Starting a new business and want to get an overview of your to do list? Asilia introduces Anza, a checklist for startup entrepreneurs.
This app is intended to help entrepreneurs cover all the bases and prepare them for discussions with investors, from the tasks entrepreneurs need to complete to identifying issues they should be thinking about. The users is able to complete tasks and edit existing categories/new lists as well as add personal notes, categories and tasks. We talked to Andrew Mugoya, one of the minds behind this project and also a contributor to the VC4Africa blog, about this project in the interest to find out more.
Why did you decide to build on Android?
“Anza was an experimental project for us and a chance to dip our toes into app development. Android developers were more easily available and the barriers to market (i.e. listing on Google Play) were much lower than on iOS. Being heavy Mac/iPhone users, we also thought it would be good to handle projects on an unfamiliar platform. With the experience we now have, we are confident we can produce apps for both platforms.”
How can this be useful to entrepreneurs?
“Starting out in business can be daunting and overwhelming. With so much to think about and do, it can be easy to forget vital tasks or simply not be aware of others. When launching Asilia, we went through our fair share of near misses and at times wished someone had given us a (almost) comprehensive checklist of the tasks and areas we needed to address. We hope Anza is able to help other start-ups and entrepreneurs by making the process of starting out more manageable and fun.”
How is this different from what is out there, what makes it unique?
“As with most of Asilia‘s products, our unique designs and attention to the user experience are what help us stand out. The functionality is quite straight forward, but the way it is delivered is what makes it fun and enjoyable to use. The information we are sharing with users is also quite insightful as we have gone through the process of setting up and running a startup.”
What is your favorite part of the app?
“Other than the look and feel, its simplicity and enjoyable visual design. I really like that the information is first-hand from people that have gone through the experience of setting up a fully registered company that spans two continents and has clients across the world.”
Where will you look to improve the service?
“We have learnt a lot on how to improve on the process of developing and producing apps. The main thing would be to ensure we work closely with the developer to ensure we have a better understanding of the platform as well as making sure we and the developer are on the same page. We also plan to put more marketing behind the launch.”
Is there a business model behind this?
“As I mentioned above, Anza was an experimental project for us to dip our toes into app development. As this was mainly an experimental project, we believe we’ve achieved what we set out to do – try out app development and at the same time give something back to the startup/entrepreneurship community (in line with one of our credos to give back).”
Any final comments you would like to add?
“I look forward to launching more exciting apps from Asilia. Anza is just the beginning for us, and now that we have proven the concept and learnt the process, we plan to do a lot more in the near future, both for clients, and on our own initiative.”
It is great to see more resources like this come online for entrepreneurs. We invite the VC4Africa community to try out this new tool and share feedback!