Meet the founder:

Dropshipping, supplements, CBD, his own Apple watch wrist brand – Dean has tried nearly everything. Each venture taught him something, but none quite clicked. With Voico, something fundamental shifted. This time, he could finally combine his background as a telecoms IT systems salesman with his passion for AI.

Voico brings AI to the telephone line with voice agents that sound just like real humans, capable of handling cold calling, booking meetings, making reservations, and managing customer support – all fully GDPR-compliant and hosted in Europe.

After years of experimentation across different business models, Dean found his edge where telecoms expertise meets AI innovation. His journey shows that sometimes the right venture isn’t your first – it’s the one where your experience and passion finally align.

The Why

For Dean, the spark was immediate and undeniable.

“Discovering what’s possible with ChatGPT was the spark that made me go all in,” he recalls.

After years of trying different ventures, he finally saw how AI could transform an industry he knew intimately.

The problem Voico solves is painfully clear to anyone who’s worked in sales or customer service:

“Labor costs and inefficiency. Cold calling is exhausting and has a tiny success rate. A sales rep making 60 calls a day might only book 2 meetings – and burn out in the process. Our agents can scale this indefinitely, stay consistent, and keep the motivation high.”

But the opportunity extends far beyond sales. In customer support, 60% of inbound calls at SMEs are missed. Voico brings that number to zero with 24/7 availability. And the vision goes even further – from medication reminders for elderly people to real-time monitoring for medical providers that could save lives.

Sean saw an industry ripe for disruption and had the exact background needed to execute on it.

Early Challenges

Building a 10-person team and scaling quickly brings challenges that no amount of previous entrepreneurial experience fully prepares you for. For Dean, the biggest obstacles weren’t technical – they were operational.

“People management and bureaucracy,” he states bluntly. Voico is registered as a German company to be close to their market, which means navigating GDPR compliance, regulation, and extensive paperwork. “It’s frustrating because as a CEO you want to focus on growth, but you can’t escape the admin.”

This tension between growth-focused execution and administrative necessity is a reality check for many first-time founders building in Europe. The regulatory environment that protects users and ensures quality also creates friction that slows momentum – a trade-off Dean navigates daily while trying to bring Voico to market.

Small Wins & Momentum

Despite the administrative headaches, Dean’s progress has been remarkable. 

“Honestly, progress happens every week,” he says with genuine enthusiasm. “We’re already a 10-person team, became a Deutsche Telekom partner, onboarded our first pilot customers, and got amazing feedback.”

That Deutsche Telekom partnership stands out as a major validation moment – a legacy telecoms giant betting on Voico’s vision. The pilot customers and positive feedback confirmed what Dean suspected: the market desperately needs this solution.

He’s refreshingly honest about the current state:

“The product is still buggy but that’s normal in this stage.”

With an official launch scheduled for October 10th and investor conversations already underway, Dean embodies the founder who ships imperfect products to real customers rather than waiting for perfection.

The weekly progress isn’t just about hitting milestones – it’s proof that combining domain expertise with emerging technology creates momentum that theoretical knowledge never could.

Advice for Other First-Time Founders

Dean’s advice is as direct as his approach to building: 

“Just start. Don’t get stuck in bureaucracy, taxes, or endless planning. Focus on money-making activities, validate with real customers, and build momentum.”

His recommendation?

“A waitlist or pilot program can do wonders to prove the demands before you sink too much time and money into perfection.”

This comes from someone who learned through doing – multiple times. His previous ventures taught him that execution beats planning, and customer validation beats assumptions.

His quick-fire insights reveal a founder who’s learned to be resourceful.

Most valuable resource? “Definitely ChatGPT – it feels like a cofounder to me.”

Community impact? “The co-working and co-living community at La Fábrica in Barcelona. Being surrounded by founders and creatives there pushed me to think bigger and execute faster. Without that environment, I doubt we’d have made this much progress so quickly.

Key team member? “And of course Saman our CTO.”

These answers show a founder who leverages every available resource – from AI tools to community environments to the right co-founder – to move faster and build better.

DB Learn Connection

Dean sees a parallel between Voico’s mission and DB Learn’s approach: 

“I think DB Learn lowers the barrier to entrepreneurship, just like we’re lowering the barrier for companies to use voice AI. It’s about making complex things simple and that’s what early founders need the most.”

For someone who’s tried multiple ventures before finding the right fit, simplifying complexity resonates deeply. His journey proves that practical tools and clear frameworks matter more than theoretical perfection – whether you’re adopting AI voice agents or learning to build a startup.

Conclusion

Looking ahead one to two years, Dean’s vision is ambitious but grounded:

“We want to become the market leader in Europe for AI voice agents – inbound and outbound.”

But the long-term vision goes further.

“The short-term focus is businesses, but in the future I see this becoming personal: every person with their own agent instead of a mailbox, fully integrated into Apple or Samsung devices. Imagine never missing a call, never hearing ‘please leave a message’ again or wait in waiting lines. That’s where we’re going.”

From dropshipping experiments to Deutsche Telekom partnerships, Dean’s path shows that finding your venture isn’t always immediate – but when domain expertise meets genuine passion and emerging technology, momentum becomes inevitable.

“Just start. Don’t get stuck in bureaucracy, taxes, or endless planning. Focus on money-making activities, validate with real customers, and build momentum.”