Patrick: Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Rev Talks. Today we’re joined by John Bertoli from InstaVert. How’s it going today, John?
John: Hey Patrick, doing great. Thanks for having me.
Patrick: Glad to have you here. Can you tell us a little bit about InstaVert and what you’re building?
What Is InstaVert?
John: Absolutely. InstaVert is a real-time website optimization platform.
Many solutions in the market today focus on personalization. They identify who a visitor is based on demographic or firmographic information and then customize the website experience accordingly. For example, they may know someone works in IT at Microsoft and adapt the site based on that profile.
InstaVert takes a different approach.
Instead of focusing on who the visitor is, we focus on how they’re behaving on the website in real time. We monitor actions such as clicks, hesitation, scrolling behavior, time on page, and exit intent. Based on those signals, the website can automatically adapt to guide visitors from informational pages toward conversion-focused experiences.
Current Product Focus
Patrick: What is the main focus of the platform right now?
John: We recently launched AI-powered reporting and summarization capabilities.
Our AI analyzes all of the behavioral data, metrics, and performance statistics collected throughout the platform and automatically summarizes what is happening. More importantly, it provides actionable recommendations and next steps that users can implement to improve their optimization strategy.
We’re also preparing to launch an AI assistant within the platform. Users will be able to simply describe what they want to create. For example:
“Create an exit-intent popup with a red background, white text, and messaging focused on increasing demo requests.”
The AI will build and deploy it automatically. No coding required. The goal is to make website optimization as simple as describing what you want and letting the platform do the work.
Who Uses InstaVert?
Patrick: Who is the platform designed for?
John: We primarily serve two audiences:
- B2B SaaS companies
- eCommerce businesses
Both groups rely heavily on website conversions, and we have built specific use cases and optimization strategies for each.
How InstaVert Generates Demand
Patrick: How are you currently getting in front of new customers?
John: We officially launched in late February, so we’re still in the early growth stages.
We’re taking a multi-channel approach:
- Partnering with marketing agencies
- Building relationships with fractional CMOs
- Leveraging my own professional network
- Growing a sales team focused on direct outreach
- Developing strategic partnerships
We have dedicated sales resources focused on both direct customer acquisition and partnership development.
Sales and Outreach Strategy
Patrick: What are your salespeople actually doing day-to-day?
John: A little bit of everything.
They’re:
- Cold calling prospects
- Following up on inbound leads
- Sending email campaigns
- Building relationships with agencies and consultants
- Prospecting on LinkedIn
- Reaching out to conversion optimization and marketing leaders
Since we’re building our customer base from scratch, it’s very much a hands-on business development effort.
Tracking Growth
Patrick: Are you tracking all of your growth metrics?
John: Absolutely.
We use Monday.com as our CRM, and all sales activities, opportunities, and customer interactions are tracked there.
How InstaVert Started
Patrick: How did the idea for InstaVert come about?
John: I also own a demand generation agency and work as a fractional CMO.
One of my clients was evaluating website personalization platforms such as Optimizely and Intellimize. As I looked deeper into those solutions, I noticed two things:
First, most of them focused heavily on personalization based on visitor identity.
Second, they were priced primarily for enterprise organizations, often costing $35,000 to $50,000 per year or more.
I saw a gap in the market.
I wanted to build something that focused on real-time behavioral optimization rather than simply identifying who the visitor was. My belief was that understanding how someone is interacting with a website is often more valuable than knowing their company or job title.
We started building InstaVert roughly 12 to 14 months ago and focused heavily on identifying hesitation points throughout the user journey.
For example, if someone reaches a demo request page but doesn’t complete the form, perhaps the form is too long. Maybe we should reduce the number of fields. Perhaps we should inject social proof, testimonials, videos, or case studies to increase confidence.
The entire platform was built around helping websites adapt to visitor behavior and remove friction in real time.
Funding and Growth Strategy
Patrick: Are you bootstrapped or funded?
John: We’re currently self-funded.
We built the entire platform using revenue generated from our marketing agency. While we may consider raising capital in the future, our current focus is remaining lean, growing responsibly, and seeing how far we can take the business organically.
Managing Multiple Businesses
Patrick: You’re still running your agency as well?
John: Yes. I currently manage three businesses.
First, our demand generation agency, which continues to grow and serve clients across multiple industries.
Second, InstaVert, which officially launched earlier this year.
Third, PEO Blueprint, which provides HR and PEO advisory services to small businesses.
Balancing Multiple Companies
Patrick: What’s it like managing three different businesses?
John: It’s definitely challenging.
You constantly have to switch contexts and wear different hats throughout the day.
What makes it possible is having strong teams in place. I’ve built organizations where talented people own specific areas of responsibility, allowing me to focus on strategic leadership, growth initiatives, and product direction.
Current Stage of Growth
Patrick: Where is InstaVert today from a growth perspective?
John: We’re still very early.
We launched at the end of February and currently have a growing group of customers using the platform. Our primary focus over the next six months is expanding our customer base while continuing to invest heavily in product development.
We’re particularly focused on agencies that manage advertising, lead generation, and conversion optimization for their clients because InstaVert aligns naturally with those services.
Product Roadmap
Patrick: What are some of the major features on the roadmap?
John: We have a very ambitious roadmap over the next 12 months.
Some of the key initiatives include:
- Lifecycle management capabilities
- Role-based permissions and approvals
- Administrative management views
- Enhanced security and compliance features
- Audit logs
- Version history
- Experiment metadata
- Traffic allocation controls
For example, customers will be able to specify that only 10% of website traffic sees one optimization while 20% sees another. This gives them more control over testing and experimentation.
There’s a lot coming, and we’re excited about where the platform is headed.
Transitioning From Agency to SaaS
Patrick: Many agency owners eventually see an opportunity to build software. What was that transition like for you?
John: We spent over a year developing InstaVert behind the scenes before publicly talking about it.
We wanted to validate the technology and make sure it delivered real value before building a go-to-market strategy.
Once we saw how powerful the platform could be, we started offering it as a value-add to existing agency clients. They received access to InstaVert as part of their monthly engagement, and we managed it on their behalf.
That gave us several benefits:
First, we quickly built case studies and performance data.
Second, it strengthened our agency value proposition.
And third, it allowed clients to experience the platform without additional cost, making adoption much easier.
Pricing Strategy
Patrick: How did you approach pricing?
John: One of our core goals from the beginning was affordability.
Many competing platforms target enterprise organizations and charge tens of thousands of dollars annually. While those solutions offer valuable capabilities, they aren’t accessible to most small and mid-sized businesses.
We wanted to change that.
Our entry-level plan starts at $99 per month and includes access to experiments and behavioral triggers.
Our more advanced plan is $500 per month and includes additional capabilities and functionality.
Our objective is to make advanced website optimization accessible to organizations that traditionally couldn’t afford it.
Where to Learn More
Patrick: Where can people find InstaVert and connect with you?
John: You can learn more at InstaVert.ai.
If you’re interested in seeing the platform in action, request a demo and we’d be happy to walk you through it.
You can also connect with me on LinkedIn by searching for John Bertoli.
Final Thoughts
Patrick: Any final message for the industry?
John: We’re just getting started.
Even at this early stage, InstaVert is already a powerful solution, and we’re investing heavily in expanding its capabilities.
I believe real-time website optimization is one of the most underdeveloped opportunities in digital marketing today. As AI continues to evolve, websites will increasingly become living, adaptive experiences that respond dynamically to visitor behavior.
The future isn’t just understanding who your visitors are. It’s understanding what they’re doing and adapting the experience in real time to help them succeed.
Patrick: John, thanks so much for joining us today.
John: Thank you, Patrick. I appreciate the opportunity.
