Donna

Donna, operating under the legal name Dealside BV, is a venture capital-backed company founded in late 2023 that offers an AI-powered sales assistant specifically for field and mobile sales representatives. The company is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. Donna was established by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs: Nicolas Christiaen and Jonas Deprez serve as co-CEOs, with Xander Berkein as CTO and Lander T'Kindt as CPO. The founders bring a wealth of experience from the Ghent startup scene; Christiaen previously founded and sold fintech company Cashforce, while Deprez launched and exited the retail data firm Daltix. Berkein has a background as a Team Lead at Deliverect, and T'Kindt comes from the startup studio StarApps.

The business targets a significant challenge for sales professionals who are frequently on the road: the time-consuming administrative task of updating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems after client meetings, a process that can take about 20 minutes per entry. Donna's service is designed to eliminate this burden. The AI assistant calls the salesperson after a meeting or visit to conversationally gather the relevant information. It then automatically updates the CRM, drafts follow-up emails, and sets up subsequent tasks. The platform operates without requiring new applications, integrating directly with existing tools that sales reps use daily, such as their phone, email (including WhatsApp and iMessage), and major CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot. The service is built to function in real-world conditions, capable of understanding conversations amidst background noise.

By automating post-meeting administrative work, Donna aims to free up significant time for sales professionals to focus on selling. The company's clients span various industries, including food, business services, real estate, and construction. In June 2024, Donna secured €1.5 million ($1.6 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Pitchdrive, with participation from Everywhere Ventures, Fortino, Syndicate One, and WeLoveFounders, as well as several angel investors. This capital is intended to fuel team expansion and accelerate the company's rollout in European and U.S. markets.

Keywords: AI sales assistant, field sales, mobile sales, CRM automation, sales productivity, sales administration, Dealside BV, voice-to-CRM, automated follow-up emails, sales process optimization, Nicolas Christiaen, Jonas Deprez, Ghent startup, sales technology, sales rep assistant, mobile CRM update, AI for sales, conversation intelligence, sales workflow automation, lead management, sales meeting summary