping assistant.
"We believe putting AI at the core of our system from the beginning has played a large role in the successes we've been able to bring our customers — but also believe there's always room to serve them better, and that's the main thing we want to use this investment for," Finkelshteyn said in a press release about the fundraising. He added that the company plans to use the funds to expand functionality and grow into new regions.
Check out the sales deck he presented to Sapphire Ventures: