StartUs Presents: Fotocolaj

Describe Fotocolaj in 50 words or less.

Fotocolaj started out as a hobby and steadily turned into a startup business. The idea behind the website is enabling people to easily create personal, meaningful presents for their family or friends, including personalized photo books.

Why did you decide to pursue your own dreams rather than someone else’s?

I worked in finance advisory for 6 years, where I prepared reports which sometimes did not impress anyone. I was always looking to do something that makes people happy, that brings me the joy of positive feedback about the products I can deliver.

My friend Stefana Zdrenghea, who is now my co-founder, was driven to do something meaningful for other people, too. So together, we came up with Fotocolaj, an idea that we believe will cheer up a lot of people.

7 years from now: How did your startup change the world?

We live in a time when everything moves and changes so fast that I hardly have the courage to think of how it will be 7 years from now. I believe that people will cherish their memories more, and with the use of printed paper their digitalized moments can be transformed into a collection of meaningful touchable memorabilia. This way they can bring their dearest closer and keep shared happy moments for perpetuity.

In what ways do you measure your success and how do you make sure you don’t lose track?

I have a financial background so financial results are the main indicator. The return is always the easiest to quantify and follow up for an increase.

But when we overhear people talking about our products, and when we receive text messages from our clients thanking us because they love the album and will recommend Fotocolaj to their friends, we suddenly know that we are on the right track and that we have to keep going.

Describe your typical working day from coming to the office to leaving it.

For us being startup founders is totally different from a classic day job. What I mean is that every day is different. This is why we use planning, shared to-do lists, and calendars, which we follow up daily although we do not have a fixed schedule.

We have also designed Fotocolaj operations to offer us the opportunity of working from everywhere. Everything is managed online so the most important thing is our availability. We had a shared office space for 5 months while we were participants in the Spherik acceleration program in Cluj, but now we often meet and work in coffee shops.

Already pivoted? Did customers use the facilitation of making personalized products like you imagined it in the beginning?

With Fotocolaj we maintained the initial idea of do-it-yourself photo albums, but we are also planning to expand into the 3D printing area with an innovative product. It is really close to photo prints and memories. We will have the first 3D photo service where you can design your photo online and we will send you the 3D printed version of your picture from Romania.

Bootstrapped or financed: What fuels your startup now and what will in the future?

Launched in October 2014, Fotocolaj was bootstrapped with founders’ investment to this level. Now we are open to partnerships or VC investment that will boost our plans to scale the business both in Romania and the European area. We are now at the level where we have some historic data and we can provide potential investors with estimated returns of their funding amounts.

With ferocious competition and a booming trend to build new companies: How do you make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle?

We came up with one idea for one startup, an idea we believed in and believed we could realize and grow from zero. We started to build around this idea and now we’re sticking to the initial plan. There is some temptation to change, and we know that diversity always brings new energy, but we have enough creativity space around Fotocolaj. The small changes like designing new products, templates, advertising campaigns, partnerships always keep us engaged and motivated.

What do you look for in team members?

We are proactive, committed, positive, open to any challenge and we expect from a new team member to have a complementary or similar profile. We believe these things can help us move forward.
For special and technical skills we work project-based with other companies, like for new features for the website or advertising campaigns.

Why would a talent join your team?

We like to say that our team has the almost perfect mix where the co-founders have both business and design experience. I come from the business field, with extensive experience in finance and restructuring advisory. Stefana is the more creative partner with several years of experience in an advertising company. Through this synergy of skills and ideas Fotocolaj gets constant support for growing its operations.
We are open to sharing our experience and also learning from others.

What was your most memorable moment so far?

We have a lot of memorable moments, starting with when we first came up with the idea to the moment the website went live. But we were the happiest when we received the first order from other people than parents, friends, acquaintances or recommendations. It was the confirmation that we have done a good job with promotion and that there are people who are really interested and appreciate our idea. And the positive feedback we receive whenever the clients get their photo books is the most motivating boost.

What advice would you give fellow founders for their startup?

I think the most important thing is not to have unrealistic expectations, to persevere and be patient, but also to push everything forward. I believe that founders should be very open and curious to discover, learn everything and keep the mindset that for every problem there is a solution.

__________________

Sharing is caring so please share this post. Thank you!