BizSpark Startup of the Day - salenear.me

The BizSpark startup of the day is salenear.me, based in Australia. Below you will find an interview with Dimaz Pramudya, Founder of salenear.me. All the best to them and congratulations for being the startup of the day!

Website: www.salenear.me

Tell us who you are and your role in the company:

Founder.

What did you do before creating your company?

I have been working in a number of industries as a Technical Consultant for the past 5 years. Back when I was at university, I was thrilled to invent SOAK along with few of my teammates, which we ended up winning the Software Design category for Microsoft Imagine Cup 2008.

How do you feel being the most promising ‘Startup of the Day’ per Microsoft BizSpark?

It was an honor and a privilege to be chosen as the Startup of the day by BizSpark.

What is your company’s mission?

Our mission is to make finding great local deals an easy and enjoyable experience and at the same time boosting local businesses and promoting environmental friendly marketing.

In 140 characters or less, tell us what your company does:

salenear.me is a new revolutionary platform designed to connect local businesses with local people. It allows people to find great deals near them just by going to www.salenear.me on their mobile phones.

How did you get the idea for your company?

I got the idea to develop salenear.me from hearing my friends missed out on great deals while they were actually working just few blocks away from those stores.

Tell us about your funding history. Are you currently looking for funding? If so, how much?

salenear.me is currently self-funded. But we are looking for investment of $500k to fund further development and marketing.

How many employees do you have? How many developers?

We’ve got two employees: one developer (myself) and one graphic designer. On top of that, I am grateful to have friends to help me out with some of the marketing tasks.

Are you hiring?If yes, what are you hiring for and where?

Yes, we are hiring a web developer and a marketing savvy people.

Which platform are you building on?Why?

The solution was built using ASP.NET MVC, SQL Azure and Hybrid architecture of Windows Azure. By going down the path of Hybrid Cloud, it enables us to scale out easily by leveraging the cloud offering from Windows Azure and still delivers the performance needed by using in-house dedicated server.

Where do you see opportunities today in the Software/Internet area?

Nowadays, people become more and more attached to mobile phones. If there are two things that they have to carry when they are going out, that would be wallet and mobile phone(s). With the enormous growth in the mobile space just in the past 3 years, I see a huge market opportunity in this area.

What do you think about the BizSpark Program?

I think BizSpark is a great program for new entrepreneur who sometimes have limited funds. BizSpark opens up the door for startup companies like us to connect with other startup companies, investors and also free access to software licenses which is just tremendous.

Do you have any advice for young Software entrepreneurs?

If you are passionate, committed and willing to put all of your effort into it, don’t hesitate to make your ideas a reality!

Who’s your role model?

Since I was a kid, I always admire Alfred Bernhard Nobel and the legacy that he left behind. He invented dynamite and even though his invention was very successful, on the other hand, it also brought death to lots of people. At that time, people called him “The Merchant of Death” which saddened him a lot. Just before he passed away, he signed his last will to set aside his wealth to establish the Nobel Prize, which people mainly know him as. Until today, his Nobel Prize legacy is what drives the majority of new invention / discoveries today.

What’s the ONE THING you would like readers to take away from this interview?

There is no such thing as “happy go lucky” company. Great recipe of success is a combination of believing in yourself, commitment to your product, and have great team works (with your employees, friends or business partners).