Founder Friday: Adam Kitain & Drew Marconi, Co-Founders of Intelligems
Issue #24
Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our 24th edition we are featuring Adam Kitain and Drew Marconi, Co-Founders of Intelligems, a revenue optimization tool for eCommerce brands to increase sales and improve margins.
Adam and Drew met in 2017 while working at the ride-sharing company Via. Drew, with experience from McKinsey and an Economics degree from Yale, led the revenue and operations team in New York. Adam, with an Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and former analytics consultant at IBM, led the pricing algorithms team in Tel Aviv. So…yeah, they’re smart!
Together, they were tasked with “figuring out pricing” as Via had become popular for its famous (yet unsustainable) model: $5 rides anywhere in Manhattan. All the time. Over four years, they gradually built out the systems to compete with the smart pricing approaches of their largest competitors, eventually, building dynamic pricing algorithms tailored to individual cities.
The most powerful pricing tool they built, however, was a price A/B testing system that validated any hypothesis by running a test in the real world and delivering the most accurate (statistically significant) answer. These efforts paid off, leading to major increases in Via’s profitability, with customer lifetime values skyrocketing 4x.
By 2021, the pair decided to go out on their own and start Intelligems, to bring a similar offering to eCommerce merchants, providing them with the same revenue optimization tools that power companies like Amazon, Southwest, and Uber. After completing the Techstars Boulder Accelerator, customers and investors took notice. The company landed some of the smartest minds in the industry including, TJ Mahony from Vinyl Capital, who led their most recent financings. With these resources, Intelligems is aiming to support hundreds of additional merchants.
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Adam: Price A/B testing for E-commerce.
Drew: Profit optimization for DTC brands.
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Adam: Drew and I spent years together at another startup, Via, and knew we could bring lessons learned in dynamic pricing to another industry.
Drew: My cofounder and I had worked together for years, and we built so much together that we figured why not try it on our own!
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Adam: Do it! Don't wait until you have the "perfect idea" because there's no such thing. Just commit to something and believe in yourself and you'll figure it out.
Drew: Keep going. It's going to be a roller coaster, but if you can stay focused and make progress each week, that progress will compound.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Adam: Skiing, hiking, rock climbing, kind of anything in the mountains. Part of why I love living in Colorado.
Drew: Cooking and baking - got a pizza oven for Christmas that has been an obsession.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Adam: Right before Covid, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in Tuscany (basic, I know...) but thought the food and wine were just so incredible and really wasn't too expensive at all!
Drew: I snuck in a trip to India right before COVID for a friend's wedding - we toured through Kerala in the south, and it was one of the most beautiful places I've seen.
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Adam: Notion. It's just so intuitive to use, so powerful and flexible, and it the behavior is always as expected. If I try and do something, wondering if or how it will work, it always work exactly as I would expect it to.
Drew: I'm a sucker for Superhuman - I feel like I spend so much time in email and anything that makes me enjoy it more is a huge win. In my personal life, I love the activity tracker on my Apple watch - they did such a good job gamifying it.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Adam: Grit. There are going to be so many ups-and-downs, you just have to bite down and power through.
Drew: Persistence + ambition.
SuperAngel.Fund is an early stage fund that invests in Consumer, PropTech & Future of Work. You can learn more at SuperAngel.Fund.
