Meet the Entrepreneurs
MySales November 2013
Mobile Innovation
CONTACT INFORMATION
mysales
Enhancing channels of communication between businesses and consumers in Armenia Zhenya Karapetyan, Founder, Yerevan
CHALLENGE Securing discounts on products has become more popular across the world, especially as people have gained increased access to information through the internet. Unfortunately, producers in Armenia are still not able to communicate these discounts to current and potential consumers via the World Wide Web. The only means by which individuals find out about discounts is by physically entering malls and shopping areas, or through the press and Internet sites. Furthermore, retail companies also lack the capacity to promote their discounted sales to the Armenian market, limiting their revenues.
“THERE IS DEMAND FOR A PLATFORM WHERE DISCOUNT SALES ARE CONSOLIDATED AND ADVERTISED TO CONSUMERS WITH LIMITED BUDGETS.”
IDEA
Yerevan, Armenia
+60 529876, +94 515189
jenkarapetyan@gmail.com
www.mysales.am /mysales.am
@mysales2
BUSINESS MODEL MySales is a web-based app that provides information on the latest discounts and sales relating to clothes, shoes, and accessories. The website also gives consumers the opportunity to identify items in a store and register their preferences. For businesses, MySales offers direct and real-time market information so that storeowners and managers can better cater their products to specific customer segments. The MySales mobile app will be launched at the end of 2013. The revenue model is based on monthly membership fees for businesses that want to advertise their sales and discounts on the platform. Retailers can sign up for three different types of memberships: (1) free membership where companies can promote their sales and their information; (2) standard membership (USD100 per month) where businesses can also include product images, colors and sizes, and customers can subscribe to their stores; and (3) the premium package (USD200 a month), where businesses benefit from all of the aforementioned services, plus additional targeted promotion through the mobile app.
Zenhya Karapetyan, MySales founder, noticed that the channels of communication between consumers and producers were weak. Furthermore, she realized that smartphones could play a key role in promoting retail sales and increasing customer satisfaction. Her idea was to create a platform where individuals could search for, identify, and access discounts on purchases, specifically clothes, shoes, and accessories. After discussing the idea with her friends and her partners at the mLab, Zenhya created the website in June 2013, so potential users could familiarize themselves with the idea of MySales before the mobile app would be launched.
“MySales WOULD ALLOW THE ENTIRE POPULATION TO SEARCH, IDENTIFY, AND ACCESS HIGH QUALITY GOODS AT DISCOUNTED PRICES.”
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
ENTREPRENEUR’S INSIGHTS
NEXT STEPS
WORKING WITH mLab ECA
Attract and secure more investments • ESTABLISH GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH STAKEHOLDERS: Get to know the people around you; clear and genuine communication results in stronger ties and networks. • KEEP YOUR TEAM MOTIVATED SO THEY CAN OVERCOME ANY OBSTACLE: Learning how to manage frustration is an important skill during the startup stages of your business. Valuing your team and recognizing their work is essential to the success of the organization. • LEVERAGE THE RESOURCES AROUND YOU: mLab ECA and the type of support it provided was essential to MySales’ success.
Develop user base and establish stronger relationships with client base Secure a reliable and efficient server site Expand to new markets within and outside of Armenia
• THE mLab CREATED CONFIDENCE within the MySales team, as the team believed in Zhenya’s business idea and supported the business model. • BY PROVIDING EQUIPMENT AND A PHYSICAL WORKSPACE, the mLab helped MySales to lower their initial administrative costs. • MySales GREATLY BENEFITED from the mLab’s business development training in addition to seed funding of USD5,000.
“WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF mLab ECA, I WOULD HAVE NOT HAD THE RESOURCES TO START MY OWN BUSINESS.”
KEY OUTCOMES VALUE FOR USERS $
Increased revenue for companies: Businesses have a fast and practical way of marketing their sales and increasing their revenues. Increased bargains on products: Consumers gain access to discounted goods and have the opportunity to save money when buying. Efficiencies of creating a virtual market: By bridging the information gap between supply and demand, businesses can be more competitive by offering more attractive prices for their products, and consumers get better values by making better informed decisions.
BUSINESS FACTS INVESTMENT ATTRACTED
High and middle-income consumers
STORES REGISTERED WITH MySales
200
INVESTMENTS SECURED
USERS REACHED
1,000 visitors per day
JOBS CREATED
3
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
Supported by:
www.infodev.org
twitter: @infoDev
1
Digicamp top five contestant; Startup Cup Armenia 2013 top seven contestant