Author Archives: Andy

URB-IT

Urb-it is a relatively new start-up that recently launched an app with the same name. Urb-it is essentially a network of employees that are stationed all over Stockholm. Their job is to deliver you your product only hours after you have ordered it. This is possible by creating partnerships with physical and online stores all over Stockholm.

Even though the company is not doing very well financially (30m SEK in losses last year), it is important to remember that they launched 2015.

The app is still very basic and there is definitely room for improvement. As of version 1.2, the main screen that you get in to shows you the different brands that they have a partnership with and if you swipe to the left, you can see some of the products that these brands offer. The purchase doesn’t happen within the app, instead they link you to the product page at their partner’s website (for example, FIFA 16 can be bought at SIBA).

The second function of the app is that you can follow the purchase you’ve made in real time.

The app itself is fluent without any bugs or other issues, which is always positive. However, I would’ve liked to be able to make the purchase within the app itself. Other improvements may be that the app shows you the things it thinks you want (after you’ve been using it while). Hopefully, they will improve these things as they go on. And I want to finish with a sidenote; when visiting urb-it.com, there is only a link to Apple Store for the app, which I think is incredibly unprofessional since there are so many Android users out there.

INFORMERA – TRÄFFSÄKER INFORMATION

The second app I tested was Informera – Träffsäker information. The purpose of this app is to give people correct information about important things like emergencies, broadband status, electricity status, heating status, water, traffic etc.  These will be based on your current position and other pre-determined positions like your home. Furthermore, there are groups you can join that will give you information just about them (for example, Gävle Fastigheter). However, the app is currently in a very early stage in hope of a launch. I found it really difficult to understand how you would do certain things, like joining groups. The functionality doesn’t seem to be there yet. There is a section inside the app that allows you to give feedback to the developers, which is really smart.

Overall, I think the idea is good, but here is huge improvement needed since there isn’t even an Android app available. However, I hope that these will be taken care of ahead of the launch.

– Andy

 

Hi!

Today I want to write about what I learned from taking this course. To begin with, I think the course was very unique in several ways, at least to me, compared to other courses at KTH. For instance, I have never blogged before and certainly not as part of a course, so this was and is an entirely new experience. However, I was already a user of Twitter and I definitely encourage everyone to get more active on there, especially here in Sweden! It’s an easy way to be part of a community!

So, what did I learn? I will write about three aspects which I think cover the course material.

• Presentation skills: We had a total of four presentations (Elevator Pitch, Simulation 1 & 2 and Venture Project) and as I was heading home yesterday, after the last two presentations, I reflected upon how different they were and the course really highlighted that presentation is all about context. To improve your presentation skills, you need practice, practice and even more practice…so I’ll take the experiences from all four presentations with me!
• Simulation: Although I don’t think that the simulation is very accurate in describing reality, I definitely appreciated the insight in tech companies and the overall overview of all departements; marketing, manufacturing, finance etc. And as Serdar mentioned yesterday, it’s always nice to have heard the words and seen the work done, even if it’s within a game.
• Venture Project: So obviously, we are still working on our Venture Project. Since we continued with my idea, I really enjoy to see the development from really just an idea I thought of on my way home to the whole concept of business model, market strategies, target group and so on. And I definitely encourage you to share your idea with others and really reflect upon their criticism. I had a good chat with Marcus Nilsson where I admitted the need to change certain aspects of the business model. So thank you Marcus! 🙂

And finally, thank you, Serdar, and the class for another happy experience at KTH! See you!

Hello again!
Today I will write about my second start up event, namely the STHLM Tech meetup event held in Hilton hotel in Slussen. I have to begin with saying that it was incredibly packed, there was barely room to stand. The upside however was that the event holders were really entertaining and great at their job.

In the beginning, they talked a lot about how the event has grown and how it today establishes relations between start up and investors that are beyond expectations. I was actually quite shocked when one of the slides showed the incredible potential of the stockholm start up environment. There are some absolutely huge investment being made in Swedish and Nordic companies. For example, Starbreeze received an investment of 385 million kronor a few days ago.

As I’m generally very interested in sports and especially football, it was interesting to listen about how Zlatan Ibrahimovic is doing tech investments and how other Swedish athletes are moving in the same direction. One of them is Alexander Gustafsson, the Swedish MMA-star. His manager, Mr Ghassemi, was at the event and was asked up on stage to talk about some of these investments.

To summarise, I definitely recommend you to go to these kind of events. I’ve had positive experiences from both the events I’ve been to, the start up bar and this one.

So long (and thanks for all the fish…)!

Hello everyone!

I’m on my way home from what was a very exciting event in Stockholm. The Start Up Bar at Scandic Continental was filled with people ready to mingle about their ideas. The mood was very relaxing with people drinking and talking.

Some classmates and I got to talk with a Swedish guy working as an ‘Importer & Exporter’ in India and he talked about some of the services and networks he offer. It was definitely a good experience, especially as I’m involved in a team (Renewdo) trying to discover ideas worth working on. And I’m sure international contacts like Mr Öberg are capable of helping us in the future.

I also got the chance to share my venture project idea. It’s basically about offering entertainment in public transport, starting with Stockholm. There were several arguments that come up of why this might not work, the major one was that a collaboration with the state-owned SL might be costly and basically tough to get. I still think that since I’m adding value to their infrastructure, I should be in a reasonably good position to negotiate but I definitely recognise the difficulties involved. Hopefully I will be able to develop my idea further together with my classmates during the Venture Project Assignment.

For now, I’m already looking forward to the next event; STHLM Tech Meetup, 10th of October. See you there!

Hey! If you are interested in developing your entrepreneurship idea, getting feedback and on top of that also earning a bit of money, then you might want to check out the link below. It’s also a great way to see ideas from other people and maybe get some inspiration!

Venture Cup – Idea will end November 8th.

“Come join the community! Do you have an idea? Upload it on our platform and get the feedback you need to get started. The crowd and the Venture Cup Jury will decide on the top 20 ideas, who will all win 5 000 SEK.”

Good luck!

http://www.venturecup.se/competition/