Pinpoint📍

Opening Remarks

This week, I’ve been thinking about why some of the best founders make terrible employees.

VCs love backing polished résumés: ex-Google, ex-McKinsey, ex-Facebook. But credentials don’t always translate into great founders. The people who build generational companies often have messy backgrounds, short stints, and a track record of not fitting in.

The traits that make them difficult employees, obsession, defiance, impatience, are the same ones that make them unstoppable founders. I wrote about this recently in a post that went viral. Now, onto this week’s feature:

-Brett

Bulletpitch’s publication covers the hottest early-stage startup before being picked up by larger media outlets. If that’s you, apply here.

Setting the Scene

Today’s consumers discover brands while scrolling TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, as brand discovery now starts on social media, not websites.
Yet, marketing automation tools were built for email and SMS, assuming the website is the starting point.
Brands are spending millions on influencer campaigns and viral posts, but without a CRM built for the social era, they lose consumers in the gap between attention and conversion.
This week’s company is building the first AI social operating system, helping brands turn attention into loyalty by delivering personalized messages through DMs, comments, and in-app touch points across Instagram, TikTok, and more.

In a Sentence

Pinpoint is an AI social operating system for brands to convert social media engagement into lifetime customers.

Platform: Built to natively integrate with social channels, Pinpoint centralizes customer data, automates messaging, and provides real-time analytics to optimize performance across every touchpoint.
Convert: When a user comments on a post or DMs a brand, Pinpoint instantly replies with product offers, deals, and recommendations.
Sales: By meeting customers where they already are, Pinpoint keeps brands relevant and turns everyday interactions into measurable revenue.

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Bulleted Version: Similar to how Klaviyo automates personalized email and SMS campaigns, Pinpoint automates personalized social media conversations, turning likes, comments, and DMs directly into sales.

The Basics

Industry: AI Marketing / Social Commerce
Headquarters: New York
Year Founded: 2024
Employee Count: 4
Investors: Antler, Phoenix Capital Ventures, Flybridge, True Global, Upside Ventures (Sidemen), and various angels.
Amount Raised: $2.5M
Business Model: Subscription with usage fees
Early Traction: Launched April 2025; 100+ brands onboarded and including top-tier brands like MaryRuth Organics, The Rock’s Papatui, Jake Paul’s W, Overtime, PrizePicks, IGK Hair, Sauz, Ayoh, Slate Milk, and many more.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Most investors hear about a company after they’ve already raised. With Harmonic, you’ll know first.
Harmonic’s data engine tracks 20M+ companies and 150M+ professional profiles in real time. The second a startup hires its first engineer, spins up a website, or closes a round, you’re in the loop.
Whether you’re sourcing deals, prospecting customers, or building partnerships, Harmonic gives you the freshest signals to act before the rest of the market catches on.

Don’t Miss These Deals

Weekly Feature Continued

Due Diligence

WHAT WE LIKE

Market Opportunity: Global brands spend over $1 trillion annually on advertising, much of it lost to outdated website and email funnels, while 64% of U.S. internet users discover new products on social platforms, creating a massive opportunity for social-first marketing.
Data Ownership: By capturing first-party data directly through DMs, Pinpoint gives brands durable customer relationships and safeguards them against privacy shifts and the loss of third-party tracking.
Conversion at First Touch: Unlike traditional tools that require an email capture before engagement begins, Pinpoint activates users the moment they interact, turning comments, DMs, and likes into instant conversion opportunities.

POTENTIAL RISKS

Platform Dependence: Pinpoint relies on integrations with social platforms like TikTok and Instagram, and any API restrictions or policy changes could disrupt key features.
Adoption Friction: Convincing brands to shift marketing spend from established email and website channels to DM-based automation may lengthen sales cycles and slow early growth.
Competitive Pressure: As social commerce matures, major incumbents such as Meta, Shopify, or Kalyvio could introduce native AI tools that replicate parts of Pinpoint’s functionality.

Founder Profile

Joshua Cohen, CEO: Previously the Head of Revenue at Rattle; Sales at Google; and digital marketing for top artists.
Justin Krokoff, COO: Founding team at Rattle; Product and Growth at Tripadvisor; and digital marketing with top artists.
Luke Dobrovic, CTO: SWE and first hire at Feather (YC W23).

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To request an introduction to the founder, respond to this email.

Comps

Manychat: Offers basic automation for Facebook and Instagram messaging, but lacks AI-driven personalization, cross-channel orchestration, and a focus on DTC commerce.
ReplyRush: Helps brands auto-DM users who comment, boosting engagement, but stops short of enabling full-funnel conversion or personalized lifecycle messaging.
Inrō: Builds conversational funnels across DMs and SMS, but more focused on lead gen and community engagement than driving repeat purchases and AOV for DTC brands.

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Why Pinpoint: By meeting consumers where they discover brands, automating personalized conversations through AI, and giving businesses ownership of their customer data, this company’s mission is on point.

If you are a DTC brand and would like to learn more, you can book a demo here.

Event Board

Foundersiving, NYC: We’re hosting our second annual Foundersgiving, a thanksgiving themed dinner to bring together NYC’s top founders in November! Sign up HERE.
NESCAC NEXUS, NYC: In November we are hosting an event for founders and investors that attended NESCAC colleges. Sign up HERE.

Cast Your Vote

What do you think of Pinpoint?

Cast your vote below and tell us why:

Last Week Today

The Results Are In: Phyll, a real-time AI platform that transforms dash cam footage into a searchable 3D map and gives cities, organizations, and insurers visibility into their infrastructure, was favored in last week’s poll.
Subscriber Feedback: “The potential is enormous: with future applications like automated risk assessment, repair scheduling, and even real-time hazard detection for things like snow removal.”