In 2022, ConnectVNA LLC made a slight pivot in strategy that resulted in the considerable task of reworking the code for their SAAS product over about eight months.

ConnectVNA is software that creates a portal for oil and gas well operators to interact with the owners of those wells and the mineral rights. In their first version, the vision was to automatically sync with popular Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools used by oil and gas operators.

To be more nimble and get ConnectVNA installed with more operators, the team decided in 2022 to retool their software into a “non-synced” version that imports and manipulates data from popular ERPs but doesn’t require complex integration to work.

“The non-synched version gives up the ability to do proofs-of-concept,” said CEO John Welch. “We can get the client going in a couple of days, and it doesn’t require the sync. That way, we can engage people, get them to try the application, and go from there.”

Welch says ConnectVNA is somewhat analogous to the software a bank (or an investment broker) uses to communicate with customers about bank balances or investments. Oil and gas operators can manage thousands of working wells, each with 10-20 (or more) fractional owners or investors. Often, the paperwork, reporting and compliance issues involved in dealing with hundreds or thousands of owners can be overwhelming, even with a robust ERP.

So, Welch and his team designed ConnectVNA to be a secure portal where you, as an investor, can log in with your username and password to see how your investments are performing. Likewise, the operator can use the portal to conduct business with you—negotiate rights purchases, digitally sign documents, deliver 1099s, and answer questions—without the back-and-forth delays of email, postal mail or in-person visits.

Welch said that with their Q1 2023 rollout, they’d be tweaking the product, but now it’s time to make some sales. He credits his team—including his partner Calvin Seymour and lead developer Kevin Hendrix—for shepherding the product to a point where it’s ready to go to market. New hire Liam Clift in Houston has been a boon for the development team, while Jacob Woodward is on board for project management and to help with sales.

Welch noted that ConnectVNA got a nice boost from the Mississippi Seed Fund in 2022 and, by the end of the year, had raised the matching capital required to take full advantage of the $100,000 award. He named-checked the Innovate Mississippi team—Lindsey Benefield, Tony Jeff, Bruce Deer and mentors Ben Walton and Jim Lowrey—for helping ConnectVNA get through that process and make some of the critical decisions that have put the company on its current trajectory.

“Our goal for 2023? We’re going to continue to develop and clean some things up, but we have a solid product that’s very easy to adopt,” Welch said. “Now it’s about sales.”