Wishpond's Annual CEO Letter Highlights Artificial Intelligence as Cornerstone to 2025 Vision

• Wishpond's vision is to create a fully autonomous, AI-enabled, marketing and sales platform that manages the entire customer acquisition journey, streamlining lead generation, engagement, and deal closure to help businesses grow cost effectively and achieve superior customer conversions.
• Wishpond's all-in-one platform simplifies the entire customer journey with intuitive, automated solutions like SalesCloser, a conversational AI-based virtual sales agent that leverages generative AI technologies to conduct personalized sales calls and product demos. Salescloser aims to help companies boost efficiency, save costs, and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Wishpond is focused on reaccelerating growth in 2025 by expanding its sales team and scaling SalesCloser adoption. The Company remains committed to maintaining strong Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ and cash flow generation while driving long-term profitability.

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Wishpond Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: WISH) (OTCQX: WPNDF) (the "Company" or "Wishpond"), a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions, is pleased to release its fourth annual CEO letter to shareholders.

Ali Tajskander, CEO of Wishpond, commented, "I want to start by taking you back to a moment that still inspires me. Years ago, when we first dreamt of creating a platform that would change how businesses attract and engage customers, we saw a future brimming with possibilities. We imagined a time when marketing and sales teams wouldn't have to waste precious hours on repetitive tasks, and when data-driven decisions could be made in an instant. Today, as the power of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") becomes more accessible and sophisticated, that future is quickly becoming our reality—and Wishpond is leading the way."

Our Vision: A Fully Autonomous AI enabled Marketing and Sales Engine

Picture a business where every step of the buyer's journey is handled automatically and intelligently—no manual work required. That's the vision driving us at Wishpond. We are aiming to build a fully autonomous marketing and sales engine that takes a prospective customer from the moment they show interest all the way to a finalized deal. By freeing professionals from tedious tasks, we aim to empower them to spend their energy on strategic thinking, creative ideas, and building genuine relationships.

This vision is more than just a technology roadmap—it's our commitment to helping businesses of all sizes grow faster, reduce costs, and achieve more consistent results. We believe that the best kind of technology doesn't replace people; it elevates them. When AI handles the routine, it gives humans the freedom to do what we do best: connect, innovate, and lead.

Our Unique Positioning

We believe that what makes Wishpond stand out is the all-in-one nature of our marketing and sales platform. We've designed our platform to handle the entire customer journey: from attracting a visitor, to converting them into a lead, to closing the deal and earning their referrals. Every step is designed to be intuitive, automated, and integrated.

Our newest product, SalesCloser, is a testament to the power of this approach. SalesCloser uses AI agents to handle sales calls and customer inquiries, helping businesses speed up their sales cycles and aims to ensure no opportunity is ever missed. SalesCloser can also be used to enhance customer interactions by replacing outdated Interactive Voice Response ("IVR") systems and their rigid, frustrating menus with intelligent, conversational experiences. The market response to SalesCloser has exceeded our expectations. We've seen firsthand how SalesCloser addresses a massive need, helping teams save time and money while boosting conversions. That's why we're investing heavily in its continued development—because we believe it has the potential to transform how sales teams operate.

We believe SalesCloser exemplifies the evolution of the sales model, seamlessly combining AI-driven automation with human expertise. By handling initial tasks such as customer screening, lead qualifications, and product demos, SalesCloser allows human sales representatives to focus on closing deals. This hybrid sales approach of AI agents working alongside human sales personnel enhances efficiency, enabling businesses to scale without incurring higher personnel costs.

Wishpond has now filed three patent applications related to conversational AI, reinforcing our commitment to innovation and solidifying our competitive edge by enhancing the capabilities of our AI-driven solutions, enabling smarter, more efficient customer interactions that drive growth and customer satisfaction.

Growth Plans and Strategy: Reaccelerating Momentum

In 2024, we achieved several significant milestones that highlight our resilience and adaptability, including the following:

• Delivered nine consecutive quarters of positive Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ and generated positive cash flow from operations in the second half of the year.
• Streamlined costs, stabilized our balance sheet, and redirected our focus toward higher-margin opportunities, ensuring sustainable growth.
• Developed an AI driven hybrid sales model with our internal sales team with human agents working alongside SalesCloser's AI agents.

These achievements aren't just numbers on a page; they are real proof of our team's grit and dedication. Through ups and downs, our focus has remained steady: be fiscally responsible, stay innovative, and never lose sight of our broader mission.

Looking ahead, we're determined to reaccelerate our growth. Our plan is ambitious and straightforward:

1. Leverage SalesCloser: We've integrated SalesCloser into our sales processes, including lead qualification and initial customer demos, allowing our sales reps to focus on building relationships and closing deals.
2. Expand Our Sales Team: We're adding talented people to connect with more businesses and complete the sales cycle, using a hybrid approach where AI and human expertise work together to deliver results.
3. Invest in AI and Innovation: We'll continue refining all our products, but especially those powered by AI, to ensure we stay ahead of the curve.

We're confident this strategy will be transformative not just for Wishpond, but for every business we serve.

2025 Outlook

We have a positive outlook for 2025 based on a healthy demand for demo bookings for SalesCloser and our all-in-one marketing product suite. We believe Wishpond stands out because of the following:

• Consistent Positive Adjusted EBITDA: We believe that our financial track record speaks to a responsible and profitable business model.
• Strong Margins and Cash Flow: We've proven our ability to manage costs effectively, even under challenging circumstances.
• AI-Driven Product Suite: We believe that our solutions, especially SalesCloser, are on the cutting edge of AI in marketing and sales—an industry that's poised for massive growth.

By staying true to fiscal responsibility and aiming for profitable growth, we aim to build a sustainable path toward long-term success. 

As we execute on our vision, we anticipate our free cash flow will continue to improve, giving us more flexibility to invest in what we believe matters most: improving our technology and delivering value to our clients. At the same time, we remain vigilant, aiming for our cash flows to stay healthy and our decisions are always guided by long-term benefits.

Conclusion: Join Us on the Journey

We believe that we are standing at the threshold of a new era in marketing and sales—a time when businesses can finally delegate repetitive tasks to AI and focus their human talent where it counts most. At Wishpond, we're not just witnessing this revolution; we want to spearhead it.

We invite you to be part of this exciting journey. Whether you're an investor, a customer, or simply someone intrigued by the future of marketing and sales, we believe that our vision for a fully autonomous marketing and sales engine will reshape how businesses grow and thrive.

Thank you for your continued trust and support. We look forward to sharing our progress, celebrating our milestones with you, and building a brighter, more efficient future for all.

WISHPOND TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

Per: "Ali Tajskandar"
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

About Wishpond Technologies Ltd.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Wishpond is a provider of marketing-focused online business solutions. Wishpond is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions that empower entrepreneurs to achieve success online. The Company's Propel IQ platform offers an "all-in-one" marketing suite that provides companies with marketing, promotion, lead generation, ad management, referral marketing, sales conversion and outbound sales automation capabilities in one integrated platform. Wishpond replaces disparate marketing solutions with an easy-to-use product, for a fraction of the cost. Wishpond serves over 4,000 customers who are primarily small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in a wide variety of industries. The Company has developed cutting-edge marketing technology solutions, including an AI powered website builder, an AI email automation tool and an AI sales agent, and continues to add new AI enabled features and applications. The Company employs a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model where most of the Company's revenue is subscription-based recurring revenue which provides excellent revenue predictability and cash flow visibility. Wishpond is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker "WISH", and on the OTCQX Best Market under the ticker "WPNDF". For further information, visit: www.wishpond.com.

(1): Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, Wishpond has used the following term ("Non-GAAP Financial Measure") that is not defined by IFRS, but is used by management to evaluate the performance of Wishpond and its business, being "Adjusted EBITDA". This measure may also be used by investors, financial institutions and credit rating agencies to assess Wishpond's performance and ability to service debt. Non-GAAP Financial Measures do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Securities regulations require that Non-GAAP Financial Measures be clearly defined, qualified and reconciled to their most comparable IFRS financial measures. Except as otherwise indicated, Adjusted EBITDA is calculated and disclosed on a consistent basis from period to period. Specific items may only be relevant in certain periods. See the disclosure under the heading "Additional GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures" in Wishpond's MD&A for a discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures and certain reconciliations to GAAP financial measures. The intent of Non-GAAP Financial Measures is to provide additional useful information to investors and analysts, and the measures do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS. The measures should not, therefore, be considered in isolation or used as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other issuers may calculate Non-GAAP Financial Measures differently. Adjusted EBITDA is defined by the Company as follows:

Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings, cash flow from operating activities or other measures of financial results determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Company's performance. The Company defines "Adjusted EBITDA" as Income or Loss before income taxes less interest, depreciation and amortization, remeasurement of contingent consideration liability, filing fees, credit facility setup and renewal fees, earn-out remuneration, foreign currency losses (gains), acquisition related expenses, net other expenditures (income), and stock-based compensation. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful financial metric as it measures cash generated from operations which the Company can use to fund working capital requirements, service future interest and principal debt repayments and fund future growth initiatives.

Cautionary & Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including, without limitation, statements relating to SalesCloser, it's adoption, development, use and any benefits derived by customers or the Company from this product or any of the other products of the Company, the Company's goals and vision, the anticipated impact of AI technologies on the sales industry, the Company's competitive position and involvement in the use of AI technology, improvement in the Company's cash position and increased financial performance, references to the growth of the Company's product portfolio and future profitability or growth generally, including whether additional products or features may be developed in the future, and the functionality and timing of such products, financial results or operational activities that may be undertaken by the Company, the results of the Company's cost-savings, research and development and other initiatives, any future acquisitions or other activities done to grow the Company both organically or inorganically, expectations, beliefs, plans, future operations, the impact of broader economic factors including inflation and other general economic risks on the Company, business and acquisition strategies, opportunities, objectives, prospects, assumptions, including those related to trends and prospects, and future events and performance. Sentences and phrases containing or modified by words such as "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "intend", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targets", "projects", "is designed to", "strategy", "should", "aim", "believe", "contemplate" and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions, are not historical facts and are intended to identify forward-looking statements, however not all forward-looking statements may include such words. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the protection of intellectual property of the Company, risks associated with changes to SalesCloser's revenue and profitability, changes to customer preferences, competition, use cases for SalesCloser, economic uncertainty and instability as a result of the ongoing inflation and supply chain issues, higher interest rate climate, tightening of credit availability and recessionary risks, pandemic related risks, wars, instability in global commodity and securities markets, shifts in consumer and institutional spending and marketing strategies, risks related to data breaches and privacy, the changing global market and competition for the products and services supplied by the Company, and the additional risk factors discussed in the public disclosure documents of the Company which such risk factors are incorporated herein by reference and are available through SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Wishpond Technologies Ltd.