In this instalment of our Startup Feature series, we speak with Oliver Duric from Grezzy, one of our BizSpark startups. Grezzy is a software platform in the health and fitness space that connects people, tracks activities, motivates to be active and compete with the goal of living healthy. Grezzy has also recently moved into Microsoft’s office premise at One Marina Boulevard, as part of the BizSpark Residency program. For those who are curious to find out more about BizSpark Residency following the recent news releases (like this and this), read on!
Hi Oliver, let’s start off with something about yourself. What’s your current role in Grezzy, and how have your past experiences taken you to this role?
I am a founder and CEO of Grezzy, and I primarily take charge of the business side, including business development, sales, marketing and quality assurance. I also pay close attention to the company’s vision and product strategy. I’ve been in the IT space for more than 15 years, working closely with manufacturers and telcos. That helped me build knowledge on customized software solutions.
How has it been like moving from MNC to a start-up environment?
Large companies usually have established processes in place and the employees specialize in what they do, so we just focus on our task and the rest is taken care of. While in a start-up environment, it’s much more hands-on and we have to take care of every aspect. Nothing prepares you for that transition, you have to learn as you go. But the great thing is, because the learning curve is so steep, it sets you up for the future.
Describe yourself in 3 words.
A geek dad. Work is my hobby and I am a family man as well, so my life is about balancing between that two.
How did you guys come up with Grezzy and what problem are you trying to solve?
I have a passion for sports, especially running. About a year ago, there were many apps in the health and fitness space, but I wanted a customized and integrated solution that meets my needs. And not just exercises, health and fitness is also about diet, recovery and your social circle. Grezzy aims to bring together relevant feature sets across various platforms and expand it. We provide customized solutions to OEMs, Mobile Operators, fitness gyms and health organizations among others, and can also integrate their hardware devices into our platform.
How long has Grezzy been with the BizSpark program, and how did you guys get engaged initially?
We’ve been on BizSpark since May 2015. When we first began one year ago, our CTO decided Azure would work best for us, because of his prior experience when working with Azure. So he introduced the team to Azure, and BizSpark. Since then, we’ve been engaging with the Microsoft team in Singapore to seek opportunities to work together.
(Editor’s note: Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing service. Find out more here)
How has it been like being housed in the Microsoft Innovation Centre?
I’ve been in other co-working spaces before, but this space in Microsoft stands out for us. Microsoft has a strong B2B business approach, and this aligns with what Grezzy does. Here, we get many opportunities in the B2B space, such as getting to engage with new partners. The atmosphere has also been positive, engaging and motivating so far, plus the location is perfect.
How has the initial development phase of Grezzy been?
We began developing our MVP last August, and have released it in February this year. It is currently available on iOS and Android platforms, while the Windows mobile version will be out soon.
Gotten any interesting feedback from users of the app?
There are about 2,700 users so far and we have received many feature requests from them, some of which are really useful. There was one requesting for more effective detection of bike elevation changes, and we wouldn’t have thought of that ourselves because we are not professional bikers. My brother, who is a non-technical user, also gave valuable suggestions on how to simplify our UI and UX designs.
What’s next for you?
It’s an exciting journey ahead – we are looking at closing business deals with OEMs, and we look forward to bringing our products to various markets in the coming months.
What has been the greatest challenge for your team?
I’d say finances. We wish to be independent and we’re proud to do this on our own, but there are bound to be resource constraints. We have since spoken to a number of investors and it has been heartening to receive their validation as well.
Communication within the team has also been tough because the three of us are based across different continents and time zones. But thankfully technology has been a great help; we use tools like Skype and Trello to ease these inconveniences.
If you could go back in time when you first started, is there anything you would have done differently?
I’d love to have some coding skills so that I can have a more thorough understanding of the product. If you can understand the product that you are selling in every detail, it makes you an even bigger trusted advisor to your customers. You could also advise on ways to improve resource efficiency and so on.
What’s one advice you would give to budding entrepreneurs?
For me, it’s been important to have a strong network of contacts with different expertise. It helps to get feedback from them, validate your idea and then improve. But it’s tough because it may involve stepping out of your comfort zone to meet someone new but the reward is to learn something new. Start with your family and friends who are close to you and get their feedback first.
Find out more about Grezzy here!
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