About Proton

I grew up in distribution. My family has been in this industry ever since my great grandfather started a supply company in 1930. Some of my earliest memories are of tagging along on business trips with my Dad, just like he used to do with his Dad. But a few years ago, I realized that the industry was at risk.

Distributors were struggling to keep up with technology-first disruptors, and many hardworking people were getting pushed out. After studying Data Science at Harvard, I saw that it didn’t have to be that way. I wanted to see that people like my family could use technology, instead of getting squeezed out by it. I teamed up with a brilliant group of engineers and long-time distributors, and built Proton: a cutting-edge, AI powered platform, custom built for distributors.

In a matter of months, our company had joined the Harvard Innovation Labs Venture Program, won the Harvard College Startup Competition, and started making its mark on the distribution industry. The platform we built helped distributors from numerous verticals gain millions of revenue and reclaim market share.

Years, and many customers served later, we're making sure that we stay close to our roots. Our platform is built by distributors, for distributors, with cutting-edge tech that would stand out in any industry.

Benj Cohen Founder & CEO

What we value

Blow our customers' minds

• Our customers’ success is our north star. We solve problems for our customers better than they ever thought possible, by understanding their deeper underlying needs and delivering mind-blowing solutions.

Think big, start small

• We’re experimental innovators. We dream big – as big as revolutionizing an entire industry. But we try out our big ideas on a smaller scale, taking the smallest, simplest first step possible that lets us learn quickly. And we fail fast, acting with urgency and celebrating fast experiments even when they don’t work.

Own your results

• Each of us owns this company, and we act like it. Each of us fully owns solving the problems we take on, and plowing through roadblocks to just get results. We do this by looking for positive solutions to problems, not making excuses.

Be Open

• We’re big believers in honesty and candor. We default to open and we bias towards proactive sharing, knowing that better decisions are made through collaboration.

One team

• We’re all on this journey together. We put the team above our own self interests, and focus on achieving great things together, rather than taking credit or pointing fingers. We support each others' development, knowing that helping each other benefits us all.

Why distribution?

Unique channel complexity

• Most businesses only sell through one channel. Distributors connect with customers across as many as six channels. That means that it is harder to track and use customer data, but all the more rewarding when effectively done.

Massive catalogs

• Distributors sell tens of thousands of unique SKUs. This makes it almost impossible for the average rep to know the exact product to pitch. Bringing AI into the equation allows for functionally large catalogs, happier customers, and more sales.

Unique customer relationships

• Distributors' customers purchase dozens or even hundreds of different products. Most businesses can't sell so many complex items to a customer (not to mention consumable items). With the right tools, distributors can profitably manage even more complex sales.