One year to the day after the launch of the public version of the Kabaun platform, Alexandre Paschutine, co-founder and CPTO (Chief Product & Technology Officer), reflects on this past year, the achievements, challenges faced by him and his team, and the upcoming steps and planned developments.
Exactly one year since the official deployment of Kabaun, what do you take away from it?
I am truly impressed by the achievements of our team. I want to express my gratitude to our technical team for their dedication and expertise, as well as to my partner, Nicolas, and the marketing and sales teams for their invaluable support.
In just one year, we have succeeded in developing the most comprehensive carbon management solution on the market. It's an accomplishment that we can all be proud of.
Furthermore, I feel a great sense of pride in seeing the growth of each team member during this year. I cannot fail to mention Menhaj, who came in without experience and is now an essential part of our team. This speaks to our commitment to the personal and professional growth of our team, and I am delighted to see what they have achieved together.
Within the team, what have you learned in the past year from interacting with customers, and what is your philosophy on this relationship?
Over the past year, I have truly understood how crucial interactions with our customers are. Sometimes, we can be completely convinced of the value of our solution, be experts in our field, and have solved similar problems hundreds of times. But the user has the power to put all our beliefs into perspective and provide solutions we would have never considered.
What characterizes our relationship with our customers is its simplicity and collaborative nature. At Kabaun, we work closely with our customers and users to co-build our product. Their feedback and ideas are extremely valuable as they constantly help us improve our solution to better meet their needs. This approach allows us to innovate constantly and ensure that our product always aligns with their expectations.
What were the main challenges and difficulties that you and your team had to face?
The main challenges and difficulties my team faced over the past year were particularly stimulating. Early on, we had to make a crucial decision: should we create a SaaS solution focused solely on carbon footprint or specialize in carbon management for a specific sector? We chose a bold approach by developing an all-in-one solution for carbon data management. Our goal is to enable easy integration into our clients' tools, regardless of the country, use case, or specific standards.
Achieving our vision of providing a scalable platform that is compatible with various tools and locations while remaining user-friendly was a constant challenge. Our fundamental goal remains to enable all businesses to effectively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Regarding personal challenges, I have just experienced an exciting phase by becoming a father for the first time. I had some concerns about the impact of my absence during my parental leave, but I am delighted to see that the team has shown incredible adaptability. This demonstrates that our team is resilient and ready to tackle all challenges that come our way, whether they are related to technological innovation or personal growth.
If you had to select three key features that have allowed customers to accelerate their carbon management and emissions reduction strategies, what would they be?
The "API first" approach has been essential. Although it is not a feature in itself, the ability to manage all carbon data within their organization through our API has greatly simplified the tasks for our users.
The "template" module stands out as the most appreciated feature by our users. With a single click, they can organize their carbon project and list the activities required for data collection. This allows them to save valuable time and focus on what matters most.
For our partners, white-labeling has been a game-changer. The tool is deeply customized to best suit their customer base.
Since technology is the backbone of our products, what are the next steps you are considering, and what evolutions do you have planned?
Technology indeed plays a central role in our products, and we have big ambitions for the future. Our fundamental goal remains unchanged: to democratize carbon data management to make it accessible to all.
We have planned several exciting developments. First and foremost, we intend to make our application open source by the end of the year, making our technology available to everyone, fostering collaboration and innovation in the field of carbon management.
At the same time, we are exploring the possibility of offering Kabaun as a Platform as a Service (PaaS), opening up new possibilities for businesses looking to easily integrate our solution into their existing infrastructure.
Finally, we intend to further simplify carbon data management by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) modules. This will make it easier for our users to select their emission factors, receive reduction action suggestions, and simplify the import of their files. Our ultimate goal is to make the process as smooth as possible for our clients so they can effectively focus on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Any closing words?
We are determined to evolve our offering and meet the changing needs of our users. Let's get to work!