Licenseware’s Rise: Winning the Spotlight Competition and Beyond

What makes a startup stand out? But how about winning a major startup competition?

Licenseware is the winner of our Spotlight competition, part of the How to Web Conference 2022 and one of the most innovative players in the SAM industry. We had the pleasure to chat with Alex Cojocaru, the CEO & Co-Founder to see what they have been up to since winning the competition, why they chose Spotlight, and how is their solution evolving. 

Dive right in 👇🏻

Congratulations on winning the Spotlight competition in 2022! Can you walk us through your experience with the Spotlight program? What were some of the key takeaways or benefits from your participation?

Raising capital as an Eastern European startup is challenging, especially during pre-seed and seed stages. VCs often recognize the value in deep tech products like ours but hesitate to commit substantial funds due to the longer incubation periods and the demand for early revenue. We found ourselves in this predicament, with approx $600k committed from existing and new investors. This amount was barely sufficient to fuel our transition to the next growth phase.

Faced with this hurdle, I decided to take a bold step. I applied to How To Web’s Spotlight competition to secure a free ticket and exposure at their event. My strategy was simple: use this platform to network with investors and bridge the gap from $600k to our $1M target.

The plan worked better than I could have imagined. I secured a booth at the event, which meant free marketing, but more importantly, instead of chasing after investors, I had them coming to us, intrigued by our vision and potential. The real game-changer, however, was the unexpected twist of qualifying in the top 20 startups. This meant a chance to pitch on stage, significantly boosting our exposure.

The stage pitch brought us into the Spotlight finals and, ultimately, won the $500 prize (in the form of a CLA).

We then convinced the investors from the event to join our existing investors and make it a bigger round. The exposure and validation we gained from the competition turned the tide in our favour. By the end, we didn’t just meet our $1M goal; we surpassed it, closing the round at a remarkable (at least for our expectations) $1.2M.

How did the program’s mentorship and resources play a role in Licenseware’s development and growth?

The most valuable asset IMO is the connections and the community. Learning resources are ever-changing and points of view vary based on the context. But having access to a startup community, to a Slack channel with founders and startup folks, is the real asset. Having these connections you can always find what you need, whether it’s an example pitch deck, or a reporting template, or your next developer or co-founder.

How did this moment impact your business trajectory?

How to Web impacted Licenseware’s trajectory in a pretty major way. Our very first pitch was at one of the How to Web Demo Days, where we got the Best Innovation Award, which took us to the 2020 Spotlight. StepFWD scouted us from the lineup and joined their program, and it’s where we met EGV, our lead investor for the past three rounds.

Two years later, we attended the 2022 edition, which enabled us to raise the round we aimed for.

What advice would you give to other founders who are considering applying to the Spotlight program and competition?

It’s a great experience for any aspiring entrepreneur. Don’t join to win; join to network and meet investors. Join to learn, join the community. And hey, if you win the Spotlight prize, that’s great. 

From your experience, what key elements make a standout application for Spotlight?

Desirable products that have a cool prototype or maybe a few early users. Products that have a big market and look slick. Products that have a great team behind them. Capable and determined folks with a big vision.

How can founders best prepare themselves to deliver a compelling pitch at Spotlight?

Founders need to get better at telling their stories concisely and compellingly. If you had all the time in the world, you could convince everyone your startup is great. But you don’t, in fact, you have very little time. That’s the real challenge: how do I tell my story in 3 to 5 minutes while keeping enough detail to make it compelling?

Since winning Spotlight in 2022, Licenseware has progressed significantly. Can you share some updates on your current projects and what are you currently building?

We have rapidly grown since our inception in 2020, raising significant funding and expanding our product offerings. We’ve built strategic partnerships and developed a suite of modular SAM tools already used by various IT management consulting firms, SMEs, and large enterprises. Our solutions are live, and we have a growing number of happy customers.

We’re constantly developing new apps and increasing our coverage and functionality with every weekly release.

We’ve had a YOY growth of >100% and onboarded early adopters from Australia, US, Canada, the UK, and Europe.

We’ve won industry awards, and 10x’d our following on Linkedin.

We’re close to becoming profitable, and we’re in the process of raising a new round of funding.

Are there any exciting new features or functionalities that Licenseware users can look forward to in the near future?

Licenseware NEO is a GenAI chatbot for software asset management focused on software licensing. It is trained by official vendor documentation only and has links to the source in the answers. NEO enables users to find accurate information regarding software licensing faster—no hallucinations, 100% reliable, and traceable answers.

Currently, NEO is part of the Licenseware app ecosystem and will be embedded in the platform to answer questions from user’s data.

NEO is now in closed beta but will be rolled out to the wider public as of Q1 2025.

How is Licenseware tackling the challenge of software license management, and how does your product empower businesses?

We’ve been working in the industry for over a decade. We chose to work on this idea because we recognized a significant gap in the Software Asset Management (SAM) industry: the lack of flexible, cost-effective, and user-friendly tools that seamlessly integrate with existing systems. 

Our team has extensive domain expertise and many years of experience in software licensing and IT asset management. This background has given us deep insights into organizations’ challenges in managing software licenses, optimizing costs, and avoiding audit risks.

We know there is a strong need for our products because we have directly observed the pain points and inefficiencies in the current market solutions in our past lives as consultants. Our early engagements with clients and feedback from industry professionals have validated the demand for more modular, on-demand SAM tools. Our initial products’ positive reception, recognition, and increasing adoption indicate a clear need for what we’re building.

Licenseware is dedicated to demystifying the complex licensing rules of top-tier vendors such as Oracle, Microsoft, Red Hat, VMware, and others, turning dense licensing data into actionable insights.

Our strategy focuses on developing modular apps tailored to manage licenses of high-value and high-risk vendors effectively. This modular approach not only allows for specialized data models and analysis workflows but also ensures our products are optimally suited for specific licensing needs. This results in rapid analysis times, often just minutes, offering a significant advantage over traditional, slower solutions.

What is Licenseware’s vision for the future? How do you see your product evolving and impacting the software license management landscape?

Although still in the early stages of development, our commitment to this niche is critical for both our immediate and future success. Currently, we’re focusing on on-premises license management (but not limited to) for these enterprise vendors, providing superior solutions that outperform other available options. As we continue to develop and expand our app suite, we aim to match and surpass the extensive features of established competitors. Eventually, our modular system will offer customers a one-stop shop for all their licensing needs, allowing them to cherry-pick what they need, when they need it, at a fraction of the cost.

Licenseware’s journey through the Spotlight competition is a testament to the power of strategic networking, community support, and relentless innovation. Their story serves as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs, highlighting the importance of seizing opportunities and leveraging platforms that foster growth and visibility. 

As they continue to evolve and expand their offerings, Licenseware is set to redefine the landscape of software license management. Their future is not just about maintaining momentum but accelerating towards new milestones, proving that with the right mix of ambition and execution, the sky is the limit.

If you resonated with Alex’s ambition and grit, then maybe you’re the next founder to shine in the Spotlight. Apply now to elevate your game 👉🏻 https://www.howtoweb.co/spotlight-2024/