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From MVHP beta to a closed SAFE of $1M to $2M in 60 days
Auxil is an AI-native customer support platform for BigCommerce and WooCommerce merchants. The platform is roughly three weeks into active development as of April 23, 2026. MVHP live beta is targeted for the coming weeks. You are not raising against production revenue; you are raising against a shipped product, a deep domain moat, and a credible path to $100M ARR in a category currently dominated by Shopify-first incumbents that are structurally locked out of BC and WC depth.
Over the next 60 days, the goal is to close a SAFE round of $1M to $2M, angel-first, priced-round deferred. A SAFE keeps the round simple, skips valuation negotiation, closes on a one-page instrument, and matches the financial reality: you have roughly $30K of personal runway and MVHP cash flow covering household and pitch prep. Angels typically close in two to four weeks. VC funds typically take six to twelve weeks. Angels are the near-term cash path; funds are the stacking layer in Days 26 to 60.
Auxil ARR is not seat count multiplied by seat price. It stacks three layers: base plan, per-resolution AI fees, and AI Assist add-on. Real ACVs per customer profile:
| Scenario | Starter | Growth | Pro | Enterprise | Total ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Path A (SMB-heavy) | 15,000 × $2.8K = $42M | 2,500 × $16K = $40M | 300 × $48K = $14M | 25 × $150K = $3.75M | ~$100M |
| Path B (balanced), recommended | 5,000 × $2.8K = $14M | 3,500 × $16K = $56M | 1,000 × $48K = $48M | 100 × $150K = $15M | ~$100M |
| Path C (enterprise-led) | 2,000 × $2.8K = $5.6M | 1,500 × $16K = $24M | 800 × $48K = $38M | 220 × $150K = $33M | ~$100M |
Advocate Path B in the deck. It is the most credible mix. Enterprise is hard and slow and requires an expanded sales motion not funded in a seed. Path A requires a higher-velocity self-serve engine than a seed can fund. Path B uses the Growth and Pro tiers as the center of gravity, which is exactly where MVHP-shaped merchants and direct competition with Gorgias Pro sit. It also matches the "every real e-commerce brand has 5 to 15 support agents" reality of BC and WC mid-market.
| Segment | Annual churn | Avg customer life | ACV | Gross margin | LTV (gross-margin) | Target CAC | LTV:CAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter (SMB) | 8% | 12.5 yrs theoretical, model 5 yrs | $2,796 | 93% | ~$13K | $500 to $1,500 | 8x to 25x |
| Growth (mid-market) | 5% | 20 yrs theoretical, model 6 yrs | $16,128 | 93% | ~$90K | $3K to $8K | 11x to 30x |
| Pro | 3.5% | ~7 yrs | $48K | 93% | ~$310K | $10K to $20K | 15x to 31x |
| Enterprise | 2% | ~10 yrs | $150K | 85% (services drag) | ~$1.3M | $30K to $75K | 17x to 43x |
Churn assumptions follow the standard playbook: 8% SMB, 5% mid-market, 2% enterprise. Gross margin from the 93 to 94% Sonnet-level cost basis. CAC targets assume a blend of inbound (BC app store, content), partner-led (BC Partner Program), and outbound. Enterprise CAC is intentionally soft since that motion is not funded in the seed.
Every incumbent in customer support was built for Shopify or for generic B2B ticketing and has bolted AI on top of an old data model. Auxil was designed AI-first, from a merchant who has lived 15 years inside the problem. The Auxil moat is not a feature list. It is a platform-fit gap the incumbents chose not to close, an AI-first architecture rebuilt for autonomous resolution rather than retrofitted ticketing, and merchant credibility that no VC-funded team in San Francisco can manufacture. Kustomer and Gorgias will keep winning Shopify Plus. Auxil owns the 100,000+ BC and WC merchants they never served.
| Capability | Kustomer | Gorgias | Intercom | Zendesk | Auxil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce native depth | Read-only order timeline | AI Agent not supported on BC | Thin | Connector only, no returns | Native app, OAuth, webhooks, catalog sync, order actions |
| WooCommerce native | None (third-party beta) | Marketed, lags Shopify by years | None | Marketplace app, generic | First-class, same data model as BC |
| Entry pricing | $8,544/yr floor, 8-seat min | ~$10/mo, scales with tickets, spikes | $39+ seat, add-ons stack | $55+ seat | $708/yr floor, no seat min |
| AI resolution pricing | $0.60/conv + $40/user | Bundled, scales with volume | Fin AI usage tiers | Bolt-on Advanced AI | $0.99/resolution, transparent |
| Zero-config onboarding | Steep learning curve (reviewer call-out) | Configured setup | Configured setup | Admin-heavy | MemorySession + DriveSync + OnboardingInterview |
| AI handoff continuity | Has unified timeline | Limited on non-Shopify | Fin handoff mixed | Bolt-on | Context carries, no re-asking customer for info |
| Knowledge base ingestion at scale | Admin-heavy | Slow with non-Shopify catalogs | Configured setup | Manual config | 980GB of MVHP support data ingested in production; per-tenant RAG architecture proven at scale |
This is the strongest slide in the deck. Do not soften it. Do not share oxygen with anything else. Founder-market fit is the whole pitch for a category like customer support, where every incumbent was built by engineers who have never personally refunded a customer at 11pm.
This is the frame for every pitch. It is not "solo founder + AI." That frame commoditizes the product. Any founder with a Claude subscription could ship code. What no other founder has is 15 years of shipping orders inside the exact category Auxil serves, a running Inc 5000 merchant business as a live design partner, and the operator empathy compounded over a decade and a half.
One line about capital efficiency belongs elsewhere, not on the team slide. A fair way to phrase it during a "tell me about your team" question: "AI-assisted engineering has let me ship a production-grade platform at a fraction of traditional burn. First engineering hire lands post-seed. The real moat is 15 years of merchant experience and a live MVHP design partner, not the code." That is the extent of it. The team slide reads Nicki-centric.
A design partner is a real merchant running Auxil against their real support volume in exchange for close collaboration on product direction and (optionally) discounted or free use during beta. They are named in the deck, willing to take a reference call, and ideally willing to sign a soft LOI at production pricing after beta. Three design partners is the right target for a seed pitch. More than five is noise.
| Candidate | Profile | Fit | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mom (Volusion merchant) | E-commerce merchant on Volusion | Good fit | Yes. Adds a third platform beyond BC and WC. Proves platform expansion story. Trusted partner, familiar merchant. Close this one. |
| Paz (Montana Hybrid Academy) | School, not a commerce business | Not a fit | No. Schools do not have a customer-support-ticket profile that maps to Auxil. Keep Paz as a reference and friend; do not force-fit as a design partner. |
| Auxil / Eulada (own brands) | Not separate businesses from the merchant view | Not separate | These are projects inside the MVHP umbrella. MVHP already counts as a design partner. Do not double-count. |
| Adam (CFO consultant) | Consulting firm, no retail tickets | Not a fit | No. Consulting firms do not have the support-ticket volume Auxil solves. Ask Adam for warm intros to BC merchants he works with. |
Net: MVHP is design partner 1. Mom is design partner 2. You still need 1 to 2 more.
All six of these channels run in parallel. The goal is warmth, not spray.
| Week | Milestone | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | MVHP live beta, Mom signed | Ship MVHP into Auxil production. Send mom the one-page partner MOU. Email BC partner team. Email Brock. Draft LinkedIn outreach template. |
| Week 2 | 20 LinkedIn outreaches, 5 BC-partner intros requested | Send 5 LinkedIn asks per weekday (20 total). Follow up BC partner team. Post in BC Merchants FB group. Ask Adam for 3 BC intros. |
| Week 3 | 5 to 8 discovery calls, 2 LOIs pending | Hold discovery calls. Convert 2 of 5 to design partner conversations. Send one-page MOU to the hottest 2. |
| Week 4 | 3 design partners total, first reference screenshots | Close design partner 3. Capture screenshots, CSAT scores, ticket resolution metrics from MVHP. Prep into deck V2. |
Strategy: angels first, funds second. Angels close in 2 to 4 weeks on a SAFE. Funds close in 6 to 12 weeks. Given runway, angels write the first $250K to $500K of the round and legitimize the SAFE cap. Funds stack on top in Days 26 to 60.
Target profile: has written a $25K to $100K check before, is a former e-commerce or SaaS founder, speaks category fluently, can give a warm intro to a fund. Mix of local MT / regional angels, e-commerce founder-angels, and syndicate leads.
| Name / Source | Profile | Why they write | Source of intro |
|---|---|---|---|
| BigCommerce executive alumni | Former BC VPs and directors (last 3-5 yrs) | Know the merchant pain personally, often invest in app ecosystem | LinkedIn, BC partner team intro |
| BigCommerce corp dev (strategic angel) | BC corp dev lead | Strategic signal alone can move a round. Does not need to be big check | BC partner program contact |
| Klaviyo alumni angels | Early Klaviyo team who exited after the IPO | Closest living playbook for "e-commerce infra SaaS + founder-market-fit" | LinkedIn + mutuals via BC network |
| Gorgias alumni (non-active) | Former Gorgias execs no longer employed | Know the problem from the incumbent side, often angel-invest in next-gen | LinkedIn cold-warm |
| Zendesk alumni | Former Zendesk PM/eng leads | Seen the retrofit-AI problem from inside, ready to bet on AI-native | |
| Shopify alumni | Former Shopify commerce team | Cross-platform commerce interest, often write small-to-mid checks | LinkedIn + syndicate warm |
| MVHP vendor executives | US Stove, HNG, Enviro, other brand executives Nicki already knows | Warm personal relationship, belief in Nicki | Direct |
| Inc 5000 alumni network | Other Inc 5000 honorees in e-commerce | Shared credential, many angel-invest in peer alumni | Inc 5000 alumni groups + LinkedIn |
| BigCommerce Partner Advisory Council | App developers who have built inside BC ecosystem | Closest peer group to Auxil | BC partner team intro |
| Brock (Go Fish Digital) network | Agency principals with merchant clients | Already sees the problem daily; Brock can identify 2-3 angels in his orbit | Direct |
| Jason Calacanis / LAUNCH syndicate | High-visibility SaaS angel | Writes $25K-$100K solo + larger via syndicate | Apply via LAUNCH Angel |
| AngelList syndicates (SaaS / e-comm) | Lead-backed syndicates like Sahil Lavingia, Elad Gil, Naval-adjacent | Can move $100K-$500K quickly post-lead | AngelList direct |
| Tope Awotona (Calendly) personal angel | SaaS founder who angel invests | SMB SaaS thesis alignment | Angel list / LinkedIn |
| Laura Behrens Wu (Shippo) personal angel | E-commerce infra founder | Shipping + support are adjacent pain points | |
| Will Larson (Carta/Stripe alumni) | Engineering leader, SaaS angel | AI tooling + SaaS | |
| Band of Angels (Silicon Valley) | Oldest seed angel group | Collective writes $250K-$750K checks | Member referral, apply to present |
| Pacific Northwest Angel Network | Northwest regional angels | Regional pride + SaaS appetite | Apply direct |
| Montana Angel Network | Local regional angel group | MT-based founder, regional investment thesis | Direct apply |
| Frontier Angels (MT / Rockies) | Rocky Mountain angel group | Regional preference alignment, founder is MT-based | Direct apply |
| Female Founder Collective / All Raise syndicate | Women-founded company focused angels | Bonus thesis alignment | Apply + warm intro |
| Fund | Category | Thesis fit |
|---|---|---|
| Commerce Ventures | Vertical commerce | Directly funds commerce infra SaaS. Auxil is a perfect fit. |
| Costanoa Ventures | Vertical SaaS / AI | SMB SaaS with AI-native thesis. Repeat category backers. |
| Forerunner Ventures | Consumer / commerce | Consumer and commerce infra. Founder-market-fit is their language. |
| Equal Ventures | Vertical SaaS | SMB / vertical SaaS, picks AI-native category leaders. |
| Stage 2 Capital | GTM-focused seed | Backs seed SaaS with clear GTM signal. Sales-ops background. |
| XYZ Venture Capital | Commerce / infra | Commerce and SaaS seed. Writes $500K-$2M. |
| Homebrew | Generalist seed | Strong SaaS track record. Solo or small-team positive. |
| Uncork Capital | Generalist seed | SMB SaaS thesis, classic seed lead profile. |
| Susa Ventures | Data-heavy seed | Data-driven SaaS thesis; per-tenant RAG architecture and category specialization fit their lens. |
| Precursor Ventures | Pre-seed / seed | Underrepresented founders + solo-founder friendly. |
| Initialized Capital | Generalist seed | Known to back capital-efficient AI-native teams. |
| Conviction (Sarah Guo) | AI-native | Actively funds AI-native category leaders. Press narrative fit. |
| Basis Set Ventures | AI + data | AI-first infra seed. Exact thesis match. |
| Radical Ventures | AI-native | Applied AI deep-tech; backs AI-first category resets. |
| South Park Commons | Pre-seed / solo | Community of technical founders; welcomes solo and atypical team shapes. |
| Foundation Capital | Early-stage SaaS | SaaS and B2B software. Check size flexible. |
| Work-Bench | Enterprise SaaS | Bias toward enterprise; pursue if Path C upside gets traction. |
| Afore Capital | Pre-seed specialist | First-check friendly, SaaS / AI agnostic. |
| Hustle Fund | Pre-seed | Founder-led fund, fast yes/no on SMB SaaS. |
| Lightspeed Venture Partners (seed practice) | Multi-stage, seed active | Potential lead if a signal round builds. Tend to follow Commerce or Costanoa. |
| BigCommerce corporate strategic | Strategic | Platform alignment. Even a small check is a marketing signal. |
| Salesforce Ventures | Strategic | Service Cloud adjacency. Long sales cycle but strong follow-on. |
| Klaviyo Ventures | Strategic | E-commerce stack adjacency; founder-market-fit language is their pitch too. |
| ZoomInfo Ventures / Intuit Ventures | Strategic SMB SaaS | Distribution fit for the Starter and Growth tiers. |
Build the data room in Google Drive or a purpose-built room (DocSend, Papermark, Notion page with password). Structure it for self-serve diligence so investors who want to move fast can do so without 5 back-and-forth emails.
| Objection | Answer |
|---|---|
| "You are a solo founder. What about engineering scale?" | "I use AI as an engineering force multiplier. It is how I got to a shipped platform in weeks instead of quarters. My first senior engineer hire closes with this round. The moat here is not code; it is 15 years of merchant context, MVHP as a live anchor design partner, and a BC/WC-native architecture incumbents would have to rewrite to match. Code is table stakes in this category." |
| "Kustomer and Gorgias are funded to the teeth. Why do you win?" | "Kustomer just took a 75% down round. Their entry floor is $8,544 a year. Gorgias AI Agent literally does not run on BigCommerce. I am not fighting on the battleground they care about. I am serving the 100,000+ BC and WC merchants they chose not to serve." |
| "Customer support is a red ocean." | "Legacy support is red. AI-native support is a greenfield category being reset in real time. Every incumbent is mid-pivot with bolt-on AI on old data models. The founders who reset the category in 2026 own the next decade." |
| "How do you win with zero name recognition against Sierra?" | "Sierra is selling to Gap. We are selling to 100,000 BC merchants and the tail of WooCommerce. Different buyer, different price, different integration surface. And Sierra just surfaced every authenticated data point to a customer and then dropped it all on human handoff. We are building the platform where that does not happen." |
| "Why BigCommerce and WooCommerce instead of Shopify?" | "Because Shopify is the saturated game every funded team is playing. BC has 50K+ active merchants and is under-served. WC has 5M+ stores and is almost entirely ignored by AI-native support. Starting where competition is absent is not a weakness, it is the thesis." |
| "You mention MVHP as a design partner with 980GB of data. Does that data give Auxil a cross-merchant advantage?" | "No, and I want to be clear about that. MVHP's knowledge base is hearth-industry specific (parts manuals, fitment data, stove-specific support threads). It doesn't generalize to other merchants. What MVHP proves is the platform handles enterprise-scale knowledge bases in production, and per-tenant RAG isolation works. Each Auxil merchant builds their own RAG from their own data, scoped to their tenant. The 980GB is a capability proof, not a training-data moat." |
| "What if OpenAI or Anthropic builds this themselves?" | "They could, but they are building horizontal foundation models. The vertical wedge is e-commerce merchant workflow, BC OAuth, ShipHero ties, catalog sync, order actions, returns logic. That is merchant software, not model weights. If anything, foundation players become better underlying infrastructure; Auxil is the application layer." |
| "Your round is small. Can you get to Series A?" | "$1M to $2M funds 12 to 18 months. Series A milestones: $1M ARR run-rate, 75 paying customers, 2 verticals proven, first engineering hire scaled to a team of 3. That is the Series A story for commerce infra in 2026." |
| "What is the AI moat if every team has Claude?" | "The moat is not Claude. The moat is the data layer plus the merchant context. Claude is interchangeable with whatever model lands next. Auxil's architecture is model-agnostic: Haiku, Sonnet, Opus routed by confidence. The asymmetry is training data, merchant knowledge, and platform fit." |
| "Whitefish, Montana. Can you hire and scale from there?" | "I have been running a 15-year Inc 5000 business from Whitefish. Remote-first is the 2026 default. First senior eng hire can be anywhere. I will visit Bay Area / NYC quarterly for investor updates. Location is a wash now." |
Compressed from a classic 90-day plan because runway does not allow 90. Every week is budgeted. If a week slips, re-plan the tail. Do not cascade delays.
Concrete items Nicki can do from the plane or hotel. Each one is self-contained. No dependency on being back at her desk.
Decisions Nicki needs to make before or during the raise. Working defaults in parentheses.
memory/facts/auxil_vc_strategy.md, auxil_current_state.md, auxil_pricing.md, auxil_vs_pages.md, kustomer_competitive_analysis.md, sierra_ai_handoff_gap_incident.md.