JOSARI iOS App: Now ready for download!

May 27, 2019 by Tinni Choudhury in business

I have mentioned JOSARI, the micro-consultation marketplace, a few times before but never elaborated. But now is an excellent time to finally talk about JOSARI because the reason I came on to the startup has been achieved. The JOSARI iOS app is now live in the Apple App store!

I started talking to Paul Buckwell, the CEO of JOSARI way back in October when I met him at the QUT Foundry IDEAS Launched Showcase. But it took a while for the ball to get rolling but eventually, I joined JOSARI as a CTO at the end of December. My task was straightforward, get the app that was being built by an overseas developer and had suffered years of delay out the door.

JOSARI’s weakness was always a lack of market validation and customer testing. Paul did what he could with tangential testing. I considered doing a “no app pilot” before dropping that idea as not delivering as much benefit as it would cost in time and money. JOSARI is one of those concepts that needed the app. So I focused on putting some structure into the project, get the bugs prioritised but in the end, basically working as a translator between Paul and the developer.

Along the way, we went as far as the QUT Collider Bootcamp 2019 but did not make the final cut to get into the accelerator. But we got a lot of valuable feedback, and it was a great experience all around. But now, with the app out. JOSARI is in full sales mode. I am scaling back my involvement for the time being. But based on traction, I am likely to jump back in later in the year to project manage the Android development, and further expansions. But for now, if you have an iPhone, down and join the JOSARI journey!

"The Thank You" Economy": Out of date but not entirely!

May 26, 2019 by Tinni Choudhury in books

One of the books recommended by the Elevate+ accelerator program is “The Thank You Economy” by Gary Vaynerchuk. The book ends with Vaynerchuk saying that he believes that the book’s content will be outdated by 2015. The prediction is partly correct because large parts of the book are advocating the use of social media by businesses. The book was written in 2010 and the audiobook recorded in 2011. Social media was new and shiny, with not a lot of business presence. But since then, the business has moved in with a vengeance!

Vaynerchuk alludes to the business takeover of the social media and comments that “marketers like myself ruin everything and I am sure they will ruin social media too”. Indeed, I feel less connected with friends and family when I am on Facebook., which is sad because the whole reason I started using Facebook was to keep in touch with my family when I moved to England. Twitter and Instagram I didn’t use much until I started getting into startup land. So I don’t expect either to make me connect to my family. But Facebook was different. It’s like marketers taking over Tumblr and Livejournal, I got both to stay to do Fandom stuff. Marketing muscling into those platforms feel wrong.

All that said, large parts of the book are still applicable. Especially about the part about poor customer service having the potential to be magnified to insane degrees. Additionally, part of the reason marketing has ruined social media is because of “push techniques” that Vaynerchuk advocates against. Of course, we now also have other issues with social media. For personal branding, you need to watch what you say because old jokes can come back to haunt you, and if you do have a sketchy social past, it pays to have a brand adviser run a check on you and clean things up.

Is it sad? I guess, but one of the things Vaynerchuk pointed out was that Social Media has turned the world into a small town. One of the many downsides of a small town was gossip and the long memory. You never lived down anything because at least someone remembered. Some busybodies in small towns and villages made it their business to remember everything. That’s social media. We have delegated a lot of our emotional labour to social media. We don’t write annual letters, we don’t keep our phone books updated. We broadcast and hope people hear. So we have to take the good with the bad.

As for marketing, I think it has its uses for startups like Abide, which is now on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But it is harder to get noticed now that everybody is here. But that was bound to happen. As for the next big trend? One of the participants of QUT Collider Accelerator is the startup Air Syne. So maybe the future is VR ads! Perhaps I should get in on that on the ground level!

Abide Pitch Preparation at the River Studio, Brisbane Powerhouse

May 21, 2019 by Tinni Choudhury in business

At this time last week, my co-founder Andy Smith and I were at the River Studio space of the Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre. We had an expert panel consisting of Elevate+ graduates as well as members and supporters of the social enterprise movement. The panellists were,

Andy and I met up in the morning to work on your pitch. We had a few chances to practice before we pitched to the panel. We got some excellent feedback and feel readier for the big day. The most critical feedback we received is that we were emphasising the wrong side of our two-sided marketplace. We need to focus on the fact that we are primarily about unlocking resources of baby boomers while helping them live better in retirement.

I am sure our cohort mates also received great feedback. So don’t forget to get your tickets to come to see us all at the Triffid on the 6th of June!

Elevate+ Cohort with Tom Allen and private pitch panel

Lord Mayor's Social Enterprise Business Forum

May 20, 2019 by Tinni Choudhury in talks, meetup, business

I joined many of my cohort mates from the Impact Boom Elevate+ last Wednesday at the Lord Mayor's Social Enterprise Business Forum. I have heard about these, but this was the first one I attended. It was perfect timing too because my new business cards as the CTO of Abide had just arrived! So my co-founder, Andy and I, used the event as a massive opportunity to pitch Abide so that we get inputs and have the opportunity to explore collaborations.

The forum was also a learning opportunity boasting the speakers Alex Hannant, Co-Director, Yunus Social Business Centre, Griffith University who spoke about the "Ingredients for success and failure - 10 things I've learnt about social enterprise". It was a great talk that highlighted the realities facing social enterprises. I especially liked the tip about "letting zombies dies". He was saying that as social entrepreneurs, we are often driven by passion and belief. So we might often keep ventures going that are in realities zombies. I think this is a good tip for everyone who are passionate about what they do. It's not just about business but also jobs, creative endeavours etc., etc.

The second speaker was Emma-Kate Rose, General Manager, Food Connect, who spoke about "Running a business with heart and purpose: why social enterprises are on the rise". But unfortunately, I was not able to stay for that talk. Overall, I had a good time, and I am going to see if I can't make more of these forums!

Pitching Abide.Space at River City Labs Friday Open House Drinks and Pitches

May 05, 2019 by Tinni Choudhury in branding, business

With the Elevate+ Social Enterprise Pitch Night getting closer, it’s on the 6th of June, I decided to drum up support for Abide and the Elevate+ Pitch Night by pitching at the River City Labs Friday Open House Drinks and Pitches! The tickets are on sale now, for the Elevate+ pitch night so Brisbane folks, get your today!

I also spent the day working at River City Labs with JOSARI. We are getting very close to launching the iOS app. So watch this space for more information. But for now, enjoy the video of my pitch, the beginning is missing but you still get the gist of it! To here the full 3 minutes pitch, come see Abide at The Triffid!