Vendasta, the AI-native customer acquisition and engagement platform for small businesses and their trusted partners, has appointed John Vars as Chief Product Officer. The appointment signals a bold next chapter in Vendasta’s evolution as an AI-first company — and a commitment to delivering intelligent, sticky solutions that drive measurable growth for agencies and SMBs worldwide. The move underscores Vendasta’s commitment to leading the next wave of intelligent automation—empowering agencies, media companies, and SaaS providers with sticky, scalable AI solutions purpose-built for SMB growth.
Vars, a seasoned product leader and entrepreneur, brings more than two decades of experience turning complex challenges into intuitive, scalable solutions. He co-founded Dogster and led product at high-growth companies like TaskRabbit and Varo Money. Most recently, as CEO of Mixhalo, he spent over five years at the helm — guiding the company through multiple product launches, including Mixhalo Translate, an AI-powered language interpretation tool for live events. Vars’ career reflects a deep commitment to blending innovation with impact, especially at the intersection of user experience, AI, and business growth.
“John is equal parts realist and visionary, which is the exact combination we need as we double down on our AI-first strategy,” said Brendan King, CEO of Vendasta. “In the last year alone, we’ve built a multimillion-dollar AI business inside Vendasta with unprecedented traction. This is the kind of product our partners are asking for — high-value, easy-to-deploy AI solutions that get them in the game. In just one quarter, Vendasta’s AI platform helped drive over 35,000 unique customer conversations for Neighborly, resulting in 18,000 leads, 11,700 appointments, and 3,400 conversions. That’s a 372% increase in leads converted to revenue compared to the prior year. “This isn’t incremental improvement—it’s AI fundamentally rewriting the rules of local customer acquisition.”
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Among the standout success stories: Denver-based agency The Xcite Group achieved $745K in gross market revenue and 100% retention using Vendasta’s AI-powered tools, including AI Receptionist and the SMB dashboard, Business App. These tools don’t just streamline operations — they drive conversions, scale revenue, and deepen client relationships by blending automation with a human touch.
“AI isn’t just a feature. It’s becoming the foundation of the modern agency and the SMBs they support,” said Vars. “What excites me most about Vendasta is the clarity of vision and the urgency of this moment. We’re not waiting for the future, we’re building it. And we’re perfectly poised to take advantage of this time, as the rise of AI builds on our core company strengths.”
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As Chief Product Officer, Vars will lead Vendasta’s product, design, and platform teams, guiding the company’s transition into a fully AI-native ecosystem. His leadership arrives as Vendasta prepares to roll out a series of new AI Employees — digital agents that help agencies automate lead generation, client onboarding, reputation management, and more.
The announcement comes at a time when AI adoption among SMBs is accelerating, and agencies are under pressure to offer smarter, scalable solutions. With Vars at the helm of product strategy, Vendasta aims to set the standard for how AI is deployed across the partner-powered channel.
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