# Podium

> Podium is a Lehi, Utah software company that builds an AI-powered communication and lead-management platform for local businesses. Founded in 2014 by Eric Rea and Dennis Steele, it started as an online-review tool and grew into an all-in-one system where auto shops, home-service companies, and medspas manage texts, calls, reviews, and payments from a single inbox. Its flagship product, the AI Employee, answers calls and messages around the clock, qualifies leads, books appointments, and follows up - work that used to fall through the cracks after hours. More than 60,000 businesses use Podium, which raised $201 million in 2021 at a $3 billion valuation.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** Lehi, Utah, United States
- **Founders:** Eric Rea (Co-founder & CEO), Dennis Steele (Co-founder & President)
- **Team size:** ~1,000-1,300 employees
- **Products:** AI Employee, Inbox, Reviews, Text Marketing, Payments
- **Notable:** Reached a $3 billion valuation with its 2021 Series D, Grew to serve 60,000+ (previously cited 100,000+) local businesses, Reportedly the highest-revenue company to graduate from Y Combinator

## Products & services

- **AI Employee** — A 24/7 AI agent that answers inbound calls and messages, qualifies leads, answers common questions, schedules appointments, follows up, and routes complex issues to humans. Organized into specialized roles: AI Salesperson, AI Scheduler, AI Marketer, AI Concierge, and AI Reputation Specialist.
- **Inbox** — An omnichannel inbox that unifies text, web chat, phone calls, Google, Facebook, and Instagram messages, and reviews into a single conversation thread the whole team can work from.
- **Reviews** — Tools to request, monitor, and respond to online reviews across Google and Facebook - the product Podium was originally built around.
- **Text Marketing** — Text-message campaigns to a business's customer base, promoted around a ~98% open rate compared with email.
- **Payments** — Contactless and text-to-pay payment collection, letting businesses request and take payment inside the same conversation.
- **Phones** — AI-powered business phone system where the AI Employee greets callers, handles routine calls, and hands off when a human is needed.
- **AI Operating System for Aesthetics** — A unified vertical platform for aesthetic and medspa practices integrating EMR, patient communications, marketing automation, and lead management, powered by the AI Employee 'Avery'.

## Achievements

- Reached a $3 billion valuation with its 2021 Series D
- Grew to serve 60,000+ (previously cited 100,000+) local businesses
- Reportedly the highest-revenue company to graduate from Y Combinator
- Subject of an OpenAI case study showing 30% revenue lift and 45% higher conversion for customers
- AI revenue grew ~300% year over year
- AI agents influencing billions in revenue across 10,000+ business locations

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Launched Jerry 2.0, an upgraded AI Employee for automotive, HVAC, and medspa, alongside an OpenAI case study citing 30% revenue lift and 45% higher conversion.
- **2025-11** — Launched the industry's first AI Operating System for Aesthetic practices, powered by AI Employee 'Avery', unifying EMR, patient communications, and marketing.
- **2025** — Reported AI revenue growth of ~300% year over year, with AI agents influencing billions in revenue across 10,000+ rooftops.

## Links

- Website: https://www.podium.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/podium
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/podium
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Podium
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/podium/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/podiumnetwork/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/podium
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-08