A Sit Down with the Co-Founders

ZIM Journal

Disclaimer: Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.

This interview was conducted by Gene, ZIM’s Community Manager.

We all agreed that it would be a good idea to let people know why ZIM’s co-founders (Giulia and Irina) decided to undergo a crowdfunding campaign.

12:36 pm, 31st of May, in the Beyond Aldgate Tower Common Area

Gene

Hey guys, how’s it going?

Giulia and Irina (both)

We’re doing great, Gene! Thanks, what about you?

Gene

I’m good too! I’m glad I could get a couple of minutes with you, it’s been almost impossible recently.

Giulia

Yeah, we know, it’s super busy right now with the campaign, but I’m glad we’re doing this.

Irina

Me too, it’s been a bit stressful, but we expected that, and we’re optimistic with how everything is going so far.

Gene

I see, you say you’re optimistic, about the campaign? What makes you optimistic?

Irina

Yes, I’m optimistic about the campaign because I believe in ZIM, I believe in our product and the problem we’re solving.

But there’s a lot of preparation that needs to be done for a campaign like this because it’s not just a fundraising campaign, it’s also a marketing campaign, you’re basically showing your company to the public, and they’ll decide whether they like it enough to invest.

Normally we do this kind of thing with private investors, they’ll do their due diligence, and it usually takes a long period of time, with crowdfunding it’s different, as once you go live, the information that’s there, that’s what’s going to motivate the public to feel like they want to be a part of the journey.

We know the pains that travellers go through, we’re hitting those pain points, and we’re excited to invite them to be part of our company. They’ll be customers from day one, and they’ll tell their own networks about ZIM as well.

This motivates us to make sure our quality standards are very high because we need to provide a seamless solution for them in order to make them advocates for our cause. That’s why I’m optimistic.

Gene

Giulia, what did you know about crowdfunding campaigns before, and did you think you would ever put ZIM through one?

Giulia

We’ve seen companies like Revolut and Peloton do crowdfunding campaigns, and we had thought about it for a while before actually starting the campaign. We know we have a great product, it helps the consumer directly, it’s very easy to relate to the problem we are solving, and that’s what is so impactful about this campaign.

Ultimately, getting feedback from investors that are also active users is the most valuable outcome from this campaign.

We decided to start a crowdfunding campaign after doing some research and seeing the snowball effect it creates in terms of the marketing impact for the company.

Gene

That’s a good point. People that invest in something tend to want to be more involved, they might be able to provide valuable insights on the customer side that ZIM might not be able to see.

Giulia

Exactly!

Gene

Irina, why did you guys choose to start a crowdfunding campaign now?

Irina

Now is the best time, we have a product that has been live for a year, we’ve made mistakes and learned from them, improving our product along the way. Now that we have several providers on our app, we have gathered a lot of feedback from our users and confirmed the product-market fit, this is the time to start a campaign.

Users do not have to invest in an idea, they are investing in a real-life product that is on the market, and the hope is they’ll use the product when they need it.

Gene

Improving from mistakes is huge, that’s how you keep customers, listening and adjusting accordingly.

Irina

It’s the difference between a good company and a great company.

Gene

Right.

So, Giulia, What do you hope to achieve from this crowdfunding campaign?

Giulia

Well, we always want to improve our product for our customers. We hope the campaign will provide significant financial resources so that we can expand and improve our services, we want to enhance our online platform, develop new features, and offer an even better user experience for our community.

We’ll use the raised funds to help us reach a wider audience and increase the brand’s visibility through targeted marketing efforts and strategic partnerships.

We also want to invest in talent and training, we want to make sure that we have a skilled and dedicated team to drive the company forward.

We want to push ZIM to a whole other level.

But, at the end of the day, we want to make a positive impact in connecting individuals, businesses, and opportunities.

Gene

That’s awesome.

Thanks again guys for your time, I know you have a lot on your plate, so I appreciate it, and I’m sure any potential investors reading this will too.

Giulia and Irina (both)

No worries! See you later!

Approved by Seedrs Ltd on 6/6