Don’t want to waste time queuing up? Qtix offers a solution

Qtix founders from L-R: Tan Ji Sheng, Hanif Marzuki, and Muhammad Ellyas

Malaysian mobile app startup Qtix wants to solve a problem that besets us all: queuing. With Qtix, you no longer have to wait for your turn to be served – whether it’s at a bank, a payment center, or a restaurant.

Co-founder Hanif Marzuki describes Qtix as “a mobile integrated queue management system that enables users to get their queuing tickets virtually and receive an estimated time for their service to start.”

“This means within the waiting gap, the user can do other errands. We don’t make the queue faster, we make it efficient,” he says.

Qtix and a number of other startups are dealing with this pain point. But rather than directly getting consumers to download the app, Qtix is doing something different.

Qtix is trying to win partnerships with commercial establishments, which will then push out the app to their customers.

“We are in customer acquisition mode. We’re in talks with prospective clients regarding the integration of our system to their service centers. They include banks, the postal office, and other government service centers,” shares Marzuki. “We expect to get at least three clients on board this year then we’ll grow from there.”

The way they pitch the idea is simple: a bad queuing system can get customers in an irritated mood and dampen their overall experience at a place of business. Qtix helps calm customers and make waiting less painful.

“If people leave the service center happy, it will have a positive impact on the business.”

A frustration turned opportunity

The idea was born out of frustration more than a year ago when Marzuki and his dad waited for five hours to be serviced at a Malaysian immigration office. “We couldn’t go out because we were afraid we’d miss our turn,” he recalls.

Like in the case of many entrepreneurs, this frustration became an opportunity. Marzuki and his co-founders Tan Ji Sheng and Muhammad Ellyas, all 21 years old, brainstormed on a solution. Still in college, they set up Qtix in early 2014.

It wasn’t an easy task, especially for young people with no entrepreneurial background. Marzuki says their biggest challenge was figuring out how to actually start a company. “Over time, we understood that setting up a company is not just about making sales, it’s also about creating a product that suits the market. Some startups only focus on product, others on sales. For us, it’s a balance.”

Good thing they had angel investor Anne Cheng as mentor. Cheng heads Singapore-based SUN Group, which invested seed funding of an undisclosed sum in Qtix. “Anne didn’t just invest her money, she invested time and energy. We have frequent Skype calls and she’s available on our speed dials.”