Introducing Our Credit-Based Model for Lead Validation | Page 5

Welcome to week 4 of my new business diary! Here, I’ll be sharing my journey of building Rex Martech from the ground up. You’ll get an insider’s view of the highs, lows, and everything in between—from achieving technical milestones to navigating legal and financial challenges.

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or simply curious, this will give you a raw, authentic look at the process of launching a tech startup.

In addition, I will also share my LinkedIn posts from the previous week (listed below). Feel free to join the conversations and express your thoughts.

If you enjoy the content, don’t forget to subscribe and share it with your network!

A Page From My Business Diary ~

Last week, our team hit a major milestone as we finalized the design of a user-friendly dashboard for our upcoming applications. Our first product, Rex Validate, a multi-faceted lead validation solution, will be accessed this way and we envision exposing all future products too using a single sign in approach.

We encountered our first business challenge with Rex Validate this week: how we should charge clients given that the process incurs variable costs depending on the complexity and number of validations. A flat rate per validation wasn’t fair - and we want to price the product clearly and affordably. We needed another solution.

Credit-Based Approach to Lead Validation

After several discussions, our head developer introduced an ingenious idea—a credit-based pricing model. In this system, customers pay with credits, simpler validations costing fewer credits, and more complex ones requiring more. As leads move through the validation stages, credits are deducted from the client's account.

This flexible model allows us to dynamically charge our clients based on actual usage and doesn’t overcharge them for API calls they don’t need. We’re now integrating this credit structure into our product. To encourage testing, we plan to offer discount credit packages and potentially even some free credits to entice new users to get started!

Note: I recognize the credit concept isn’t new—many tech companies, including Open AI’s ChatGPT, uses similar models— but it was insightful to explore how the industry handles variable usage costs and how we can adopt the model for our technology products.

The past week brought clarity to our pricing strategy, and we’re confident this approach will work well for our purposes.

With Data Protection at the Core…

Data privacy and security are critical areas in today’s technology landscape, and we’re taking them very seriously. We’re implementing the latest strategies to ensure our platform is fully compliant with privacy and security laws, prioritizing the protection of both our clients and consumer data.

A key feature we’re building into our application is a process that does not save any PII lead data from the validation process. Only API responses and failure reason codes. This way, sensitive data is contained solely in our client’s databases. This improves safety and creates fewer conflicts of interest.

We are committed to safeguarding information and will continue to address it as a top priority during the on-going development of the application.

Keeping the Thrill in the Journey

Resource constraints are real. I've thought about bringing in investors to solve this issue.

However, after much thought, I’ve decided not to pursue this route. While I am open to forming strategic partnerships that align with our vision and values, I've decided not to actively seek outside investment.

Why? For me, it's about preserving the essence of our team - the trust, camaraderie, and shared passion that we've organically cultivated. Introducing an element primarily concerned with the financial metrics could potentially dilute this dynamic.

Also, there's another, more personal reason. I thrive on challenges. The thrill of creating something extraordinary from scratch, the problem-solving process, and the satisfaction of overcoming hurdles - keep me invested and committed.

I get it. This approach might mean a slower pace of growth than what I desire. But for me, it's not just about reaching the destination; it's about enjoying and learning from the journey.

Catch My Latest Posts From LinkedIn ~

1. Enhancing Transparency: A New Standard for Inbound Leads

2. Creative Testing: The Balance Between Click-Through Rate & Lead Quality

3. Exploring a New Hybrid Approach: Link Outs & Branded Hosted Forms

Meet Jennine ~

Jennine Rexon is the President of Rex Direct, a pioneering performance marketing agency established in 2001. Under her leadership, Rex Direct has risen to prominence as a top-tier lead generator across diverse verticals including home improvement, moving, legal, market research, health and wellness, travel and personal finance. Jennine's insatiable thirst for knowledge, coupled with her passion for technology and creativity, fuels her commitment to innovation. Beyond her professional pursuits, she finds joy in practicing Yoga, cherishing moments with her family, and doting on her loyal canine companion, RJ.