Products / Projects / Companies
Global Asset Token
A social innovation project exploring the use of crypto currency is to alleviate inequality and democratise the spread of AI
2019-present
Background
Within inequality on the rise, coupled with a keen interest in block chain technology, I decided to found GAT, and informal organisation, hosting a number of projects aimed at exploring ways to leverage blockchain technology to rebalance wealth distribution globally, and a governance model to keep inequality in check.
See more here
Ch@
Chat locally with anyone within 500 meter.
2019-2021
VERTO
A video sharing app with a twist.
2019-2021
Background
With the challenges of coronavirus an ever present reality, our sense of community couldn't be more important.
The Concept
Ch@ was created as a means to stay in touch with those around you, no matter where you find yourself.
The end goal for the product is to leverage natural language processing, to build associations between users interests, such that communities can be dynamically created as a result of users talking to one another.
Though for now, the focus is to keep the service simple, and easy for people to use.
Get the iOS app here
Background
The world seems saturated with camera applications, endless means for us to share what we are up to with followers and friends.
Something about the way we capture what's happening though is wrong, as does not reflect the dynamic nature of the environment we capture content in.
The Concept
I wanted to make a cool little camera app that lets users capture video from the front and the back, allowing the user to flip between the two, and so creating this new form of media, called "A Verto".
Every Verto must have footage from the front and rear facing cameras, before it can then be shared for anywhere between 1 and 24 hours.
The shorter time you share, the faster your followers have to react to consume your content.
TIMBO
Easy payment processing for facebook hosted events.
2017-2019
Background
Event organisers have constant issues taking payments in cash. I play for a local cricket club where subs have to be payed every week, invariably 20% of the team forget to bring along the cash, and the treasurer is left haplessly chasing people for payment.
The Concept
Create a "social payment" platform that would let anyone request and make payments to people in their local address book (and friends on facebook).
Requirements were evaluated and i built the product over the next 14 months for release in Jan of 2018.
My Journey to Product Market Fit
The three core questions that needed answering were.
1) How large is the cash problem for events managers.
A survey I conducted indicated 15% of events hosted each year (by individuals) require the taking of cash as means of payment for the event.
In conjunction with this the number of groups and events hosted on facebook, put the size of the market at anywhere between 150,000,000 and 200,000,000 events per year.
2) Who else is in the market.
Other players were in the market but were not as simple to use, nor were targeted in dealing with facebook events especially.
3) What would users need for the concept to be worthy of telling others about.
The concept needed to be very very simple, with next to zero set up, it also needed to accomodate people who didnt have the app.
Implementation
I built iOS and Android applications, leveraging Facebook's API's, and Stripe for the payment processing.
Users would sign into the app with their Facebook credentials, before seeing a list of their Facebook groups and events that they could create tickets against.
Users could then issue a link to be sent via email / phone number to collect payment, or allow a user to scan a QR code on their phone.
Go to Market
Here the go to market stratergy targeted two main avenues.
1) Events Management Companies : Hosting hundreds of events a year, and if the concept was adopted, could provide upfront recurring revenue on an annual basis. The gambit here was that contract workers could download the app and take payments without any lengthy onboarding.
2) Sporting / Leisure clubs : Revenue share agreements would be proposed to the leagues in exchange for endorsing the service.
Social Media Advertising
With a limited budget i started the Timbo Instagram feed and had a concept of recording short videos, demonstrating the platforms capability in a number of use cases. Users who liked the posts would be offered free transaction processing for a month in exchange for their email.
Results and findings
The application had widespread appeal, and at its peak I had around 2500 active monthly users, generating a modest revenue, all trends were in the right direction. Sadly after Cambridge Analytica , Facebook rescinded many of the API's required for Timbo to be a unique player in the payment space.
