Founders Everywhere: Bobby Katoli
Bobby Katoli is the co-founder and CEO of Ceres Technology, a leader in AI-driven supply chain management solutions
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Navigating the supply chain is like trying to choreograph a flash mob with participants from every corner of the globe—except instead of dance moves, you're coordinating raw materials, shipping routes, and production schedules. It's a high-stakes endeavor that can make or break a business. Ceres Technology is not guessing the next move, but rather uses a patent pending AI Engine to predict delays and disruptions in multi-tier supply chain networks for each product and supplier. And they do it for months in advance with 80%-85% accuracy by tracking geopolitical events, commodities prices, macroeconomic data, ship transportation data, twitter feeds, satellite imaging, and many more data sources to provide not only a risk probability score for each purchase order and supplier, but also the severity of the delay as well. This allows for the ability to respond to delays and disruptions months ahead of the market and competition, as well as reduce costs and enhance customer satisfaction. Having a smooth supply chain can make the difference between merely surviving or thriving, and Ceres Technology helps companies thrive!
Co-founders Bobby Katoli, CEO, and George William "Trey" Hoobler III, CSO, (he’s not royalty, we asked) have known each other close to a decade and were friends before deciding to work together on a few different projects. Ceres originally started as a coffee business, where Bobby and Trey saw firsthand the issues in the supply chain. They decided to solve their own problem with data and technology and it was so useful they wanted to share it with others. Ceres empowers businesses to reduce their risk and increase resiliency by finding patterns and trends in data to predict upstream disruptions. Bobby shares more about their proactive approach to supply chain management.
What inspired the creation of Ceres Technology?
Ceres actually started off as a coffee company. Trey and I were importing green coffee from El Salvador and Costa Rica and during that process we noticed a lack of transparency and data within the supply chain. I decided to ride a cargo ship for six days from Mexico to Colombia to see all the points coffee can be affected, from weather and port congestion, to geopolitical risk (there was cartel activity in Colombia.) With our background in data, we decided to develop a technology and aggregate data and generate insights to solve our own problem. That’s when Ceres Coffee became Ceres Technology.
Why is Ceres Technology going to win?
We eliminate the manual supply chain mapping step, providing a holistic approach that includes geopolitical risks, raw materials, and economic data. Our approach is proactive, helping clients understand specific impacts on their supply chains. We have competed against some of the largest consulting firms in the world, head to head, and won the contracts. We are not a consulting company, we're a SaaS product. We successfully predicted supply chain disruptions 24 weeks in advance, far exceeding the 3 weeks our client could manage internally. Additionally, our performance was 8x better than that of the nearest vendor, who only achieved a 3% improvement over the company's internal capabilities. This was a huge. huge win for us.
Tell us about a milestone Ceres Technology crushed.
We recently raised a round from great collaborators like Everywhere Ventures, Hustle Fund, Deftly, Refashiond, Plug & Play, and some angels. We’ve completed our go-to-market strategy and secured some great partnerships. We’re excited to partner with Boomi, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution companies in the world.
How has your background influenced you as a founder?
I come from a strong data background including quantitative trading, FinTech, and consulting. It’s really helped with machine learning and the AIP. Additionally, my personal growth through the startup journey, especially this second time, has enhanced my ability to delegate, manage, and lead more effectively.
Any favorite podcasts?
I like Lex Friedman’s podcast. He does a really good job of bringing in different perspectives, views and insights for understanding the world.
Fun fact: During our coffee importing days, we picked and washed the beans alongside the farmers. This experience really put the entire supply chain process into perspective, which can span 9-12 months from picking a bean to its arrival in your cup at Starbucks or your local coffee shop. So, when your coffee is a couple of minutes late, just remember that it almost took a year and quite literally a village to get that coffee into your cup.
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