You don’t get to see such guts everyday of people hoping to overthrow Whatsapp as the most popular IM app in the world (with over 1 billion users) – not even Google Allo. But here I bring to you undergraduates from the city of Jos, Nigeria who have created an IM app, QBee chat, and they hope to make people jump ship to their side.
In a chit chat with Emmanuel Alabi who is a co-founder at QBee chat (Others are Abel Alabi and Allen Brown-Eke), he shares his insights and gives reasons why he thinks QBee chat would sell fast. How they’ve been able to bootstrap the startup till this point, and their first target in terms of users.
The number of instant messaging apps we have is a bit on the high side. Why did you choose to still venture into this aspect?
We at Qbee felt that there was a need to make something new, something that was fun and still very functional… We actually called in family and friends that were using other instant messaging apps and we asked them what they wanted in IM apps, so we used those ideas to build Qbee.
So how is QBee different from the other popular IM apps?
Qbee chat comes with a secret chat feature, like we all know everyone has a right to their privacy.. So with this feature, users can secure their private chats with a password. Qbee also has cool expressive emojis and stickers built to allow users better express themselves, We also made a new software technology that fixes audio calls delay in instant messaging and Qbee chat groups have a massive max of 10,000 members per group unlike other messaging apps.
WhatsApp is undoubtedly a leader in the IM market. Do you intend to turn people’s loyalty from them to you?
Yes. We believe we can earn the attention of the world with Qbee Chat, what IM users want are features that allow them better communicate and interact and i believe Qbee has all those features and even more when we launch our version 1.0.0.
You won 500 euros at the just concluded crowdfunding bootcamp held in Jos. How well would this fund boost your startup?
Yes we won 500 euros for the most inspirational idea of the day but that money was only 46% of what we need.. We are required to complete the remaining 54% from people who see potential in Qbee and want to fund the project. That would only help to do some boosting to the project like updating the server and getting a workstation. For those who want to help fund the project go to: https://next-economy.com/en/projects/qbee-chat
Tell us about the team behind QBee chat. Is it just you and your co-founder at the helm of affairs?
We are actually undergraduate student, The Co-Founders are; -Abel Alabi, Emmanuel Alabi and Allen Brown-Eke. We also have our Business Manager who has been very supportive by the name of Mr Alex Botmang and Our Brand Promotional Consultant Mr Peter Amanchi.
I always feel fulfilled when I see or hear of undergraduates building a viable product. How have you been able to manage your startup and your academics?
It hasn’t been easy going to school and working on an IM app, we usually face a alot of challenges trying to do both, but we just kept on doing what we could do to balance the both of them and i think maybe thats the reason it took us 2 years to complete the app. But in those hard times we received support from our parents (Mr & Mrs Alabi Abu) and Mr Raphael who paved the way for us being at the crowdfunding at nHub.
Asides the funds from nHub, have you received any funding from other sources? Or you have solely bootstrapped the startup from start?
No we haven’t received any funding yet but we have people who have promised us a thing or two.
What is your QBee Chat’s first target? In terms of users.
We plan on taking over the IM market as a whole so we are looking at over 100 Million users at most.
Please say a few words for young tech startup founders who are trying to build a product too.
I would like to advice all young tech startups out there to always believe in themselves, an idea that seems impossible can be made possible with hard-work and perseverance. Like Mark Zuckerburg said “I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress”. So start with the easy step first and i believe the hard steps would turn out to be easy too. If you are a Young tech startup with an idea to change the world, you can contact us by email; [email protected] and join the Bro.Soft team.
