Kea

How Kea pivoted to SMB and now attributes 95% of business to cold outreach

5%

reply rate

95%

business attribution

SMB

pivot executed

At a glance
"It's quite remarkable what they've been able to achieve for us. Everything ranging from the copy of these outreaches to setting up our email infrastructure."
Joel Foster

Joel Foster

Senior Technical Product Manager

Company

Kea is a voice AI company that helps restaurants automate phone orders and reduce labor costs.

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Industry

Restaurant Technology

Kea partnered with <oneaway> to fill their sales calendar. We handled everything — finding the right prospects, writing the messages, and booking meetings that led to real conversations.

Before

Zero in-house cold email experience. Entire go-to-market motion needed to change overnight after pivoting from mid-market to small business focus.

After

5% cold email reply rates in a market where restaurant owners barely have time to read emails. 95% of all current business attributed to SMB cold outreach campaigns.

Use case01

The Challenge

Kea was navigating a major strategic pivot — from mid-market franchise restaurants to small businesses. Their entire go-to-market motion needed to change overnight, and they had zero cold email experience. Worse, their target audience (small restaurant owners) barely has time to read emails.

"We had zero in-house experience on how to do this. Prior with the mid-market approach, it was all bizdev, relationship building, a lot of LinkedIn messages and networking."
Joel Foster

Joel Foster

Senior Technical Product Manager

Key Challenges:

  • Zero in-house cold email experience
  • Entire go-to-market motion needed to change overnight after pivot
  • Target audience (small restaurant owners) notoriously hard to reach
  • Finding contact info for independent restaurants scattered across the country
Use case02

The Solution

<oneaway> built Kea's cold email operation from the ground up — infrastructure, lead sourcing, copywriting, and ongoing optimization.

1

Email Infrastructure

Complete setup and domain management from scratch

2

Hard-to-Find Lead Sourcing

Found contacts for independent restaurants in places like 'a pizza place in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska'

3

Industry-Specific Copy

Written to resonate with busy restaurant owners who barely check email

4

Knowledge Transfer

Equipped Kea's internal team to eventually manage campaigns independently

"You might find a pizza place in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska and somehow <oneaway> was successful in being able to obtain these leads."
Joel Foster

Joel Foster

Senior Technical Product Manager

Impact

The Results

Kea achieved results that defied expectations for their industry. Cold email now drives 95% of all business — a channel they didn't even have before the partnership.

5%

reply rate

95%

business attribution

SMB

pivot executed

Impact Highlights:

  • 5% cold email reply rates in a market where owners barely read emails
  • 95% of all current business attributed to SMB cold outreach campaigns
  • Successful pivot execution from mid-market to small business focus
  • Internal team equipped to manage campaigns independently
Joel Foster
"With everything and the expertise that <oneaway> has provided, we're absolutely set up for success."

Joel Foster

Senior Technical Product Manager

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