RedJade Sensory Software
Unexpected opportunities...
In late 2013 I met two individuals who owned a sensory testing company with a few physical testing locations in the U.S. They had a vision for a software platform that would allow them to manage their sensory tests and data more effectively. They believed their current business model could be replaced with a software solution that their clients could operate themselves. This was an opportunity to build something brand new, from the ground up, with the freedom to make all the technical decisions. I didn't need any more convincing.
Start small and get to market...
Our first product was an analysis tool that took an Excel file of data, computed common statistical analysis, as well as QDA and PCA, and then generated a PDF export. It also provided a beautiful UI to explore the analysis and run variations by excluding subjects or products. This tool was used by the sensory professionals to analyze their data and generate reports for their clients. It was a product with limited capabilities but we were able to get it to customers and begin generating revenue. This revenue proved there was a market for our software and allowed us to start building the platform that we had envisioned.
Get feedback you trust and iterate...
Fortunately for us, we were able to get our product into the hands of some of the most prominent companies in the food and beverage industry. This allowed us to get feedback from very experienced and knowledgeable sensory professionals. With this feedback, we were able to iterate on our analysis tool and form a plan for future product offerings.
Jumping all the way in...
With the analysis tool proving to be a success, we began to tackle the data collection side of the sensory testing business. The next product included a survey authoring tool. This supported multiple languages, custom logic and branching, and a variety of question types. This application was paired with a survey collection tool that supported in-person, online, and mobile data collection. A separate application was built for labs and kitchens to manage the delivery of samples and the collection of data with precisely timed prompting to ensure accurate results. Lastly, we built a project management tool where customers would define their tests, products, subjects, and surveys. This tool would guide the user through the process of setting up a project and then provide a dashboard to monitor the progress and results of the test.
A suprise winner and interested buyers...
A product that may not have been critical to our vision, but was a definite enhancement was a recruiting tool. These tests require anywhere from 12 to 200 participants to gather results. With the ability to leverage the survey authoring and collection tool we had already built, we implemented a recruiting tool that had more of a general application. It allowed the user to define demographic quotas and then author surveys to fit respondents into those quotas. It allowed the communication of email blasts and guided the user through follow-up phone calls with predefined conversation scripts. It integrated the demographics into the test data and allowed our clients to slice their test results in ways they had never been able to before. This tool was a surprise winner and it was the tool that caught the eye of a few interested buyers.
In 2018 after entertaining offers for all or parts of the company we decided to sell. We sold to a company that was a leader in the sensory industry and had a vision for the future of sensory testing. We had acquired clients from the largest food, beverage, and CPG companies. We saw new products tested on our platform and released to the market. We had provided academia with a free tool for their food science curriculum. Finally, after many years of high excitement and high stress, I took a much-needed break from software development before deciding on my next chapter.