When it comes to building digital products, user story mapping is a critical component of the development process that can either push a project forward or set it back for months. Avion is the user story mapping tool that helps agile software teams build digital products smarter and faster. Avion’s interface enables software teams to collaboratively visualise the entire product map and user journeys on a user story map in order to effectively plan future releases, uncover gaps, and prioritise the most important tasks. Avion also allows teams to define and attach specific personas to user journeys and stories. Avion is used by software teams at companies such as Consensys, Panasonic, EY, and PWC.
London TechWatch caught up with Cofounder James Sear to learn more about Avion, how it’s making the software development process more agile, and the company’s first funding round.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
£300K Seed led by Haatch Ventures.
Tell us about the product or service Avion offers.
Avion is a user story mapping tool that helps teams plan and build software better. Our tools help you plan and prioritise user-focused releases that will drive your backlog and make sure your team is delivering in a lean fashion.
What inspired the start of Avion?
Previously, my cofounder and I used story mapping as a practical way to scope out software projects with clients. However, when we worked with clients in different locations across the world, we realised there was a need for a digital tool that made story mapping simple and collaborative.
How is Avion different?
Many people use whiteboarding tools for story mapping exercises, but this lacks structure and the necessary constraint to keep the map useful and tidy. Avion is a bespoke, opinionated experience for story mapping that makes the exercise fast and repeatable.
What market are you targeting and how big is it?
Task Management Software — $2B, set to grow to $5B by 2026. Also, the up-and-coming Product Management market — of which job roles have grown by 32% in two years.
What’s your business model?
SaaS.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
Due to the increase in need for remote tooling, we have seen an uptick in new users/teams. We are hoping to build on this in 2021 as the working world becomes even more accepting of the benefits of remote work.
What was the funding process like?
Extremely smooth. We found a great partner very early on in the process, and our early traction and revenue certainly helped the pitch.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Time constraints/commitment required. Trading-off development time.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Glowing customer reviews, enterprise customers, revenue, traction, product, technical team.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Although Avion is already a perfectly suited product for enterprise businesses, we want to offer more features and infrastructure choices to make the often-complex process of persuading IT easier. This will fuel our growth in the enterprise space.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Keep grinding and find a way to acquire customers and gain revenue, if applicable. With these factors, raising capital can be a lot easier, especially in the UK.
Keep grinding and find a way to acquire customers and gain revenue, if applicable. With these factors, raising capital can be a lot easier, especially in the UK.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
This is simple — we want to become the number one user story mapping tool. Once we achieve this, we will expand the offering, providing more choice for Product Managers and agile teams.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in London?
It sounds simple, but a brisk walk around Regent’s Park, followed by a Purezza and a Brew Dog.
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