Antler-backed SaaS startup not8 has product-led growth strategies in its sights

Software marketing is hugely dependent on audience metrics and not every startup wants to shell out, ideally SaaS platforms would rather let product speak for itself.  That viral traction is a route worth treading is proven by easily dispersible enterprise SaaS like Slack and Calendly, but while the holy grail of product-led growth is much sought after, nailing it is trickier.

not8, a young Dutch B2B startup, promises to reduce friction by integrating product review feedback seamlessly.

An SaaS that integrates with existing B2B websites, the not8 platform principally is about standardising product reviews to link up with continuous development faster. not8 likens the interface to product build "sticky notes", and says it's able to handle customer feedback up to 10x faster while streamlining developers' access to reviews and minimising data loss risks.

"Product managers, web designers, frontend developers and QAs waste tens of hours per week on making unnecessary calls, marking up screenshots and sending long written out explanations on needed fixes," not8 says.

Founded last year by serial entrepreneur and ex-McKinsey alum Yaroslav Medvedev, Amsterdam-based not8 is being funded by Antler to germinate its growth plans and deliver on product features to help close the deal.

Antler's Vladislav Dekhanov, one of the serving EiRs on the incubator programme, played a big role getting the business started.

And Antler clearly still foresees VC appetite, though not8's formal pre-seed account won't come until summer. Until then, its capital injection offers a path for not8 to complete software integrations, ensuring product teams can start turning feedback into development projects straight away.

Jira, the leading agile project management and software bug tracking platform, is one of the likely beneficiaries as are two emerging toolsets: ClickUp and Loom. “We plan to further enhance the functionality of our software by adding integrations with other tools, developing a back office, and adding other product features that will make it even easier for product teams to streamline their review process and save time,” said Vladislav Dekhanov, not8's chief technology officer.

Antler’s Youri Doeleman argued not8's simplified user experience would hold the key to the startup's success. The incubator is also adopting not8's software for its own internal uses. “We are thrilled to have not8 in our portfolio and be one of the happy users of the product,” Doeleman said. “The not8 team brings together a great combination of operational and technical skills and experience, and with their focus on simplicity in the user experience we believe they have the potential to make a significant impact in how we do product feedback.”