“We set out to build a company that would focus on removing the obstacles standing in the way of financial and lifestyle success for millions of entrepreneurs following their passions. We started with a humble beta app which evolved into a fully featured business platform that’s powerful yet very simple to set up and use.
Over 2,000 users have helped us test and refine the platform over the past year, generating over 10,000 interactions which have been the guideposts for design, engineering, and customer engagement. In late 2017 we hit product critical mass as users started to convert from free accounts to paying accounts at double the rates from previous months. This fueled even more interactions and spawned a growing base of recurring revenue. Now it’s time to put some customer acquisition fuel in the tank and fire this baby up!
The first phase of the business platform is already complete with capabilities to combine several tasks that are often handled with several different apps or manually. Web site, online schedules, payments, reminders, clients data, referral and review automation are just a few of the powerful assets that work “out-of-the-box.” In phase two we’ve already introduced data security standards which comply with HIPAA for our wellness oriented users in addition to developing capabilities for membership based businesses which will further expand the types of occupations we serve in 2018.
Our vision is to be the best all-in-one business platform in the world for entrepreneurs in appointment-based businesses.
In 2018 we’ll expand our commercial focus so that the message will reach more potential users around the globe in three ways. Channel partnerships, strategic product partnerships, and co-marketing relationships with adjacent, complementary services. So far, we’ve launched two white label programs and are close to announcing a product integration partnership with a well known business utility solution which will expand our reach to millions of new potential users.
Artichoke has carved a different path than other technology companies because we subscribe to the belief that great products and great companies are built by listening obsessively to users. We hope you’re inspired to be part of what is just the beginning of a global transformation in the workforce in the same way that crowdfunding is democratizing the ability to invest in companies like Artichoke.“
Justin Shelby
CEO & Founder
Investment
When you invest you are betting the company’s future value will exceed $4.1M.
For the first 30 days:
$2.66/Class B Unit
After 30 days:
$3.33/Class B Unit
Perks*
Bonus for All investors - Receive 50% off any full price Artichoke subscription - forever.
Invest in the first 30 days - Receive 20% Discount on Unit Price - Pay $2.66 per unit instead of $3.33 per unit.
Invest early and get more bang for your investment buck with the discounts shown above.
*All perks occur after the offering is completed.
For details on the bonus, please see the Offering Summary below.
34% of the U.S. workforce is freelancing or self employed. A total of 53 Million people are contributing $715 Billion to the economy and all the signs indicate that they are part of a substantial shift in the market. We estimate that there are at least 9 Million appointment-based business included in these counts with the global figures driving the market opportunity even higher.
The workforce is changing dramatically. Mobile technology enables remote productivity and attitudes are changing as workers seek to follow their passions. Artichoke was designed to make sure inspiration can be converted into execution by providing a nearly instant set of carefully procured capabilities which make it easy to spin up your appointment-based business and start earning.
Artichoke handles scheduling, payments, client data, and critical marketing assets with powerful automations that transform business owners into business rock stars.
We’ve already raised $720,000 which enabled us to build the platform that’s in the marketplace today. Over 2,100 users have helped us test the platform and our conversion of trial users to paying subscribers is now trending at over 22%, just a few points shy of what is considered a SaaS Software industry standard for excellence of 25%.
Artichoke users are also deeply engaged with the product on a daily basis which is a good indicator of the potential to retain subscribers for longer periods of time. As of the end of 2017, users had already created 12,950 appointments, 19, 451 check-ins, completed 6,919 payments, and added 2,000 clients.
Once we recognized there were pockets of Artichoke users emerging all over the world , we quickly responded by enabling SMS, payment, currency, and time zone support in dozens of markets.
In 2017 we were able to start and launch some significant and highly requested features such as the ability to customize “My Web Page”, create “Add-on” services, embed Artichoke online booking into an existing website, automate client discounts, and connect Artichoke with over 1000 other apps creating nearly endless possibilities. However, the most significant introduction was the ability to add multiple users to an Artichoke account for an additional fee per user. This enabled Artichoke to grow alongside our most successful subscribers and expanded the market to include micro teams.
The design philosophy behind Artichoke is all about keeping things simple. This requires constant interaction with users to determine what we need to add, remove, and improve in additional to an obsession with breaking down user problems into their most basic elements. As we grow, it will be just as important to remove unused features as it will be to add new ones.
Our users are passionate about how Artichoke has helped them simplify their business and earn more money.
Allissa Haines
Director of Shenanigans, Massage Business Blueprint
Danielle Krevenky
Maryjane Kuroly
Vicki Buelow
Attiya Abdulghany
Customer Acquisition Officer
Optional Free Trial
This is optional because there is a lower cost option to subscribe immediately for a slightly lower cost.
Basic Single User Subscription
$25/mo without a free trial
$30/mo with a 14 day free trial
Add Additional Users
$25/mo per user
$199/mo unlimited users
User-driven product innovation is a marathon not a sprint. We enjoy this journey and make it part of our daily focus to stay extremely close to the users so we can fulfill our goal to listen better than any other company and bring forth the best solutions as a result..
In 2018 we’re planning an early string of introductions including the ability for subscribers to sell bundled services and memberships, further expanding our ability to serve a variety of appointment based businesses.
Shortly thereafter, we will be introducing a new product integration partnership with a well known, complimentary business utility software platform which expands our capabilities and market reach even further.
Also in the works is a very high demand set of features which will give users the ability to create and manage client onboarding forms such as waivers and intake questionnaires directly inside Artichoke. Something competitors can’t do well without 3rd party plugins.
Our customer acquisition strategy includes three basic channels beyond traditional paid advertising channels. All of these generate new subscribers at a much lower cost than paid channels and help drive more organic traffic to the site.
In 2017 we closed two “Powered by Artichoke” white label programs with a combined total audience of over 100,000. In 2018 we have our eyes set on opportunities with franchises and more trade groups.
In 2017 we closed a strategic product partnership with a very well known business utility software platform which will launch in Q2 of 2018.
In 2017 we were able to establish nine affiliate partnerships, including a podcast which include a discount incentive for the members of the affiliate’s community.
90,000 Members
“Powered by Artichoke”
10,000 Fitness Professionals
“Powered by Artichoke”
Affiliate Programs
Discounts for Affiliate Members
In 2018 we will continue building a strong ecosystem which includes internal product development, strategic integrations with other companies, and co-market partners. This ecosystem of select partners will revolve around simplifying powerful solutions for users, discovering new opportunities to lower acquisition costs per new customer, and driving product innovation.
Artichoke has been built on a highly scalable technology stack which is hosted on an network infrastructure which meets the requirements for protecting personal health information (PHI) as outlined by HIPAA. Although not all users require this level of security, it provides peace of mind for every subscriber and their clients in an increasingly scary world of data breaches. Our hosting infrastructure is set up to automatically spin up additional resources when our traffic increases without any manual intervention.
6.5M visitors per month
Business development and customer acquisition.
User-driven product innovation and feature enhancements.
Continue to hire top talent which will propel us forward.
This crowdfunding offering is intended to continue the execution of our product development and customer acquisition plans. The main goal is to drive more people into the product in cost efficient ways by nurturing partnerships, co-marketing opportunities, media placements, and through some paid channels. Most of the funds raised in this round will be used for engineering and customer acquisition.
Let's face it, before apps, software generally sucked. Business development teams battled engineering teams internally to add every feature prospective customers could imagine so they could close the deal, making UX confusing and complex.
Artichoke’s headline in their google search results says it all: “Artichoke | All-in-One Business Tools for Solo Entrepreneurs”. And from our research, we would have to agree that Artichoke really does offer it all!
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
JOIN 80+ INVESTORS
The US Geographic Breakdown
Happy customers = higher lifetime value per subscriber.
To give you an idea of how well we treat or customers, these monthly stats just came in from our support platform.
## First Reply Time ##
The time it takes for your agent to first respond to a ticket.
Your first reply time is 7.3 hours shorter than your industry average.
This is better than 68.1% of other Zendesk Support customers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
## One-touch Resolution ##
The percentage of tickets resolved in one agent interaction.
Your one-touch resolution percentage is 6.5% lower than your industry average.
This is better than 37.0% of other Zendesk Support customers.
Invest in a company that understands what it takes to make a great product and a happy customer.
Good morning,
As we approach the end of the Artichoke public offering, I wanted to extend a personal invitation to you to either join the other 70+ investors who have decided to invest in this offering or increase the size of your investment if you're already committed.
There are many exciting things happening in the financial technology space ("Fintech"). New payment gateways are emerging with creative pricing and functionality options, business utility solutions are seeking complimentary partners which expand their reach more efficiently than paid advertising channels, and small businesses are demanding simple, yet powerful solutions to compete. At the same time, the labor force is evolving rapidly as the next generation of workers considers the need to carve unique career paths and position their skills in a world which will be rapidly impacted by artificial intelligence and workforce automation solutions. These are interesting times for sure.
We're building the best business platform in the world for this next generation of entrepreneurs. Artichoke makes it possible to efficiently run an appointment-based business by constantly striving to simplify and automate the tasks which free up our subscribers to focus on their clients. We believe that in a world increasing impacted by machines that the human interaction will become even more powerful and necessary for a healthy body and mind. Empowering our subscribers with the ability to focus more on the client and less on figuring out how to run the business.
We're humbled and grateful for the 70+ people who've committed their hard earned cash to invest in Artichoke. If you're one of those investors, thank you for joining us on this journey and remember that there are two days remaining if you would like to increase your investment.
If you've been on the sidelines watching the Artichoke public offering, we hope that you will join us on this journey before the offering closes in just 2 days.
These are exciting times and we're glad to be a small part of this interesting transformation in the workforce.
Justin Shelby
Artichoke
Founder - CEO
The Artichoke equity crowd funding offering will close in just 4 days. Don;t miss your chance to be part of the brand that's empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Start Engine Investors,
I though you might find this message string from today's support channel interesting.
User / Prospect:
"I’ve been looking at artichoke since I received an email a couple months ago. I will continue to look and might do a demo for a month to see how it goes. I hate mind body. Like most MB users. However, we feel monopolized because, our clients use it and it’s the convenience of shared clients being able to access all their favorite studios with one app. If I could get the studios I work with, and even some competitors to switch, I’d be there in a heartbeat. But it looks amazing. I will look into it more. Thank you,Tiffany "
Artichoke Support:
"Tiffany,
Thanks for your message. We look forward to answering any question you have when you get started.
Since Artichoke does not require your clients to create an account or log in to book appointments, we've heard that it's a seamless transition for subscribers clients to Artichoke in terms of the booking process.
As concerns about privacy and personal data security increase, we're making a bet that clients will prefer platforms which collect as little as possible to book an appointment. "
Join us on this journey to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. We're already in the game so your investment will be be put to good use growing the business.
If this sector is of interest to you, don't miss your opportunity to own part of Artichoke before the offering closes in just 10 days.
Justin Shelby
Founder & CEO
As of this week...
Artichoke has empowered it’s users
to collect over $1M in revenue.
Running an appointment based business is hard work and we want to know that the work we're doing is making an impact on the lives and incomes of our subscribers. This milestone has been achieved as a result of the thousands of hours we've spent asking questions, listening to subscribers, and always recognizing that the words "I think" are never as good as " the user said." Each transaction that a subscriber makes inside the platform triggers a series of other engagement features like reminders, balance tracking, client reviews, referrals, and a host of other automations which transform small teams and solo users into business rock stars.
We take great pride in building this business and hope that many of you want to be part of this journey to empower these brave entrepreneurs.
Be part of the momentum and invest in Artichoke before this offering closes in 11 days.
Justin Shelby
Artichoke Founder & CEO
Hello Start Engine investors,
We're on the home stretch of the offering with only 13 days left to invest so I'd like to share a peek behind the curtain into our customer acquisition strategy with the video below. Customer acquisition is more like a tapestry of strategies which should become increasingly efficient over time with the correct methodology and intense focus on the details. There are no silver bullets. Instead, there are many little golden nuggets which add up to a wealth of knowledge which drives relevant traffic into and through the sales funnel. Success in this area is measured with metrics like conversion rates from visitor to free trials and conversion rates from free trial to paying subscriber. Enough of me. Let Attiya, our guru of customer acquisition and analytics, explain it below.
Justin Shelby
CEO - Founder
Artichoke
** Only 13 Days remaining. **
Own part of the brand empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
** 16 days left to invest **
Hello Start Engine Investors,
Below are a few examples of recent content marketing via partnerships. Content marketing helps build SEO but also an ongoing business case for who Artichoke and our partner solutions serve best and why. Content marketing is an indirect tactic that builds credibility and awareness as it also improves organic search results.
https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/artichoke-google-calendar
https://getartichoke.com/blog/massage-therapist-get-free-continuing-education-training/
** 16 days left to invest **
** Offering Closes in 17 Days **
This Article in INC Magazine online outlines how business software has gone full circle and why Artichoke is at the right place, at the right time.
https://www.inc.com/tom-popomaronis/you-started-with-all-in-one-software-then-went-for.html
This review by the app experts at Capterra is another helpful data point which highlights the path we're on in terms of achieving customer awareness and satisfaction:
https://blog.capterra.com/salon-software-for-solo-stylists/
** Only 17 Days Remaining**
Own Part Of The Brand Empowering The Next Generation Of Entrepreneurs **
** THE ARTICHOKE PUBLIC OFFERING CLOSES IN 20 DAYS **
As we dissected the biggest pain points for entrepreneurs in appointment-based businesses, taxes started to bubble up as a major time loss. Tax time rolls around and many were reporting a significant loss of billable hours or personal time scrambling through receipts and other records in multiple places. (binders, apps, payment gateways, shoe boxes....)
After digging a bit deeper we determined that not only should we help subscribers track expenses, but we should pre-categorize those expenses to match the categories required for Part 2 of Form C. Doing so enabled us to produce a simple year-end report with everything needed, no crunching required.
So instead of a mad scramble on April 10th, Artichoke subscribers get a summary of their entire previous year by email automatically on January 15th. Sound too simple to be true? It's not. We've discovered that listening to the pain points and asking the right questions leads to the simple solutions.
Below is an example of the top half of the year-end tax summary email subscribers receive automatically each year.
Read more on this: https://getartichoke.com/blog/tax-tips-appointment-based-business-2018/
Join us an be part of the revolution sweeping the workforce. Invest in Artichoke and be part of the brand that's empowering this next generation.
** THE ARTICHOKE PUBLIC OFFERING CLOSES IN 20 DAYS **
Late last week we issued a press release about the Artichoke public offering which was picked up by 236 media outlets around the country with a total potential audience of 80.2 million. Not bad for 48 hours.
The Artichoke online public offering is also trending nicely but there are only 23 days left to invest.
Own part if the brand empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Justin Shelby
Founder - CEO
Good afternoon Start Engine community.
As you are considering your investment options, make sure to consider the size of the addressable market.
Market Size
At Artichoke we're passionate about empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. It's also a very large market. In the United States alone (we are a global platform) there are 53 Million self employed people. Of that population, we estimate that there are 9 Million people in our addressable market. This number is compounded as you consider the international opportunity and begin to expand vertical focus through feature enhancements.
Design Philosophy
Being a customer driven company requires more than a slogan. It's a 24/7 focus on making sure that the user experience is understood through observation, questioning, and fluid connections between support and product development. At Artichoke, support is viewed as a function of product development, not just a necessary expense line in the P&L. We harvest user feedback daily and use it to drive product innovation, feature enhancements, and engineering priorities. Sometimes we even turn feedback into execution within a matter of hours. When your mission is clear and your customers are engaged, product innovation is not a mystery, it's a process.
Learn more about our early stage design philosophy from Andrew in the video below.
Invest Today
Invest in Artichoke before our offering expires so you can be part of the brand empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Today is the last day for your 20% early investor discount.
In the video below, CEO Justin Shelby talks about the philosophy which drives Artichoke product innovation and focus on simplicity.
** 20% Early Investor Discount Ends in 2 Days **
Glenn Falcao is an experience angel investor and former venture capitalist with Bessemer Ventures. In the video below Glenn explains what he looks for in investment opportunities and explains why he invested in Artichoke.
If you like what you see, why not get more bang for your buck with the 20% early investor discount which expires in 2 days.
Finding the right combination of tools is important to success, it's important that even all-in-one platforms like Artichoke offer some integration flexibility. Artichoke can connect with over 1000 other apps through our integration partner Zapier. For the most popular integration requests, we create templates which only require a few touches to set up and use. For others, subscribers can create their own from a library of thousands of possibilities.
An important outcome of working with an integration partner like Zapier is the data we gather on which integrations are used most vs those which subscribers think they will use but don't actually set up. This data is used to refine our product road and create enhancements which will make it easier for subscribers to launch the most frequently used integrations.
Examples of just a few capabilities:
*** 5 Days Left ***
The early investor 20% discount ends in 5 days. Invest in the brand that is empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs before Sunday and get 20% more bang for your investment buck.
Justin Shelby
CEO- Founder
Artichoke
Hello Start Engine community.
PARTNERS
Check out the first in a series of reciprocal guest posts with cloud accounting powerhouse Freshbooks.
https://getartichoke.com/blog/freshbooks-guest-post-give-business-health-check/
FEATURE RELEASES
This week we’re putting the final touches on a frequently requested feature we’ve been calling “packages.” This new feature will give users the ability establish service bundles with and without recurring billing as a stand-alone POS item which can also be sold online. This new capability can help current users increase their revenue per client in addition to expanding Artichoke’s reach to service membership-based business. Just one of many great ideas from the user community we're ready to implement over the coming months.
MARKETING CHANNELS
As a data-driven organization, we're constantly tracking important metrics which help us fine tune our customer acquisition strategies. Below is a chart we pulled this week which explains the sources for new registrations over the past 30 days. You may notice that only 25% of this traffic originates from paid advertising. As mentioned in a previous post, these efficiencies will decrease as we scale up marketing efforts but we're very pleased with the current status.
DISCOUNT EXPIRING - 7 DAYS
The 20% discount for early investments will expire in 7days. Commit now and receive more membership units for every dollar you invest.
Help spread the word.
If you're excited about what we're doing at Artichoke, please share this opportunity to invest in the brand that’s empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs with others. The offering already hit 24% of the max goal in just over a week so, with your help, we can keep the momentum going.
Have a great weekend.
Justin Shelby
CEO - Founder
**20% Early Investor Discount Ending in 10 days**
Hello Start Engine community.
The Artichoke offering has already reached 30% of goal but there is still time to take advantage of the early investor 20% discount. If you would like a backstage look at what's happening, please keep reading.
Conversion Rates
Over the past 30 days, our conversion from free trial to paying subscriber has been a phenomenal 32%. As marketing scope increases, driving more prospects into the sales funnel, these numbers are likely to drop but we're very excited about these results over the past 30 days. The targets we use internally after evaluating some industry metrics range from 15% = Fair to 25% = Very Good.
(References to the industry data are included in the offering statement)
Feature Releases
Early on it was clear that client intake forms were a serious issue for thousands of practitioners. The collection, tracking, storage, and security of client on-boarding info was costing clients hours of headaches and potentially some serious liability. Waiver forms, in particular, were difficult to distribute, track, and store securely. Other platforms were offering a combination of no solution, sending users to a 3rd party to figure it out for themselves, or a cumbersome internal solution. Given the high value of this feature to our target users, it made sense to include this into our "all-in-one" roadmap for Artichoke. Our first phase involved an integration option with Google Forms which taught us more about the user needs. Our second phase, which will be launching in early April, is a very simple, yet powerful, built-in solution that is very easy to set up and use. In just a few minutes, users can create the waiver form, establish sending rules, and start the automation. Quality assurance testing will start late next week.
White Label Partner Co-Marketing
Check out this example of co-market content we just published with one of our white label partners, ABMP. ABMP offers a white label version of Artichoke to their 80,000+ members in addition to all incoming new members as part of the on-boarding process. We're working together on marketing campaigns which will engage and help members. https://www.abmp.com/updates/blog-posts/5-free-or-low-cost-digital-marketing-tools-your-massage-practice
Discount Period Ending Soon
The 20% discount for investments made in the first 30 days of the Artichoke offering is ending in 10 days. Get more bang for your buck by investing now.
Justin Shelby
Founder - CEO
Artichoke
***Early Investor Discount Expires in 12 Days***
Hello Start Engine Community,
We're interacting with subscribers and prospects every day so I thought we'd share what a few subscribers have had to say about Artichoke recently.
"All of my clients love the convenience of the online booking. I love the simplicity of the program and the fact I can see all my financials because the program calculates my client payments, income, expenses, and tax reports for me. Artichoke saves me so much time and money, therefore, allowing me to focus on what I love, bodywork."
- Elizabeth, CA USA
"Artichoke is extremely easy for me as the business owner and also from the client perspective. When asked the majority of clients stated it was very user-friendly. From a business perspective, it has been an extreme time saver for booking and keeping track of appointments."
- Vicki, USA
Artichoke subscribers have created 28,562 appointments and completed 33,206 check-ins. As we listen, learn, refine, and repeat, the user experience will continue to improve as will organic conversions and product engagement. These are the critical ingredients for success in our mission to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. It's not a complicated recipe but it requires the kind of steadfast focus we've had on the customer from day one.
***20% Early Investor Discount is Expiring in 12 Days***
If you want to own part of the company empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs, own 20% more for every dollar you invest by investing before April 8th.
Help us spread the word. < ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Please share the Artichoke offering with people in your network who might share the same passion we do for building the best business platform in the world for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
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