Giorgio Pagliara is the Co-Founder and CEO of Spoki, a conversational marketing platform that empowers brands to communicate with their customers through WhatsApp, enhancing both customer experience and brand loyalty.
With over a decade of experience as an entrepreneur, mentor, and investor, Giorgio has co-founded and led multiple innovative ventures across diverse industries, including mobile solutions, car wash services, and 3D on the web.
He holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Politecnico di Torino.
In 2021, you co-founded Spoki, a conversational marketing platform that enables brands to engage customers via WhatsApp, creating seamless brand experiences. What inspired you to start the company?
Giorgio: I’m an aerospace engineer by background. When I had to choose my degree, I was torn between computer engineering and aerospace engineering. I initially pursued a career in aerospace, but quickly realised it was a very slow-moving industry, especially back then. It wasn’t yet the vibrant space startup sector we are seeing today.
So I went back to my old passion: computer science. After the first few years of my career working in a large aerospace firm, I decided to dive into the startup world, creating digital and tech-based products. That was around 2010–2011. Before founding Spoki, I co-founded around six startups, all of them bootstrapped. I learnt a lot from the first three, while the other three are still running independently, managed by other partners.
One of these is Meraviglia, which is now a marketing agency. Another is Mister Lavaggio, a waterless, eco-friendly mobile car wash franchise with around 300 operators across Italy and even a few abroad. Then there’s Quiz Patente Guida e Vai, which began as a simple app to help teenagers practise for their driving theory test, and has since evolved into a platform that supports users throughout the entire driving licence process.
During the pandemic, around 2020–2021, we faced a major frustration with Guida e Vai. Despite having around 150,000 monthly app users, we couldn’t effectively communicate with them. Push notifications didn’t work, users didn’t activate them, and teenagers simply don’t use email.
Then, WhatsApp released its API, allowing for automated messaging. We gave it a try, and it worked. We could finally reach our users. That success made us wonder if the same approach would work for Mister Lavaggio. It did. Then we tried it with Meraviglia. Again, it worked. At that point, we realised this wasn’t just a solution for one app, it could be a standalone product. That’s how Spoki began.
The first six months were hard, our revenue was literally zero because we hadn’t yet figured out who our ideal customer was, what exactly to sell, or how to sell it. So I gave myself a target: make at least €900 in revenue by July. It’s a small amount, but symbolically it meant we were onto something. If we couldn’t make that, either the market didn’t exist or we simply weren’t capable.
We were still bootstrapping at the time, but funded through revenues from my other businesses. Eventually, we managed to hit that €900 target, with great effort. From there, growth started to pick up steadily.
Spoki harnesses the power of WhatsApp to improve client communication. Could you walk us through your business model?
Giorgio: Given that WhatsApp is a conversational channel, we decided not to limit ourselves to just one part of the customer journey. We aimed to create a tool that could support the entire journey, from initial contact to post-sale support.
The reason is simple: it’s what consumers want. They don’t want to deal with different channels for different needs, email for support, another app for delivery updates, a different platform again for offers. They want a single, seamless channel.
It’s common for a salesperson to close a deal and say, “From here on, our support team will assist you.” But the reality is that customers will almost always go back to the salesperson they first dealt with. That’s because, in their minds, that first point of contact becomes their go-to person.
This is the power of conversational channels. They allow companies to build real relationships with customers and keep all communication – sales, support, updates – in one place.
As for our ideal client, while all businesses need to communicate effectively, our sweet spot is with small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses and retailers. That said, we also work with clients in automotive, finance, and education and more.
In terms of growth, we have used several strategies. Initially, we relied on online advertising, generating leads, having our sales team call them, giving demos, and closing sales. That’s still a primary approach for us.
We have also had great results from trade shows, events like Netcomm Forum and WMF, which attract our target audience. When we started, we were almost alone in this space. The market is more competitive now, but we have added new acquisition channels like partnerships as well.
Regarding the revenue model, over time, we have experimented with different business models. Previously, we operated on a usage-based model with recurring revenue patterns. This year, we’ve shifted to a pure subscription model, which adjusts based on client needs and message volumes.
We have also completely separated Meta’s fees. As you know, WhatsApp charges per conversation. From July, this model will shift to a per-template message sent. This shift also gives us the flexibility to add other channels beyond WhatsApp.
In January 2025, Spoki secured a €5.5 million funding round from Blacksheep MadTech Fund, CDP Venture Capital, Finint Investments, and Apside. What key milestones has the company achieved so far, and what’s next?
Giorgio: It’s worth noting that our market is very seasonal; we see big peaks in November during Black Friday, and a drop in August when many businesses close. We ended 2021 with just a few tens of thousands in revenue. In 2022, we reached just over €400,000. In 2023, €1 million. In 2024, €2.5 million.
We closed a €500,000 seed round in September 2023, followed by a €5.5 million Series A at the end of December 2024.
The aim of this funding is twofold: first, to consolidate our leadership in Italy, where we are already recognised as a leading player; and second, to expand internationally, starting with Spain. We already have a team of four in Barcelona.
Every new market starts from scratch, but we are applying the lessons we have learnt in Italy. Today, we have more than 2,000 active, paying customers each month.
What have been the biggest challenges in your entrepreneurial journey? And what’s on the horizon for Spoki?
Giorgio: There are a couple of important lessons I have learnt. The first is that, as an entrepreneur, especially early on, you must be hands-on. You need to throw yourself into it: call customers, visit them, listen to their needs. The more directly involved you are in operations, the better your understanding, and the faster your business can grow.
The second is particularly relevant to startups: you need to iterate as quickly as possible. A common mistake I see is thinking of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) as a finished product. But an MVP isn’t necessarily a product at all, it’s anything that allows you to validate a hypothesis. It could be a landing page, a mock-up, or even just a fake checkout page. You don’t always need to build something complex. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple test to gauge interest. You can save a huge amount of time by doing that.
Finally, what is your vision for the future of the conversational marketing industry?
Giorgio: Conversational marketing is a truly fascinating field.
As I mentioned, when we first entered the space, we were virtually alone. Then WhatsApp exploded in popularity, it’s a warm, personal channel that everyone wants to use.
Then came the AI wave. Suddenly, when entrepreneurs were short on ideas, the go-to became, “Let’s build something with AI. A chatbot. And let’s put it on WhatsApp.”
So the market quickly became crowded. But doing it well, that’s another story. That’s where we focus: on quality. It’s about really understanding customer needs and solving them effectively. That’s what sets us apart.
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For more info on Spoki, visit: https://spoki.it/en/