Quantum Software S.A. — Management Reports 2020

Jun 30, 2020

The LiveChat Software Living Constitution

Company vision, mission, core values and strategy

Table of contents

Intro	3
CEO's foreword	4
Vision	6
Mission	8
Core values	11
Company strategy	20
Operational guidelines	24

Intro

The Company is growing. Our team is growing. This document sets our vision, mission and our priorities for those who are already here and for all those who will join us in the future.

This is a living constitution. We are ready to adapt to a constantly changing business environment. This constitution will adapt as well.

Each point is important. We present them here in no particular order.

We carry this vision in our hearts. We use it to excel in our daily work.

Two definitions before we start:

• company or business = our clients
• end-users or people = customers of those companies and businesses – our clients' customers

CEO's foreword

I don't want to build a company that only has 100,000 clients and billions in revenue. I want us to go down in history as the company that revolutionized internet communication. We need an ambitious goal and the courage to achieve it.

The world of instant messaging is evolving. Let's not stand still concentrating on what is safe. Products in our industry are nearly identical. All of them are delivering that same customer experience. I want us to be rebels and fight the status quo. I want us to reinvent the idea of online communication between customers and businesses. We can do more, especially with respect to innovation. We don't want to spy on the competition. We don't want to compete just based on features. Our customers should feel an emotional barrier when they consider choosing another product over one of ours. That said, changing products is simple and doesn't usually present emotional barriers. How our brand communicates with clients should build emotional capital. We have to make a promise to clients, so that they feel as if they're taking part in a mission that needs their support. Each customer should feel like they are part of our Mars expedition, even if our company hasn't yet delivered on that promise. Listing features isn't enough.

We should communicate with customers through our vision, mission, and promises. We are too concentrated on features, forgetting about the realm of customer experience.

We know how to build technically solid products. We are the best in the world at product distribution, delivery, and customer onboarding. Our current approach works, but there are other areas we haven't explored yet. Communication is more than words written on a page. Those words evoke emotions. We completely ignore those emotions in our current business. We should give end users new tools to express what they feel. We shouldn't focus on whether we build software for sales teams or customer support. We're responsible for removing communication barriers in business. We should feel responsible for delivering technology that shortens the distance between businesses and customers. Ultimately, we need to get to the point where we will have made online communication as effective as face-to-face meetings. This is our responsibility. It's why this organization was brought to life and why it will continue to exist for as long as we don't solve this problem.

Mariusz Ciepły, CEO

Part one

Company vision, mission and core values

Vision

Customer communication without barriers

Vision

We transform the way people communicate with businesses online.

We remove every communication barrier between customers and the business. We will make online communication as efficient as face-to-face meetings. This will help businesses to grow. We will also pay close attention to end-users and help them gain control over communication with companies.

We think text-based communication is the most efficient way to bring businesses and customers closer together. It's the best way to communicate in an online world. We will keep exploring to find the full potential of online written communication.

We focus on delivering the technology and the know-how to make communication easy, convenient, and natural. We will empower customers to express what they think and feel during when communicating with companies online.

We exist not only to be the best in the world but also to be the best for the world. Although we are a for-profit business, we believe that our company can also help solve social problems related to our core competencies. We will make an impact on issues related to online communication: the digital divide and computer illiteracy.

Mission

Help people and businesses communicate better and fully express themselves

Mission

Both in-person and digital communication present obstacles to efficient communication, but each also has benefits that make communication easier. We wish to combine the advantages of both means of communication to make exchanging information easy, convenient, and natural.

Communication should be free from:

• physical barriers (time, place, space, climate, noise),
• barriers caused by choosing the wrong medium,
• semantic barriers,
• cultural barriers,
• language barriers,
• psychological barriers (moods, attitudes, relationships),
• barriers caused by varying perception of reality (levels of understanding certain things).

How can we overcome those barriers? Here are some characteristics of communication without barriers:

• asynchronous or real-time depending on what's needed in a given situation,
• always at hand (mobile phone, desktops, on any device you are currently using),
• where is most convenient (the ideal medium),
• fast,
• always available (24/7/365),
• minimizes effort for both end-users and companies,
• understandable even when each side uses a different language,
• context-aware knowledge of the other sides needs and intentions,
• no need for deep cultural understanding between the two sides,
• supports communication with an appropriate tone,
• understandable for both sides, even if the topic is technical and one side doesn't understand all the details.

The full list is longer and in constant evolution. We will introduce tools and products that enhance communication.

Mission

Why good communication, without barriers, is so important

We live in a busy world. Good communication makes it possible for us to make it through our daily lives. It's impossible to build personal or business relations without good communication. There are ways to communicate with everyone, you just have to find the right way for each situation. When you find the right way to communicate, it's the best way to efficiently implement outstanding customer service.

Businesses should break down communication barriers they find in any aspect of customer service, so in marketing, sales, and support. Without barriers, there is space for empathy and mutual understanding. That space means opportunities to win over customers and provide exceptional service that inspires loyalty and positive word of mouth. Every customer interaction, down to the smallest, is an investment and not a cost. Personalized treatment and the increased trust that results translate into lower churn and more word-of-mouth marketing for the business.

We help businesses become more customer-centric

Customer service has always been our area of expertise. But now we want to go beyond interactions with customers. We want our products to be present in every aspect of the relationship between an end-user and a company: pre-sale, sales and post-sale interactions. At the same time, we want that communication to mimic natural conversation. We will equip businesses with tools that add a layer of emotions on top of the customer journey, and an element of soul that is unique to each business.

We will help businesses create an authentic customer experience.

• 1. "Fight for every inch" mindset
• 1. Keep it simple
• 1. Teamwork
• 1. Take ownership
• 1. Tell it how it is
• 1. Be creative
• 1. Learn from mistakes

Our business philosophy is strongly rooted in the way we operate. These values are shared by our whole team. In them, we look for purpose, motivation, and encouragement.

This is how our organization works. This is what we feel in our heart of hearts. These points help us perform our daily work.

"Fight for every inch" mindset

We are still in startup mode! We prefer thinking over spending money. There are smaller companies out there willing to take our place and working their asses off to do that.

Keep it simple

Don't overcomplicate things, focus on what really matters – high-quality results. Prioritize, work smart with quick iterations.

This is a team game. There is no single-player mode. Your work adds more value and leads to better results when combined with someone else's work. Share your knowledge and help one another.

Take ownership

We are here to see meaningful results from our work! Focus on releasing on time and delivering value to customers. Take ownership of your responsibilities. Avoid distractions. Get things done – no one else is going to do it for you. This is a place for reliable people.

Tell how it is

Be direct and honest. Don't beat around the bush. Share your doubts openly and warn others about incoming problems, even when they seem small. We are direct and straightforward but remember – it's not about any one individual. We only improve as a team with honest feedback.

Be creative

Use your imagination to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, forms, methods and interpretations. Create a new status quo. We encourage you to find innovative solutions if it helps our business. But remember, innovation is not an end in itself. What we do want is craftsmanship. Create innovation when it's needed and make good use of ideas from others: "Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal".

Learn from mistakes

Experiment. Only then can we evolve into a stronger company. At the same time, pay attention to your errors, and share them with others, no matter how big or small they might seem. Learn from your actions and choices, and do your best to never make the same mistake twice. Part two

Company strategy

Who/where (core customers)

• Businesses of all shapes and sizes
  • We're good at automated SMB sales and we'll keep it that way. We focus on mid-size companies, but also get smaller customers and use them as lead generators.
  • Having more enterprise customers will make our business more predictable and even more stable. We have all the puzzles to do it, but still need to align the product, marketing and sales to get there. We will figure it out.

• For the US market
• People we feel responsible for quality of communication on both ends of the interaction. We have the power to take better care and positively affect millions of people using our products.

What (products & services)

• The central point of customer relations. We're providing products that are the communication hub for the businesses - collecting user data, providing insights, and supporting the company's decision-making processes.
• Communication support for businesses and end-users. The brands no longer dictate the rules of communication; it's the end-customers that lead the way. We allow them to communicate with companies as easily and freely as with friends. We provide them with tools to better express themselves.
• Open Products with open APIs for a seamless experience – integrations between our products and with other products, options to build their own solutions. Widget becomes an independent product available for all products and 3rd parties. API itself also becomes a product.
• Knowledge we're not here only to sell products, we also want to share our 18 years worth of experience to support building better communication methods and successful companies.
• Cross-product Partner Program and Marketplace are open and become essential for our growth and the growth of our business partners.
• Invest heavily in analysis and segmentation of available product and customer behavior data to explore opportunities for further growth.
• We will increase the number of interactions that people have with our products and services. (We will clarify the number once we learn how to measure it)

Differentiating activities (how's)

Customer-centricity

Expand focus to all end-users. Take care of the whole customer relations process, before and after the sales, and every aspect of online communication. Be where end-users are, ASAP. Making end-users happy will win us more customers and improve the growth of our customers' businesses. Support personalized and emotional communication.

Open ecosystem to improve customer experiences

We want to shape the business communication and messaging market. We'll create an environment to take the lead in online communication technology by developing the best products and creating a community around them.

We'll share our technology, knowledge, solutions, and experience to benefit end-users, customers, developers, technology partners (i.e. ISV partners), solution partners (affiliates, customer service outsourcing, implementation partners). We'll engage with them to create a place where everyone can improve their communication and solve messaging problems quickly. We'll partner with other ISVs to develop the best solutions for our customers. We will provide building blocks for others to create and power their own specialized customer service solutions that compete directly with our products.

Differentiating activities (how's)

Central point of customer interactions

We're with our customers every day, and our products are the central point in their work. Our products are intuitive and ready to be used in any organization – from small businesses to enterprises. We are still targeting businesses of various shapes and sizes in the US market. We import and collect data to become a hub and provide the best data and knowledge. We're supporting decision making for our customers by giving insights and suggesting actions.

Differentiate through innovation

We want to be first to bring emotional charge to text communication. We are looking for creative and innovative ways of delivering emotions that will put us in the driver seat of the online communication market. We want to provide an example for the rest of the market. We want to create avant-garde solutions in the area of emotions in text communication.

Leverage economies of scale

We will use all our advantages to facilitate growth, get an edge over competitors and build new solutions. Leverage existing customers and end- users, making use of all they come up with to better communicate, distribute and expand the product. Examples: big data tools, end-user products, access to millions of end-users when joining our products. Prioritize biggest projects over tiny ones.

Operational guidelines

We make premium-quality products

What defines premium quality? Our 24/7 support. Going the extra mile in marketing and sales. The thoughtful design and high reliability of our products – they still work well on a bad internet connection, for example. We want to be extraordinary and expensive. We are not afraid to charge good money for a superior product!

We want to not only build products that "just work", but also products that incorporate features and knowledge coming from our years of experience. In short, we build products that help provide extraordinary customer service. Our products' features and the knowledge baked into them mean that agents perform better than if they used competitors' products.

Operational guidelines

Build for all users

We are building products that are used by many diverse groups: managers, agents, admins, and end-users. Make sure it offers real value to every kind of user.

Rely on data as well as on gut feeling and experience

Don't overthink the process, use your experience to make brave decisions to speed things up. Don't A/B test everything just for the sake of testing.

Brand our products

Respect our logos and "powered by" marks with links. They bring us customers. We name our products in a specific way which allows us to easily conquer target markets.

Keep winning customers every day

Winning a customer does not end with their credit card data in our billing system. Keep giving them reasons to choose us over competitors. Never stop wowing them and never take them for granted.

Agreement

This is the way we see ourselves. This is the way we want to operate.

We'll respectfully part ways with those who don't see themselves in the above points. We'll fight to attract and keep those who do.

Let's get to work.

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