Start-up Zuupy Is Boring But Promising

Zuupy offers daily deal solutions for clients. It is basically a DIY group buy platform that helps non-technical folk to run their own daily deals online.

This Singapore-based start-up is one of many such sites that put businesses online through the group buying model. Well, to me it’s boring because there are just too many deals by-products in this industry — aggregators, solution platforms, Groupon clones.

But that doesn’t mean that being in the current group buy industry bars you from making money. Alvin Tan, co-founder of Zuupy, aptly explains to me that although such sites are the “gold rush of the 21st century,” he and his team are not about to head into it to dig gold just like the rest. He added:

We’re selling shovels, spades, and railway services (a reliable, customizable platform) to people mining the gold (aspiring/current deal site owners). The classic “Sell pickaxes during a gold rush” strategy.

That sounds pretty sensible and he might be right. But still, it’s boring. Nonetheless, Alvin is proud to share that his start-up has just over 10 paying customers, and about 100 active trial users. He also said that Zuupy is very close to breaking even just three months after its launch.

What I like is Alvin’s attitude, which causes my spider sense to tell me that the start-up has a fighting chance. Whether the small company wins or loses depends heavily on the leader and his team.

Alvin told me that ever since he incorporated his company in 2010, he has pivoted multiple times before arriving at the current DIY group deal solution platform. And what’s cool is that Alvin did it while he is in his second year in college. He is currently on long-term leave from his law school to build the business. A brave soul, and certainly a rare breed in Singapore.

Regardless of the kind of platform, this guy has the balls to do it and is on the verge of breaking even — far better than many cool start-ups out there.