The online world is filled with lots of information and content in the form of articles, images, videos and podcasts. Over 3 billion people daily access the internet. They are scattered on social media networks, blogs, news publications, travel sites and video channels like Vimeo and YouTube all trying to get as much information as possible for what they search for. Except that they have nowhere to store all the information. They collect for future use be it for work or social purposes.
Maurizio Galbiati has made an app just for that – storage of information and ideas for future reference. The app is called Tickit. On Pressfarm, we interview our clients on weekly basis to present their startup stories to our readers. As well as create publicity for the companies they are building. Today, in our startup story we talk to Maurizio about the inspiration behind Tickit. The company’s growth and the goals for the future.
INSPIRATION
Like most founders and co-founders, the solutions they build usually arise out of personal needs and it is not different from Maurizio. He remarks, “The inspiration came out of a personal need and a frustrating experience online. I would come across an interesting article/video/etc where I often would not have time to go through on the spot, I would end up saving the link in my notes, in a tab, sending it by WhatsApp to my wife or email it to myself as a reminder.”
However, within no time, this sort of saving content for future use is disjointed, unreliable and often susceptible to you forgetting that you saved that content in the first place.
“This was my way of managing my life online on a daily messy basis!” he continues.
“The end result was a lot of valuable time wasted, information lost and searching all over again for content that I had already once found.”
The exponential growth of the content available online in the last years is impressive. There are more than 500 million websites, more than 5 million mobile applications and almost 4 million searches on Google per minute.
Maurizio adds, “With so much content available online, people are finding it challenging to organize all the stuff they like to retrieve later in no time. In real life, it is like living in a place without wardrobes or shelves. Where to keep all the stuff you have, the new stuff you get, and how to find it within the clutter?
Well, in the digital world you can face the same problem if you don’t use tools that help you stay organized.”
It is interesting to add that this is a problem that people are actively facing. In a world where people are struggling to stay productive and taking active measures towards that, having an app like Tickit only fosters that level of organization meant to make everyone more productive.
ALTERNATIVES TO TICKIT
It is very difficult to find only one solution in the market to a problem. In fact, as the saying goes, if you have thought of an idea, be sure someone else has too. Tickit is not the only solution existing in this sphere, but as the founder indicates. The alternatives not executed with the simplicity that Tickit has.
“There are a few similar, but not the same, alternatives to Tickit, however all of them are not as simple and straightforward as Tickit is,” he says adding that the focus with the Tickit team was to create something that would be very simple to use from the onset.
So no tutorials, no manuals, just install it and go. However, to achieve such simplicity that your app is self-explanatory from the onset is not easy. To be fair, the Pressfarm team has tested Tickit and the simplicity and ease of getting started with the app is almost fully achieved.
“We want it to be very simple and easy to use across any generation. You do not have to be tech-savvy to use Tickit. This was our main focus.
In addition to simplicity, we added a unique sharing feature where you can share entire folders with family and friends. Each one can add content to the same folder, making it a community-like work of collaboration.”
Collaboration in terms of dissemination of information is a major issue in both formal and informal circles. People want to share more ideas in a place they can easily locate. Not in the midst of text conversations or dispersed in various social media applications.
“Imagine a group of friends organizing their next trip to New York. They have to find apartments on Airbnb, hotels, restaurants, things to do, places to visit, etc. All of those can saved to Tickit, in one folder, call it ‘New York’ for instance. Once the NY folder shared within the group each one can add new ideas in the same folder.
No more sending link to yourself or to friends losing time to retrieve them later.”
The company has made Tickit available in the App and Play Store for both iOS. Android ecosystems but they are working on releasing a desktop version too.
BIGGEST GROWTH CHALLENGE
Most young startups struggle to get the word out and marketing their applications.
“Our biggest challenge so far has been to make people aware of Tickit as an application, and especially because people are unaware that they need it,” says the founder.
Tickit is now working with Pressfarm’s PR and marketing team to generate some press coverage while utilizing clever advertising strategies to generate downloads for the mobile application. The most important parts include data gathering and collection so far in order to understand what the publicity campaign needs and what the marketing campaign should be guided by.
FUTURE OF TICKIT
The company focused on the future as it just newly launched and at the beginning of its early phase.
“We have great plans for the coming years in terms of new features to add to the app. To turn Tickit into a community is one of them,” says Maurizio. He continues, “The growth of information online will not stop anytime soon. More people are searching for something online. To be the ultimate organization tool will be a priority for Tickit.”
STARTUP LESSONS
As a founder, Maurizio has something to tell anyone out there who is building a startup or a young company.
“If your idea is to build something you need, be sure that there are other people out there who share the same need,” he remarks.
“Be focused, be simple and never give up.”
To download the Tickit app. You can get the iOS version in the app store and the Android version in the Play Store. Try it out and leave your suggestions in the comments section below or chat with us on Twitter @thepressfarm.