We eliminate cash from businesses and/or events, which eliminates major hassles in lines and the cost of potentially losing sales.
Humberto Quintanilla Ramos
Samuel Navarro
Name: Payzi
Location: Monterrey, Mexico at Startup Studio
Website: http://payzi.mx/
Product / Service Offering: Cashless Payment and Strategic Business Decision Platform
Co-founder Interviewed: Humberto Quintanilla Ramos
Other Key Management Team Members: Samuel Navarro
This article is part of our Business Startup Spotlight series featuring entrepreneurs and their companies. We hope that these founders’ interviews will inspire and motivate you as you undertake your own entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us a little about yourself with a focus on what motivates you?
I am an inveterate socio-economic entrepreneur, bitcoin advocate, and Nikola Tesla fan. I am profoundly motivated towards working in collaboration with epic people and creating solutions to problems that affect small or large portions of people. I like rock music, playing guitar, and meeting new friends from different countries.
When did you establish your company and where did the idea originate?
I started the idea for the company back in 2014, when attending a festival with no cash, only credit and debit cards. I had to wait hours in line to enter the event. The real problem is that Mexico is not a country that is prepared to seize financial tools and in turn punishes the users that do use financial technology (fintech) tools.
I figured out a way to connect these fintech users with the current situation in Mexico, through our cashless payments platform, bringing benefits to events, clients and users.
The company was incorporated on September 2, 2016, with a strong team and a validated minimum viable product.
What need or needs does your company seek to fill for its customers?
We eliminate cash from businesses and/or events, which eliminates major hassles in lines and the cost of potentially losing sales.
Key to Startup Success: Customer Discovery
What is the one thing that sets your company apart from its competitors?
Dashboard of strategic information, cashless payments, and attendance control, are all integrated into a plug-and-play solution presented in one place through the service of Payzi. This eliminates the need to integrate two or three services and connecting the dots.
What was the biggest challenge you faced while getting your company up and running, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge was getting the right people onboard. The first problem was to find a co-founder as committed as I was. I overcame this by refining my search and upgrading the scope of the company and finding a small solution to a small problem. I then had a scalable and attractive solution with potential to grow. It took two years to find the right business partner and we boosted the company.
Are there resources you have utilized that other founders might find compelling or useful?
Yes, I applied to Startup Studio and have 24/7 access to offices, internet, partnerships, credits of servers and sales/marketing tools.
What steps have you taken to secure funding for your company and what, if anything, would you do differently if you had to start over?
I have applied to every fintech and tech-startup fund possible in Monterrey. I would have built more traction with the company, got more clients and sales.
Have there been any questions you have had as an entrepreneur of a fledgling startup that you had a particularly hard time finding the answers to?
The main questions were how to build a strong company culture and how to set the best key performance indicator for a fintech startup that still needs to do sales.
What challenges, if any, are you grappling with?
One challenge is launching a new disruptive platform that resonates with business owners or decision makers that are “old-school”.
What is the most helpful tip or “hack” you’ve ever learned, stumbled across, or been given?
Canva, I have designed enough material to convince people of the potential of the startup; then, I had to make the designs come to life.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your company?
Payzi exists because of our team, and also will have success because of it. My job is to make our team happy so that they can make others happy, clients and users alike.
Are you familiar with other startups you believe should be spotlighted? If so, we would like to hear from you. Tell us about them, sharing your comments below!
Want to learn about other businesses in the spotlight? Check out our Business Startup Spotlight Series.
Sandra Sloan
Sandra has previous supply chain and business operations experience which she is leveraging as an author with FundingSage focused on spotlighting entrepreneurs and their startup efforts.
