Tom Stockton founded Fuzzy Labs in 2019 with Co-Founder Matt Squire. With no prior business experience, the self-described ‘nerds’ set out to build an AI company that works alongside in-house data science teams to help them “Unleash their AI” by helping them to optimize the operational side of Machine Learning.
Fuzzy Labs develops custom MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) solutions using open-source tools that offer more flexibility, adaptability, and long-term value compared to proprietary platforms. They often work closely with data scientists who can create models to solve business problems, but often don’t have the engineering skills they need to deploy these models into production.
Tom said: “We had this idea before generative AI took off, so we got in a bit early but we didn’t really know what we were doing in terms of running a business day to day.”
Despite their initial naivety around general business operations, the company has grown substantially without the help of external funding and now boasts a team of 14 experts. Tom explains: “Everyone in our organization is very talented with strong academic backgrounds and PhDs as well as a host of specialist engineering experience.”
The team works closely with tech-savvy clients in both the public and private sectors. These strong relationships ensure their customers make the most of their tools, effectively acting as an extension of the client’s in-house team. Their focus is on delivering fast, cost-effective, and tailored MLOps solutions that are future-proof and client-owned.
Identifying sales struggles
Initially, the company used spreadsheets to manage and track customer interactions and sales, but as the business grew, this method quickly proved inadequate. Without a structured sales process, the team struggled to effectively track opportunities and manage customer relationships. It became clear that they needed a more organized and structured system to streamline their sales efforts and build and maintain strong customer connections.
Tom explains that the team relied on recommendations from peers when selecting a CRM as he trusted their personal experiences.
“When we first started we worked in a startup incubator with other small businesses and one of the other founders recommended Capsule.”
They quickly realized that Capsule had all the features they needed to define and implement their sales process and decided against more expensive and complicated systems.
Building a structured sales process
Tom admits that their limited business experience was an issue in the early stages of Fuzzy Labs. To help solve this, they took on external sales training to help improve their sales skills. "Capsule took the training we had and turned it into something tangible, a point of reference we could look at every day. It facilitated our journey towards understanding how to sell and what a sales process should look like."
Before Capsule we broadly had, ‘Here’s a customer, here’s the contact, here’s what we last said to them.’ But we didn’t have a structured pathway.”
The ability to track opportunities through a structured pipeline and gather metrics became valuable for the company’s board meetings and long-term planning. Tom explains: “With Capsule we’re able to understand key metrics like time to close and average order value and use this to make data-driven decisions.”
Quick and simple implementation
Rolling Capsule out across the team was a smooth and simple process. While acknowledging the support available from the team Tom explains that the platform's intuitive interface made it easy to navigate right from the start.
He adds: “We hired an experienced Commercial Sales Director last year who had previously worked with big enterprises. He was used to using more complex systems like Salesforce but found Capsule simpler. After a while, he realized he didn’t need anything more than what the solutions offered.”
Tom acknowledges that there are features within Capsule that they don’t utilize, including the project management tools, but with the help of the extensive support documentation they hope to explore and utilize these opportunities in the future.
Utilising integrations for exponential growth
Capsule’s Gmail integration has made it simple for Tom and his team to track their client communications across all channels helping to create an omnichannel experience.
This feature has eliminated the need to manually update client records and ensures that all details are up to date and stored within a centralized system.
Tom explains: "The Gmail plugin automatically associates emails with the right entity, which has been really helpful. This way we know that all interactions are accurately logged, helping the team maintain a clear history of conversations saving us valuable time.”
Capsule’s task and reminder features also help the team manage long-term leads by ensuring that follow-ups are never missed, helping Fuzzy Labs stay on top of opportunities. He explains: “Since adopting Capsule, our revenue has tripled, reflecting both our growth journey and the role Capsule's tools have played in supporting that progress.”
Key takeaways
Structured Sales Process: Fuzzy Lab's transition from spreadsheets to a customizable CRM has allowed them to effectively track opportunities and manage customer relationships, leading to increased efficiency and growth.
Tangible training support: External sales training, coupled with Capsule's user-friendly interface, allowed them to access actionable insights, improving their understanding of the sales process.
Easy implementation and adoption: Rolling out Capsule was smooth and intuitive, requiring no support from the help team. Even experienced sales professionals found Capsule simpler and more effective than overly complex solutions.
Enhanced communication and follow-up management: Capsule’s Gmail integration and task management features streamlined client communication helping the team maintain strong relationships that contributed to increased revenue.
Conclusion
A streamlined sales process is one of the most effective ways that businesses can grow their business and revenue. With the right tools, businesses can elevate their internal sales processes, build and maintain customer relationships, and avoid missed opportunities.
Capsule makes it easy to manage your sales pipeline and ensures that your whole team is on the same page. Its intuitive interface makes it easy for every member of your team to track opportunities so nothing slips through the cracks.
Sign up today for a 14-day free trial and discover how Capsule can transform your business operations and help you achieve your growth goals.
