Amin Mirzaee is the Chief Technology Officer (and Co-Founder) at Fluidware Corp., a software development firm with two main products: FluidSurveys.com and MyReviewRoom.com. How is his company sticking out from the competition? Find out in today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur profile…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your business in a nutshell.
Fluidware Corp. is devoted to developing software products that provide unparalleled functionality with remarkably intuitive, fluid, user interfaces.
Right now we’ve got two main products:
FluidSurveys.com makes it easy for anyone to create forms and surveys that can be used to collect data, gather valuable customer feedback, and create beautiful reports for in-depth analysis. We have customers from all around the world who swear by it; students doing one-off projects to Fortune 500 companies alike.
MyReviewRoom.com makes it easy to collect, organize and evaluate applications online. It’s the perfect solution for grants and scholarships, admissions, awards, fellowships, journal submissions, or really any process that revolves around the concept of submissions being reviewed. It provides a very fluid, easy to understand interface to configure any process so that the whole thing can be automated, saving time, money, and a whole lot of red tape.
Why did you start your business, what was the inspiration?
Growing up as a kid I was always interested in learning new things on the computer. When I found out people would actually pay you to build websites/software, which was something of a hobby for me at the time, I was ecstatic. I eventually did a short stint at a Wall Street firm to “try something new,” and found myself constantly going over stories of start-ups that did it right, and thinking “that’s how I can make an impact.” Starting a business would allow me to take full responsibility in what I do, and take pride when I see my work out there making a real impact with tens of thousands of people.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of my day is by far the joy brought in when I see the various cases our clients are using our software for, and the tremendous value-add that our products bring. Clients write us all the time thanking us for the design of the products, which virtually eliminate any potential learning curves.
The most challenging aspect is always having to say no to people. We’re constantly receiving a stream of requests by a lot of our customers to build new products and modules to facilitate many other aspects of their businesses. They like our products so much that they’re confident that anything we build would bring great value to them. So while we’re constantly adding new modules and extending the functionality of our products, the requests aren’t always aligned with our core competencies and thus don’t always make sense from a business perspective.
Where do you see your business going in five years?
I don’t like to look five years ahead. I think a lot of people get caught up in dreaming up all the possible things that could potentially happen that far ahead, and don’t spend enough time making it a reality. It’s kind of like trying to predict the weather a month from now. There are simply too many variables. Instead, I like to focus on the three-year mark. That seems to be a good metric where I can help develop solid goals and map out the steps necessary to take us there. With that said, in three years we’re going to be at a place where we can without certainty be deemed to be a large company. Our products will be known to the industry as the definitive tools to use, our employees will be the happiest, and, most importantly, our customers will be part of a burgeoning community of Fluidware fans.
What does success look like to you?
Success is getting the product out there as quickly as possible, and adding value to the lives of everyone involved in the process; customers and employees the same. Fluidware may not be the first to market on all the products and features we offer, but we damn well make sure we are the best. There’s a poster on the wall in our office that reads: “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one.” By doing what we do right, and not being afraid to pivot when necessary, is what has brought us success. After five years we’re still as agile as we were on day one.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
I don’t really like to focus on the past too much, but when we first shifted operations from my dorm room at McGill to actual office space, without taking on any debt, it really stuck with me. It meant that people were actively using our products, and I was really proud of that.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Too many people looking to start a business focus on secondary things that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t matter. If you’ve got a product or an idea, don’t overwhelm yourself thinking all the things you’re going to have to do down the line, like building an ecommerce site, incorporation, patents, contracts, hiring, etc. As soon as you have an absolute bare-bones minimum viable product, find someone willing to pay for it. Just go out, and sell your product. Once you can do that, everything else will start to fall into place.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
Fluidware supports charities, non-profits, and public libraries through our partner Techsoup. We donate to any organization that falls within certain criteria-free access to FluidSurveys so that they can use it to extend the scope of their operations. It’s important to me that companies support charities in this way so they can worry less about overhead expenses and focus on their raison d’etre.
What is Notable to you?
Notable is distinguishing yourself beyond what’s expected of you. Notable is building great things, doing right by others, and providing value-add. Notable is overcoming adversity, knocking down obstacles, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, and doing it just because people said it was impossible. It’s people that fall within this definition that I most look up to, and are notable to me.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
Quite frankly I was an iPhone fan-boy (even though I never had much liking for any other Apple product) until the Galaxy S3 came out. I’m an Android user now, but there isn’t anything particular that would be keeping my attention. I like companies and product offerings that innovate and drive the market. If Apple can regain that claim, I may consider a switch back. The Blackberry Z10 also looks quite appealing, although I haven’t gotten a chance to play with it in-depth yet. It’d be great to see a Canadian company take the reins back 😉
How do you keep active, energetic, and vibrant?
I used to work out, run, and even play chess (I don’t care what you say, chess is a sport, damnit!), but to be honest I’ve been too preoccupied lately with so many things at Fluidware that I’ve lost my handle on keeping active. I’m starting to train again to get back into the game. To force myself, I even signed up for the Tough Mudder event in Montreal this summer! Wish me luck.
