Awesome Motive Invests In Groove!

Today I’m excited to announce that we’ve officially partnered with Syed Balkhi with Awesome Motive via the WPBeginner Growth Fund

About Awesome Motive

Awesome Motive is a technology management company behind popular web apps and growth tools like AIOSEO, OptinMonster, MonsterInsights, WPForms, and over a dozen others. Over 25 million websites use Awesome Motive tools to get more traffic, subscribers, and sales. Learn more about Awesome Motive at awesomemotive.com.

It feels crazy to put it down into words.

For a decade, I’ve dedicated myself to building out Groove as a single founder, aiming to create the premier customer support tool.

Today over 2,000 businesses world-wide use our helpdesk software to deliver world-class customer service with more confidence and less stress.

It’s been an amazing journey. Until now, we’ve been entirely self-funded, relying on no external investments or additional capital.

I’ve consistently championed the ideal of developing a business the “correct way”, prioritizing the development of exceptional products for our customers and maintaining profitability.

This approach helps us avoid the common challenges linked with venture capital funding—a path several of our competitors have taken—which can often lead to customer dissatisfaction due to increased prices and workforce reductions.

We’re not chasing absurd quarterly revenue goals forced by shareholders that don’t have their customers’ goals in mind. Our motivations have always been and will always be sustainable growth for the long haul.

So, what prompted this decision to partner now?

And specifically, with Syed and Awesome Motive via the WPBeginner Growth Fund?

Three months back, Syed approached me.

He’s among the most remarkable entrepreneurs I’ve encountered.

For those unfamiliar, Syed has successfully built a collection of businesses within the WordPress ecosystem, each profitable and fundamentally aimed at aiding small businesses to rival larger corporations by fostering their growth and scalability.

The podcast, My First Million by Shaan Puri and Sam Parr, has a perfect episode with Syed on his impressive entrepreneurial journey. You can quickly get a feel for both his business and personal core values.

About the partnership

Initially, Syed’s proposition was to acquire Groove outright.

However, my vision for Groove extends beyond something which would simply make me rich.

I see it as a legacy enterprise, one I want to pass down to my children.

It’s the culmination of my life’s work.

Yet, Syed’s track record is notable and his personal values are very much in line with mine.

I quickly recognized the potential benefits a partnership with him could offer to Groove and our customers.

One of my favorite quotes from when I met Syed for the first time was:

“Alex, life’s not about just getting rich and buying things. Most entrepreneurs want to get rich quick and have way too much FOMO. The key to life is peace of mind, man. If you can unlock peace of mind, you’ve cracked the code of life.”

Simple thought but 100% spot on.

Peace of mind for me is creating a sustainable, profitable business that’s not beholden to shareholders that don’t have their customers’ needs and wants at the forefront.

It’s about being in this game for the long haul.

It’s about building a customer service tool that I can be proud of for the rest of my life.

Ten years ago I set out to build Groove to help get rid of bad customer service from the world by providing the best tools, team, and training to help small businesses deliver exceptional customer service. That belief and core vision remains unchanged.

As a single founder, peace of mind is also about forming this partnership. With someone like Syed, I can continue to hone my craft as a leader and lean into him for advice as we execute on Groove’s vision of leveling up customer service across the globe for small businesses.

Why this investment perfectly aligns with our vision?

Let me break it down for you…

First, there’s the aligned vision. Syed and his 40+ portfolio companies are completely dedicated to empowering small businesses. This matches our core vision at Groove, where we’ve always focused on creating the best customer support tools for small businesses. This shared ethos ensures that our focus remains unwavering.

They prioritize investing in companies that are built sustainably – focusing on profitability and operating without reliance on venture capital. This philosophy mirrors our approach at Groove, where we emphasize fair pricing and making decisions that genuinely align with our customers’ needs.

In essence, our partnership with the WPBeginner Growth Fund is rooted in a mutual commitment to responsible, customer-focused business growth. It’s a win-win scenario.

Now, how does this benefit you, our valued Groove customers?

I understand there might be some skepticism, but let me assure you, the impact of this investment is entirely positive.

With Syed’s backing, we’re equipped with the capital, resources, and support to develop features and functionality faster – all designed to make your lives easier.

This financial boost, combined with our unwavering commitment to customer-centricity, means we’re doubling down on delivering more value for you.

More innovative features and functionality.

Expanded educational resources.

Enhanced support to help your business grow and thrive.

My commitment to Groove remains unchanged – to build the finest customer support tool for small businesses, the right way.

2023 was a year of exponential growth and innovation for Groove. We poured our hearts into crafting new value-add features and optimizations to make your customer support experience smoother, faster and more delightful than ever.

Between core features like Advanced Rules, searching & filter optimizations, a revamped UI/UX, and of course our entry into AI, we couldn’t be more excited about our roadmap for 2024.

To further highlight our excitement, we’re thrilled to unveil some new features launching in Groove this month:

Firstly, switching to Groove has never been simpler. We now offer a straightforward data import feature that allows a seamless migration from any other help desk provider, catering to customers eager to transition to Groove. You can read about the announcement here.

This month we’re also launching our advanced AI functionality within the Groove platform to automate customer support and deliver exceptional customer experiences. These features include:

AI drafts: AI auto-drafts uses insights from your past conversations and help articles to auto draft replies with 1-click.
Conversation summaries: Save time and increase your efficiency by condensing those long conversation threads into bite-sized bullet points in seconds.
AI writing tools: Maximize responses. Expand thoughts, trim excess words, translate into over a dozen languages, adjust tone for each conversation’s needs.
Auto sentiment: Want to prioritize those conversations from frustrated customers, or ask happy customers for a review? With AI sentiment analysis it’ll be easier than ever.
Auto-tagging: Intelligent tag suggestions and sentiment derived from previous customer inquiries.
AI Self-Serve: AI technology that learns your content to deliver accurate, relevant answers that reduce your team’s inbound conversation volume instantly.

We’re also hiring!

This quarter we’re expanding our marketing team with a growth generalist with a background in brand content & communications, a content copy writer and a designer. If you’re interested in learning more about these roles, please email me personally at alex at groovehq dot com.

Syed and I are very excited about 2024 and beyond

As always, I appreciate the continued support in Groove and we look forward to the amazing journey ahead of us in our continued mission to help small businesses deliver world-class customer service with more confidence and less stress.

Sincerely,

Alex Turnbull

Founder & CEO of Groove

About Awesome Motive

About the WPBeginner Growth Fund

WPBeginner Growth Fund, led by Syed Balkhi, exclusively invests in profitable businesses ($250k – $10M). Different from traditional funds, it rejects private equity and venture capital, allowing only founders of existing portfolio companies as investors for a swift and amicable process. The fund collaborates closely with teams, leveraging the Awesome Motive playbook for optimization, and offers access to extensive media resources and a decade-long business network.

WPBeginner: Welcome GrooveHQ To The WPBeginner Growth Fund!

About Groove

Groove, a top-rated help desk software serving over 2,000 businesses globally, streamlines workflows and empowers exceptional customer support with essential tools like shared inbox, live chat, smart workflows with automation, reporting, and integrations. Affordable and powerful, Groove is the ideal choice for businesses seeking superior help desk solutions.