From Hospitality Operator to $100M+ in Transactions: Paul Pisani

What started with a bill for some buzzers in a chicken shop became ClevaQ: a mobile-first B2B platform now powering $100M+ in transactions across 200+ venues.

In this episode, founder Paul Pisani shares how he went from running cafés and managing portfolios to launching a scalable tech product with minimal churn and deep industry adoption. From bootstrapping his MVP to raising capital through family, friends, and strategic partners, Paul reveals the mindset, decisions, and product-first approach that helped ClevaQ survive COVID, compete with VC-backed players, and carve out a niche in hospitality tech.
You’ll hear:

• How a real-world pain point led to a winning startup idea
• Why he doubled down on tech when revenue hit zero
• His approach to funding without giving up control
• The power of long-term tech partnerships
• Why product over sales (especially in the early years)

This is a must-listen for any founder starting with lived experience - not a tech background - and wondering how to turn insights into innovation.

Listen here: https://podfollow.com/build-and-scale-with-devika 

Thank you to Ingram Micro for sponsoring this episode. https://www.ingrammicro.com/