We should not tie up our happiness in reaching a goal. It is important to be happy while trying to reach the goal.
Pier Mattia was born in Verona in 1986, he graduated in multimedia computing at Verona University and in 2009 he invented and patented Uqido, a system based on proprietary algorithm that manages queues in pubblic offices and shops. He has always been fond of informatics and computer graphics, let's say a deep geek. Before creating his first startup he worked as an independent consultant for different projects and companies. www.uqido.com
My name is Pier Mattia Avesani and I am cofounder and General Manger of Uqido Srl. I have studied multimedia at University of Verona; there started my path as startupper.
I was in the waiting room for a blood test, and after an endless hour it came up to me to give my number to another man who was waiting as he could give me a ring when I had to be there. I thought that a computer could do it. Soon I realized that it was not easy to estimate the average waiting time and that nobody had done it before. With a friend we implemented and patented an algorithm able to predict it. In 2009, while studying, I started working at the system and when I graduated we have launched a beta to manage the 7700 new applicant student at the University.
I had a degree and I had a business idea and a successful beta test. M31, an incubator in Padova, gave us the starting gun after a few month, investing in our capabilities and supporting our growth from students to entrepreneur.
It’s needless to say how fast I grew in the last few years and how many things i have learnt. But it’s nothing compared to what I still have learnt. To implement a business idea you must give all yourself in it, and believe in it until the very end even if you fell to be alone. Happiness is not bound to achieving the result. You must be happy to work on it. It seems to be obvious, but i like to underline it because on your path as startupper there will be a lot off failures. I can’t compare the pressure which i had to face to with anything else, but despite everything I believe that my job is the most fascinating.
“Innovation in Italy is fantastic, if you are not paying for it”. I have repeated that sentence so many times that I forgot if it is a quotation or if it is mine. Working in M31 I have learnt a fantastic paradigm that drives the supplier-costumer relation, the Win/Win: I provide you a solution giving you a real advantage. At the very beginning I didn’t had to be a normal seller: meetings with customers were small talk to understand their needs and tailor the perfect solution. But the first thing that I discovered was the gap of time between “ok, I like your solution” and “I am up to be the first who pays for your solutions”. Normally you are gonna encounter obstacles, as follow-up mails unanswered by customers: “it’s a great solution, but I don’t want to be the first to try it”. So basically at the beginning you have to create a benchmark, to skip the wall of distrust that Italians rise against news. Then you “just” need to replicate it, that means enter the market. It is priceless to see that with your solution people can avoid queue.
