Most people would not buy a diamond ring without talking to someone first. The same goes for a luxury sofa, a skincare regimen, or a car. These are emotional purchases, the kind that typically need a conversation.
Online shopping makes purchasing more convenient but also removes conversations that help customers feel confident in their decisions. The average online conversion rate is 2 to 3%, with cart abandonment above 75%.
The right advice, at the right time, makes all the difference.
AI startup Getbee was founded on a simple but powerful idea—that the best salesperson in a store shouldn’t disappear when shopping moves online. Instead, that expertise should be available wherever customers are, exactly when they need it most.
Through Getbee, and Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program alum, shoppers can instantly connect with knowledgeable advisers to ask questions, receive tailored recommendations, and gain the confidence they need to complete complex or emotional purchases online.
“I want Getbee to be the reason brands stopped treating online and offline as two separate businesses,” said Thea Myhrvold, the founder and CEO of Getbee. “The expertise sitting on your showroom floor, the person who knows every diamond cut, every sofa fabric, every skincare ingredient — that knowledge shouldn’t stop at a physical address.”
By seamlessly integrating live consultations into the online buying journey, Getbee empowers brands to increase conversions, reduce cart abandonment, and deliver a more personal, high-touch customer experience at scale. The platform combines the simplicity of a call with the power of e-commerce, helping businesses turn online visitors into confident buyers.
Getbee describes its approach as “conversational commerce,” but the company sees it less as a trend and more as a return to basics.
“Commerce has always been about people buying from people,” Myhrvold said. “We’re just bringing that back for the digital era.”
In practice, this means shoppers can connect with a real expert through live video or chat without leaving the brand’s website—receiving guidance all the way through checkout. For customers, it feels personal and immediate. For brands, it unlocks tangible results.
Getbee’s clients are seeing conversion rates of 25 to 28% — a dramatic increase compared to industry averages — along with higher basket sizes, better data, and stronger customer retention.
“That’s not a feature,” Myhrvold said. “That’s a conversation.”
From the beginning, Getbee has focused on sectors where shoppers rely on expertise and trust: luxury, beauty, furniture, and high-end electronics. Early partnerships with global brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Lancôme, and Dermalogica helped establish both credibility and momentum. Those early wins provided the logos, data, and real-world results needed to open doors with enterprise customers.
“Working with Thea Myhrvold through the Pegasus program reinforced why she stands out not only as a founder, but as a brand in her own right,” said Vikas Arora, Microsoft for Startups Success Manager. “Beyond building GetBee into a powerful live video commerce platform, Thea leads with purpose, resilience, and a deep sense of responsibility to change the narrative for women in technology. She consistently showed up as a thoughtful, credible ambassador for Microsoft, articulating both GetBee’s value and Microsoft’s role in enabling enterprise innovation with clarity and conviction. Our work together went beyond scale and growth of GetBee. It focused on shaping a story that aligned product, values, and enterprise impact in a way that resonated across Microsoft and with customers globally.”
Join a LinkedIn Live on March 27, 2026, 10 AM Pacific Time/ 1 PM Eastern Time, featuring Getbee founder and CEO Thea Myhrvold and Director, Retail & CPG Startups ShiSh Shridhar from the Microsoft Startups team. Join the conversation— register on LinkedIn.
Follow Microsoft for Startups on LinkedIn for more Founder Friday highlights and visit Microsoft for Startups to learn more about how to get started building with Azure.
