How BotDesk Started: Why I Built an Intercom Killer

The "I Can Do This Better" Moment

I discovered the problem BotDesk solves firsthand while running Asisttente, my AI automation agency.

One of my clients was paying $3,000/month for Intercom. That alone was painful for a growing business, but the real kicker was their pricing model for AI.

The more their AI successfully resolved tickets, the more they paid ($0.99 per resolution).

Think about that for a second. Their pricing model punishes automation success.

If you build a great support system that deflects 80% of your tickets, your reward is... a massive bill. It felt wrong. It felt like a tax on efficiency.

Deep Domain Expertise

I didn't just stumble upon this. I've spent the last 2 years deep in the trenches building AI solutions.

Through my agency and a community of 6,000+ members I built, I heard these pain points daily:

Complexity: Platforms like Intercom and Zendesk are powerful but require weeks of setup and often a dedicated administrator.
Cost: Startups don't want to pay premium enterprise prices for "AI features" that are often just glorified keyword matchers.
Punishment: The "per-resolution" pricing model discourages using the product's best feature.

For years, I watched companies getting stuck. They wanted to automate support but couldn't justify the complexity or the cost.

BotDesk solves both: Simple setup, fair flat-rate pricing, and AI that actually works.

Building It Solo

BotDesk was built 100% by me.

I write all the code—frontend, backend, AI integrations, and the multi-channel inbox. No external developers, no contractors. Just me, a lot of coffee, and a relentless drive to ship fast.

The Tech Stack:

Frontend: React, TypeScript, TailwindCSS
Backend: Node.js, PostgreSQL
AI: Custom RAG pipeline using Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI's latest models
Channels: Direct integrations with WhatsApp Business API, Meta Messenger API, Email (SMTP/IMAP)

I've been working on BotDesk for 4 months, dedicating 50-60 hours/week. It's not a side project; it's my obsession.

Where We Are Now

Today, BotDesk is a fully developed product with a multi-channel inbox supporting 9 channels, a powerful AI automation engine, and deep integrations.

We are currently onboarding 200 early users from my community and have our first 22 paying customers on the $29/month plan. We're iterating fast based on real feedback, pushing updates almost daily.

We're replacing legacy helpdesks like Intercom and Zendesk for SMBs who are tired of being overcharged and underserved.

The goal isn't just to be "cheaper Intercom." The goal is to build the default AI-native support platform for the next generation of startups.

Zero setup. Fair pricing. AI that resolves issues.

That's BotDesk.

— Pau Berenguer, Founder @ BotDesk