You do not want to miss this interview with Cellyce’s co-founder, Christianna Hurt. Most people know Christianna Hurt as the CEO of WealthyCollegeKid. She has also been listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 and Forbes 2021 Next 1000 List. 

Together Phase One Ventures and Christianna Hurt built Cellyce, an e-commerce product aggregator that allows both business owners and consumers to find deals on groceries and everyday items. 

Cellyce is launching soon so join the waitlist for exclusive first access!

To learn how Cellyce was built from the perspective of Phase One Ventures’ team, read this case study.

In this interview, we dive into Christianna’s experience working with Phase One Ventures and where the inspiration for Cellyce originated from. Read the transcription of Christianna’s interview here or visit our Instagram to watch clips of it! 

Christianna Hurt's Interview

Nicole:

Hello Christianna, thanks for joining us!

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Christianna:

Thank you so much for having me.

Introduction

Nicole:

Would you like to start with your introduction, your company, and your title?

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Christianna:

My name is Christianna Hurt. I’m the CEO and founder of Cellyce, a one-stop search shop and save platform to help others find deals on both groceries and products. 

I also own Wealthy College Kid, the #1 e-commerce education platform; a digital platform that teaches people how to sell online the correct way. 

As well as I was on Forbes Next 1000 and I've been invited to Forbes 30 Under 30. So really big in the e-commerce space and I'm a very heavy shaker in the education space as well.

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Nicole:

Well, you definitely have a lot to say in your repertoire, very cool!

How did you hear about Phase One Ventures?

Christianna:

Phase One Ventures is obviously owned by my partner, Jonathan Diaz, who’s been helping me bring Cellyce to life on the back end, as well as all of the UX/UI design, and creating Cellyce as a platform within its own and not just an idea.

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Nicole:

That's very cool!

What led you to needing a SaaS platform in the first place?

Christianna:

So I’ve been selling online myself for about six years now. 

I just noticed there was no platform that allowed both business owners as well as consumers to find cheap items, both in the produce and grocery department, as well as everyday products in their local area. 

I know there's Honey and there's Price.com, but it can be a little bit overwhelming with so many search engines and so many platforms. 

I wanted to localize it so people could find deals that were local to their area that they could either order it or go out into the storefront and get it.

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Nicole:

Yeah, would you say you got so frustrated that there wasn't anything available and you wanted to bring that to the market yourself?

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Christianna:

For sure, most of my users, even B2B or B2C, a lot of them were having problems finding suppliers and deal searching when there's just so many search options available in so many different platforms. 

They weren’t able to compare their carts or able to compare store to store in their local area. This filled the gap to be able to find products local to your area as well as cart compare your entire cart. 

Nowadays we're not just buying one or two items, we're buying a cart full of items. When you go grocery shopping you're buying anywhere from 20 to 30 items. 

When you go any type of shopping you're not just picking one item up, you're normally picking up multiple items and to have the ability to compare that cart in its entirety to another retailer to find the best price was a really great market that I feel like a lot of people would be looking for.

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What were some challenges you had? What problems did we help you solve in Cellyce?

Christianna:

So my biggest problem was not understanding UX/UI design, not understanding coding and how to bring a SaaS idea to life and how to actually code it out. 

Phase One Ventures partnered with me and brought the idea essentially to life, because I didn't know where to start, who to hire, or what the job description was that I was looking for to even create something like this. 

They were really able to bring that to life as well as tweak the things that were needed to make this a successful project in the marketplace.

Did you have any expectations working with Phase One Ventures?

Christianna:

No, I was referred to by a mutual friend who highly recommended Phase One Ventures.

I went into it really impressed with the amount of weekly calls as well as the milestones we were able to hit in such a short period of time.

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Nicole:

Yeah, that’s really amazing.

What are your top three takeaways from your experience?

Christianna:

My top three takeaways were definitely the speed, being able to bring this project to life in under 12 months is a huge win. As well as the communication we were able to have throughout the project, and the changes that we were able to make in a timely manner.

Nicole:

That's awesome. I'm glad you enjoyed working with us!

What was the best part about your experience with us?

Christianna:

The best part was really seeing it come to life, being able to search it now and see it work was the most fulfilling feeling. And also knowing that version one is still creating an amazing product for both business owners as well as consumers. 

What did you learn about Phase One Ventures and our process?

Christianna:

I just learned that it doesn't take a million years to create a SaaS company and to have a really great idea and be very detailed in the way that you want it to look, be, and work and they can definitely bring it to life.

Does your SaaS platform give your business a competitive advantage in your industry?

Christianna:

100% because now we're able to offer users a place to source products and groceries for the marketplace and to begin selling online even faster because we're facilitating the platform to source.

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Nicole:

Right that's the advantage of putting out the MVP first is that you do get to the market really quickly and it takes your competitors awhile to catch up.

Would you say that overall we helped you achieve your goals and expectations?

Christianna:

Yes!

Would you work with us again and would you refer us to someone else?

Christianna:

100%, the experience has been great and I'm really happy with the product. I'm excited for the future.

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Nicole:

Yeah, we have some pretty exciting things rolling out soon!

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Christianna:

For sure, thank you so much for having me!

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Nicole:

Of course, thank you for your time!

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Cellyce is launching soon and you don't want to miss it. Be the first to start saving with Cellyce by joining the waitlist.

if you're interested in partnering with Phase One Ventures, submit your partner application to get the conversation rolling.