Aug 30, 2024

Plume is a SaaS platform company that delivers technological services for connected homes. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Plume’s general manager of European operations, the head of #PlumeStrong Jasna Mihelj Coustaury, to learn more about the company. Coustaury said: “I attended law school in Slovenia, where I live today. After graduation, I wanted to start my own company instead of practicing law, so I founded a business that built greenfield GSM mobile networks and other private telecom networks. After a few years, I sold that company and worked in finance as part of an M&A team.” “Following that, I became an entrepreneur in the telecom sector again. So, I’ve spent most of my life working with startup companies in the global telecom sector, building teams of engineers.” Formation Of Plume How did the idea for Plume come together? Coustaury shared: “People were struggling with their home Wi-Fi connectivity and were unhappy that they couldn’t make Skype or WhatsApp calls or use other connected technology as they wanted. They would call their communications service providers (CSPs) to report that their internet didn’t work. But service providers could only see there was a connection, so they’d say it should be working.” “The next step typically involved the customer calling their service provider multiple times, then the service provider would send a technician to the customer’s home to try to fix the problem.” “We knew we needed a way to empower CSPs to see what was happening with connectivity in their customers’ homes – and empower end users to manage their home network experiences without being IT experts. So, we started developing a network optimization algorithm, which came to be known today as our Adapt product.” “That inspired us to do more. Plume now enables service providers to deliver technology that helps people thrive and empowers end users with tools that provide ideal and uninterrupted experiences.” Favorite Memory What has been Coustaury’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Coustaury reflected: “One of my favorite memories with Plume was in 2018 when we connected the one-millionth home to the Plume cloud. To celebrate this very important milestone, we held a big company event. Everyone was incredibly happy and justifiably proud of this achievement. As far as #PlumeStrong, everyone involved in this effort has built amazing memories throughout this journey! I will never forget my visit to Moldova in the summer of 2023.” “I visited the learning hubs we had built with our charity partner Street Child, using the money raised during #PlumeStrong Cycling Challenge 2022 (PSCC) to assist Ukrainian refugees. It was summertime, and children were playing outside and enjoying activities with their teachers, splashing water, writing and drawing beautiful cards for their moms. Their moms enjoyed watching their happy and smiling faces – and, at least for a few minutes, they were able to forget the despair of war.” Challenges Faced What challenges have Coustaury and the team faced in building the company? Coustaury acknowledged: “This industry is dominated by men, and it hasn’t been easy to combine my work in this sector with motherhood, family and everything else. You need to be very organized and hardworking. You shouldn’t compromise because the people around you don’t expect you to.” “When I was younger, I thought I had to be perfect at work, as a mom, as a wife, a friend – everything. But I realized that doesn’t work. You can be good at everything but not the best.” “You need to choose what is important to you. For me, my career was very important.” “I’ll admit that my family sometimes came in second place because of my work. I was lucky to have the support of my parents and my husband. He worked in the same industry, so he understood the challenges and hard work needed to put into whatever you do.” “I wasn’t typically the person who took my daughter to school, was there waiting when she finished or could attend every school event. But having a hardworking mom has had a positive impact on my daughter. She now understands that it takes a lot of energy, efficiency and hard work to be successful. You must be on your toes all the time.” Evolution Of Plume’s Technology How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Coustaury noted: “Technology has evolved on both sides of the equation—in the home and for the service provider. As Plume has matured, we have deepened the platforms that we give individuals, families, support center technicians and CSP executives to manage networks intelligently.” “In the home, we have given users more insights, context and actions they can take to improve their experience. We have built a proactive platform for CSPs that provides information so they can best serve their customers. And better yet, they can offer that best-in-class in-home experience to those customers.” “We have also expanded into different markets. For small businesses and multi-family residences, we provide enterprise-level technology at a more realistic price. So, whether they’re servicing their customers or the families that live in their buildings, the owners can provide exceptional experiences.” Core Products And Features What are the company’s core products and features? Coustaury explained: “At the core of Plume technology is our adaptive and intelligent Wi-Fi. Using algorithms and the best-in-the-industry device and application typing, Plume can immensely understand a network’s needs to proactively manage it. Our HomePass product gives this networking capability to residential customers. This application allows users to manage people, devices and their networks. It enables them to prioritize specific people, devices or application types while making sure to secure anything that is connected.” “For SMBs, Plume offers WorkPass, which enables the management of business-critical hardware, employees and guests. For multi-family residences, Uprise allows a property manager to deploy an intelligent network across a whole building and provide a move-in ready experience for tenants from day one.” “For CSPs, Plume offers a variety of products for support, marketing, data and networking teams. CSPs can see advanced and in-depth information about their networks to respond to issues before they impact customers proactively. When those customers do call in, support agents can gain a much more informed view of the home to provide more helpful, specific guidance to their customers. These tools result in lower support call volumes and truck rolls while resulting in higher revenue and NPS scores for CSPs.” Customer Success Stories After asking Coustaury about customer success stories, she highlighted: “Nothing makes us happier than seeing our customers’ success. Around the world, we have celebrated success with NOS, net+, Bell, Comcast, Charter, JCOM, Reliance JIO, Liberty Latin America, Liberty Global, Millicom and Claro. We serve the largest CSPs on four continents, including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Plume works with CSPs across every continent, excluding Antarctica.” Differentiation From The Competition