BoxHero is a simple inventory management solution for small to medium-sized businesses. Pulse 2.0 interviewed BoxHero CEO Heehong Moon to learn more.
Heehong Moon’s Background
Moon graduated from Pohang University, South Korea’s top university for Science and Technology, with a degree in Computer Science. And Moon said:
“During my time there, I actively participated in a hacking club, where I honed in on my skills and quickly became what’s referred to as a ‘white hacker.’ During this time, I discovered not only my passion for technology but for creating, building, and coding tech products.”
“After graduation, I immediately began building numerous games and business apps that were exceptionally well-received in the market. It was incredibly satisfying to see them gaining traction and receiving positive feedback from a large, international user base.”
“App development has naturally become both my profession and my passion. As an entrepreneur, I excel at identifying real-world business problems and solving them with technology to alleviate pain points.”
“Following the successful exit of Dabang, the Korean version of Zillow, and while completing my post-acquisition vesting period, I found myself eager to embark on a new and thrilling venture. As a result, I made the decision to tender my resignation from my position at Dabang and establish a new company named BGPWorks, Inc. which houses several companies, including BEEP, Veilduck and my latest venture, BoxHero Inc.”
Formation Of BoxHero
How did the idea for BoxHero come together? Moon shared:
“As a user of renowned US-developed software such as Slack and Dropbox, I have always believed in my capability to create a similar product that provides a critical, yet a simple solution to a very big problem. It has been a personal goal to develop a SaaS product with global recognition that surpasses simply local usage in Korea.”
“To achieve worldwide success, it was essential to identify a niche with minimal competition, low localization requirements, and anticipated demand from global markets. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say that as an entrepreneur, you find yourself always wanting to make things better for others. If something is already being done, how do you improve it? If something isn’t being done, then maybe I should do it. These are the types of questions and thoughts that continuously cross my mind. I’m fortunate to be able to innovate and create products that serve others. Especially having a background in app development and tech, I feel these are paramount skills for today’s world.”
“Long story long, the idea for BoxHero came together through my creation of BEEP, an expiration date management app. The story goes like this.”
“BEEP, an expiration date management app I designed for my brother, who works at a supermarket chain, allows users to scan barcodes with their phone camera and enter expiration dates, receiving timely notifications before the dates approach. By storing the data in the cloud, the app promotes efficient teamwork in expiration date management. Initially created for my brother’s personal use, our team decided to commercialize the project by releasing it as a product. “BEEP” came to life. And While BEEP doesn’t automate expiration date management entirely, once supermarket employees started using it, they found it difficult to revert to the manual counting method. With no viable alternatives, word-of-mouth has attracted users from various countries working in convenience stores and supermarkets.”
“The core reason for the lack of expiration date management lies in the absence of expiration date information on product barcodes. To tackle this challenge, we realized the importance of enabling easy barcode or QR code generation for efficient inventory management. Our research uncovered a lack of user-friendly services supporting cloud-based systems, mobile barcode scanning, and convenient inventory management. All this to say, this realization served as the impetus for developing BoxHero, the ultimate solution for hassle-free inventory management.”
Motivation
What is your motivation for building the company? Moon noted:
“Today, BoxHero has thousands of international clients.They have all expressed their appreciation for our app, recognizing that it encompasses essential features necessary for optimizing inventory management practices. In fact, some users have even expressed interest in becoming angel investors for our company, which is both humbling and inspiring. These memories and experiences hold great value for me and my team, serving as a constant motivation to persevere through any challenges we may encounter along the way.”
Core Products
What are BoxHero’s core products and features? Moon explained:
“BoxHero provides a comprehensive suite of inventory management features, offering businesses a simplified and streamlined approach to inventory management. With BoxHero, there is no longer a need for costly implementation of ERP systems, relying on manual methods, or using Excel spreadsheets. Our solution brings accuracy and efficiency to inventory management, significantly reducing the room for human errors.”
“Our key features include inventory transaction management, order management, barcoding, analytics and reports, and real-time collaboration. Here’s a more thorough explanation of each feature.”
Evolution Of BoxHero’s Technology
How has BoxHero’s technology evolved since launching? Moon pointed out:
“Initially, we were focusing on simple inventory transactional management: inbound, outbound, and transfer of inventories via barcode scanning to provide accurate and streamlined inventory management. As we receive feedback from our customers, we have added order management and analysis features. It is challenging to make complicated tasks into simple and user-friendly steps. However, our vision has remained unchanged since the beginning: to simplify inventory management as much as possible through technology so that our customers can focus on business growth.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of BoxHero’s most significant milestones? Moon cited:
“BoxHero has successfully operated for about four years, and in the early part of this year (2023), we achieved a significant milestone. We have proudly acquired 3,000 paying teams, generating over 1 Million dollars in revenue. Our user base spans more than 100 countries, with an impressive count of approximately 200,000 users. These achievements reflect the trust and satisfaction our customers have placed in BoxHero for their inventory management needs.”
Customer Success Stories
Upon asking Moon about customer success stories, he replied:
“Given the highly customizable and versatile nature of BoxHero, we have attracted customers from diverse industries. Allow us to share three distinctive cases that exemplify the impact and effectiveness of our solution.”
“An aviation maintenance company successfully implemented BoxHero to efficiently manage its inventory of 17,000 aircraft parts. Previously, the company relied on manual methods using Excel, which proved to be ineffective. With BoxHero in place, the team experienced a remarkable time savings of nearly 50% in inventory management tasks. This enabled team members to redirect their focus and dedicate more time to their core responsibilities and job functions.”
“Similarly, a microbiology laboratory across multiple locations in the United States also adopted BoxHero for managing their lab and office supplies. By utilizing BoxHero, the labs were able to synchronize inventory status and effectively reduce wasted inventories by half. This streamlined approach to inventory management brought significant benefits and optimization to their operations.”
“Furthermore, a nonprofit organization in Ukraine now relies on BoxHero to manage critical medicines used in hospitals, particularly in the context of challenging war conditions. Our team acknowledges the immense significance of their work and the impact it has on innocent civilians in distress. Despite unexpected circumstances arising from the war, we are committed to providing our services for free, offering support to those affected by this unfortunate situation.”
Funding
In terms of funding, BoxHero has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is BoxHero pursuing? Moon assessed:
“As of 2022, the global Inventory Management Software market was estimated at $3 billion, and it’s anticipated to reach $5 billion in 2028, with a CAGR of 9.81% during the forecast years, according to multiple sources (Yahoo, Marketwatch, Tech & Media Report).
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates BoxHero from its competition? Moon affirmed:
“BoxHero offers a comprehensive inventory management service at a highly affordable price of $20 per month. In addition, we provide flexible options for business owners to expand their plans as their businesses grow, allowing them to add more items, members, and locations. This pricing advantage sets us apart from competitors, whose price points are significantly higher than that of BoxHero.”
“Our user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) are very intuitive, allowing even first-time users to easily sign up and navigate the app within minutes. No separate onboarding education is required, as our app is designed to be user-friendly and self-explanatory. In contrast, competitors’ products are often complex, requiring a comprehensive and lengthy onboarding process before businesses can effectively implement the system.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of BoxHero’s future company goals? Moon concluded:
“Moving forward, our goal is to achieve a harmonious blend of the product-led growth approach and the sales-led growth approach. Our team firmly believes that the product serves as the key catalyst for customer acquisition, engagement, monetization, and retention. However, it is equally crucial to enhance product awareness in the global market, particularly in the US market.”
“We remain committed to actively listening to feedback from our existing customers and continually refining our features to meet the needs of our loyal user base. Concurrently, we will also focus on developing new functionalities, such as integration features with e-commerce platforms and point-of-sale (POS) systems, to attract new customers and expand our reach.”
