Welcome to our founder lessons series.
Today the team at Nection share how they started and successfully built a mobile application that helps business-minded people develop their social capital with the help of an AI assistant.
The product is at the stage of full access and use, and now it is fully in production. The app is a mobile personal assistant based on AI that helps people build their social capital faster, more efficiently, and with more personalization.
With Nection, you can manage and develop all your connections in one place with intelligent recommendations and tips. You can add all your contacts to the app and get many different features that your assistant will do for you:
- Add birthdays of important contacts, and your personal assistant will remind you of these and other important dates.
- Don’t let people forget you. Choose the people you want to stay in touch with – the assistant will send you reminders regularly and help you create or customize your messages.
- Keep all your information in one place. Integrate your Google Calendar, and you’ll be able to see all past and future events that have happened or will happen in the history of a particular contact.
Nection recently launched a big update with the option and ability to send gifts through the app using AI, which can suggest what to choose. And it won’t be just random tips, but advice from a personal assistant generated from notes, vox, any of your notes, past communications, or insights that have been entered and stored in history.
#2 Why and how did you start your company
The story of Nection’s creation began about 2.5 years ago. The company’s founder, Alex, often traveled to different countries and cities, changed locations, and met people.
In communication and networking, he realized that it is not easy to keep the contacts of all the people from the acquired networking in one place – someone is only on Facebook or Linkedin and prefers to communicate via email. Not to mention memorizing and keeping all this information in mind.
And then was born the idea to create an assistant app that could help, organize, strengthen, or build your networking and social capital. The first idea was to create a single place where all personal contacts would be stored, i.e. very crude but it needs to be like a private personal CRM. Of course, since that idea, Nection has evolved a lot, and now it doesn’t look like a typical CRM system, but more like an assistant.
#3 What have been your Startup biggest success factors
- Nection makes your communication management easier. One of the most significant success factors of the Nection app is its ability to solve the problem of scattered and unorganized information. The app enables users to gather all their contacts’ data from various sources and networking contexts in one place. This makes it easier for users to manage, access, and update their contacts’ information, improving networking efficiency and productivity.
- Nection is all in one communication platform. Nection has successfully bridged the gap between various platforms and collected all the necessary functions (and more) in one place. Whether people meet at conferences, at random encounters, or online, they can easily exchange and store different types of information using the Nection app.
- Nection is your personal assistant with robust information storage. The ability to add, expand, view, and use information about a particular person in the future is another essential success factor of the Nection app. Users can add any information they want – notes, voices, reminders, tips and have the flexibility to supplement or update it later.
- Nection is about a user-friendly interface. The app has an easy-to-use and intuitive UI, allowing users to easily navigate the app, thereby enhancing user satisfaction and engagement.
- Nection — it’s about effective teamwork. The team continually improves the app, based on user feedback, new trends, and technologies. Notion’s innovative approach to solving networking and social capital challenges has kept Nection relevant and valuable in the ever-evolving information landscape.
# 4 What are the biggest challenges you have faced launching and running the company
Launching and running a startup is a journey filled with high hopes, exhilarating successes, and inevitable challenges.
Our journey with Nection was no different. Upon releasing our product, we anticipated an immediate influx of users. However, reality didn’t quite mirror our expectations. We soon realized that the actual work begins when the product is launched.
One of the biggest challenges was managing the multitude of variables that impact the success of a product post-launch. Success in the startup realm isn’t determined merely by a successful product launch; it’s about what happens next—how you adapt, respond, and improve based on your market’s response.
A vital realization we came to was the importance of releasing our product as early as possible. With fewer users, we could garner invaluable feedback, allowing us to make necessary modifications and improvements to our product in a manageable and timely manner.
This early product release stage was advantageous for gathering user feedback and starting our marketing initiatives. Our users became our primary source of product refinement ideas, guiding us on which aspects to tweak.
Reflecting on our journey, we’ve learned that while the initial launch of a product is a significant milestone, it’s only the starting point. The critical work lies in understanding and reacting to user feedback, continually refining the product, and evolving with the market’s needs. These challenges test a startup’s mettle and resilience, shaping its path toward success.
# 5 Which do you think is most important: the right market, the right product, or the right team?
The market, the product, and the team. Shortly – each element plays a pivotal role in the startup’s success. Let’s delve deeper into the interconnected nature of these components and the role adaptability plays in the startup realm.
The market is a playground. Choosing the right market, one that is sizeable, accessible, and poised for growth, is indeed paramount to your startup’s potential success. However, simply entering the right market is not a guarantee of success.
The product – is the solution to a problem or the provision of a need within your chosen market. Your product needs to be unique, compelling, and capable of capturing the attention and interest of your target audience. Yet, even the most groundbreaking product can fail without a competent team.
The team is the driving force behind the idea. They are the ones who breathe life into the vision, navigate the market, and iterate the product. But even an exceptional team may struggle if the product doesn’t fit the market.
Thus, the three components are deeply interwoven and rely on one another. But is there one aspect that tips the scale slightly more? So, if a product isn’t performing well, a great team can redesign, adapt, or even completely overhaul it to better meet market demands.
Similarly, if a market evolves or shifts, a competent team can recognize the changes and steer the product in a new direction. Therefore, while market and product are undoubtedly critical, the team’s ability to be flexible and responsive to change could be critical to startup’s success.
# 6 Final words for those chasing the startup dream
When you pursue your startup dream, it is essential to remember: what is your big idea? Because a startup’s success is not only about monetary profit; instead, it is about deeply rooted in the passion and purpose behind your startup vision.
Our vision was not just about creating another networking app but crafting a tool that could meaningfully improve people’s lives by strengthening their Social Capital and professional or personal connections. We want to break the stereotype that networking is a numbers game and give users a platform where the quality of connections supersedes quantity.
We envision Nection not just as an application but as a significant life tool, which will be easily integrated into users’ lives, becoming a powerful ally in their journey towards personal and professional success.
In conclusion, remember that your Startup journey is about the impact you make, the lives you touch, and the world you help to shape. Be passionate, persistent, and always strive to add value beyond monetary gain. The world needs more than just businesses; it needs solutions, and you could be the one to provide them.
