Persistent in pursuit

This week has been another of a lot of learning, pushback, but a crucial pivot which will allow us to test our service fairly quickly. We recently have made a pivot to make this a more feasible approach right now. Our initial goal is still our priority but the approach we have taken is now scalable and with our developers really going at it over spring break we will have an operating MVP whereas right now we have prototypes. 

Our mission is to simplify financial transactions by digitizing and categorizing receipts at any retail location that currently provides the customer with an Email receipt option. We plan on doing this initially by allowing the consumer to create an @ReceiptMe email address where they would provide the retailer with this and our system is coded to take the information from the digital receipt and store it in one centralized location making it searchable by item, store, and date.  The great thing is, our system is coded to filter out all the un-wanted promotional emails that come with the current process of email receipts. 

 

Ryan and I have set a goal to network 3 entrepreneurs or professionals a week so we can get ample advice and learn more in the process. Not to mention, open the door so when we are ready to show the MVP. My milestone will be hit before Monday, everything is in the process right now. We are very excited because our developers agree this a more feasible approach and a great starting point, but our expansion will require capital. Once we get a decent user base and can show them a functioning MVP and numbers, I believe we are on the right path. Although we did not get through to the final round of Launch DePaul (Congrats Justin!), we still plan on launching an MVP by the end of spring break. So our goals are aligned. Stay persistent, stay hungry…..

 

Cheers,

 

Ramzey

Week 8?

Im going to keep this brief because I have alot to do. Ryan met with a new developer today who we are thinking of bringing on as a technical co-founder. I am speaking with the one developer we brought on a few weeks ago and he is doing some great work in prototyping. He has currently sent us prototypes of the application and we are still going back and forth working out some kinks. This in no way will be the one that goes live, this is just a great start to see what the application and emulated environment is capable of doing. As we go forward this week, I hit my milestone and will be preparing for Lunch DePaul judge interviews. Good luck to those who are in the same round as us (Justin). Keep on grinding everyone! No days off….

Late updates

This has been a crazy week yet again. Ryan and I were grinding and preparing for the innovation awards which I am disappointed to say, we got 2nd place. We were well prepared and I felt extremely confident going into it. We are working on an emulated environment to what our database functionalities will contain. We are now down to 1 animator because one stepped off the team for schedule conflicts. But sucks for him…. we are still going strong! 

I have hit my milestone by interviewing one whole foods. Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be speaking with trader joes and trying to get into apple. So that is going well because the views about ReceiptMe from retail perspectives are optimistic. 

I am late on this post because on top of everything with ReceiptMe, I have had a full weekend of Habibtees endeavors. Friday, I had an event I sponsored in the suburbs where we did pretty well. Saturday, we shot a full on production including a whole crew and actors. Tomorrow (Sunday) we are on 750 AM, the Rise Up Show. Showcasing how we have developed and how we are using social media/youtube to blow the company up! 

THE GRIND NEVER SLEEPS……neither do I.

Cheers!

Every hour counts

This past week has been one with very little sleep. We are working tirelessly to find a developer and we are meeting with one tomorrow (saturday). He is very optimistic and has begun working on a proto-type. This proves that staying persistent is key regardless of set backs. We have met and hired 2 animators, 1 videographer who have all the tools/knowledge necessary to leverage social media and crowdfunding sites. I met Jack Cummins and Eddie Lou last night at a networking event and emailed them. We are meeting with Jack Cummins (Adviser/Attorney/Investor) late next week. I soldified my mentor Prof. Patrick Murphy of the entpreneurship program. I met with him earlier today for about 2 hours and just bounced ideas back and forth. Its refreshing to have someone to talk to that actually cares and will give advice whenever you need some. Also, Ryan and I are presenting 2/23, this upcoming Thursday at 2 pm in the finals for the most innovative companies at DePaul for 15 minutes. So on top of everything, we are thoroughly preparing for the Innovation awards. This is a crazy ride and I cant wait to see where it goes. All I know is we are going to stay persistent and keep working our ass off to make this happen.

I hit my milestone this week and have had some email dialogue between POS companies, restaurants, and other players in the Point of sale process (Micros, Aloha, POSiTouch). Also we discovered most receipt paper you receive on a daily basis contains BPA which is very harmful for consumers, and adds another reason why digital receipts will take off. The timing is right, the creativity is there, and the hustle is stays alive!

CHEERS!

Compulsive Innovation

Im going to keep it short and sweet this week because I am writing this from my phone in St. Louis. We appreciate everyones feedback and criticism on amending our company. We are still in the process of hiring a developer, a lot easier said then done. Our concept of working through API (Application Programming Interfaces) is definitely something we are considering because the same pain point is still being resolved. The pain point of paper tedious receipts is what we are after, so the gateway and means to solve this is more feasible in working with established companies and services. We are in the process of speaking with Square, Mint, Micros, Aloha, and all intermediaries in the point of sale process. We really need to learn more about the point of sale more, because inevitably, that is what we need to conquer. 

In other news, I have hired a videographer and currently am in search of solidifying a mentor. A lot more we are doing and will share in class but got to go back to the grind right now! 

Cheers,

Keep the Hustle alive

This week Ryan and I have been contacting and interviewing developers to gain a better insight towards our service. I interviewed 1 very impressive database and network security developing grad student who had some great feedback. We will be touching base with her again next week. 

Being that it was mid-terms this week and that drained me, I still managed to set up a few more meetings with developers and one potential investor. We are a long shot before presenting to an investor because our idea is still being fine tuned. But like Justin and Raman said just go with it. Our team building is coming great, as we hope to acquire a few to the technical side within the coming weeks. We have also thought to work through current mobile payment systems API, by becoming the  one digitized receipt company to integrate our service in their profit producing product. This would entirely eliminate the point of sale challenges we have been having. We would be more of a back-end type software that makes the lives of businesses and mobile payments efficient and more ideal. 

I am working this weekend on data base and functionality guidelines which ReceiptMe should have and we will follow up this week with all developers that have been interviewed. We are looking at developers right now to gain insight and maybe learn some things we do not know currently! Hustle = Expansion!

Week 3

This past week we have been networking with professors and various people who can put us in touch with skilled and driven developers. Our whole idea of eliminating receipts took a spin for the better. We are going in this with the mindset that nothing can restrict us and what we want done will get done. A lot of people criticize the fact that what we are doing is far too intricate and the technology is still new, but thats what we are in this class for. To innovate against all obstacles, if there is a will there is a way. Yes, the security can be an challenge but with the right team members technology wise we can surpass it. We also see a trend of mobile payments sky rocketing since 2010. So why limit are selves to just digitizing receipts, we are exploring the option to incorporate a mobile payment solution, and from there receipts are digitized into specific categories. The goal is to make this as hands off as possible for the consumer. Its going to be a grind, but Ryan and I are dedicated to create this system. 

 

As far as this week goes for me, I hired a videographer and interviewed Chartwells. The amount of receipts that they throw away in all their locations at DePaul is crazy. We stood by the register for about 30 minutes and almost 75% of the students did not accept their receipt, rather it was thrown in the trash. Building a team is are main goal aside from all the milestones created, because without the right parts to the puzzle it won’t function properly. 

Mobile Payment Trend

Week 2 blog

A lot has happened since week 1. We have been grinding everyday to really understand what our service is and how to implement it in the everyday market. I’ve met with an app and information systems development team and we are in the works of a deal. Our focus right now is team building and getting dedicated passionate people on our team. We have thrown many ideas back and forth and are still trying to solidify the POS (point of sale) aspect to our company. However we have discovered a new technology NFC near field communications which is similar to what google wallet is implementing in their service. This technology is springing up in a lot of tech startups in the bay area. We hope to learn more in seeing how we can benefit from it. Lastly, I’ve interviewed 2 local Lincoln park retailers who seemed to be very interested and wanted to hear more about our service towards the launch of our MVP! Full steam ahead.

Week 1 Updates

I have been working on my milestones with Ryan. To be honest, we at first had some trouble mapping them out since we have to do 18 but the creative flow is going.

This week I have read a lot on the digital payment and paperless financial transaction industry. It is a very new one which we as a team really need to understand before fully going into this endeavor. There a few companies out there doing something similar but not as efficient and simplified as ReceiptMe (Working Title). I am going to list some of my milestones out of order and I would appreciate some feedback!

Interview local business owners…..question rubric selectively worked out
Analyze feedback from business owners
Interview 3 Big box companies (Wholefoods, traderjoes, Apple or Gap)
Talk to Chartwells (DePauls Dining Service) about our service
Hire 1 Developer
Launch Indie-Gogo Campaign
Launch Prototype
More pending this weekend.