Tell us about LazyAz: what it does, and how it works?
LazyAz is a marketplace and delivery app. It combines the reliability and familiarity of local stores with the convenience of online shopping and within-the-hour delivery to anywhere in the Auckland CBD. Users can choose items from menus and store lists already on the app, or simply tell us what they want from any store, and we'll purchase and deliver think of it kind of like a personal assistant.
How did the idea come about?
The idea sparked from craving a burger when I was 17. I was stuck at home without transport and I wished my favourite burger could just be delivered. It snowballed from there. Life is busy and people are keen for fast, simple and convenient ways of shopping.
Have you always wanted to have your own business?
Not always, but I started to get really interested in entrepreneurship as a young teenager, reading about people like Michael Hill and Sir Richard Branson. Before LazyAz I worked to create a non-profit organisation called Young Ideas that built my confidence to start my own business. I was about 15 then.
How did you go about making your idea become a reality?
I researched a lot to get an idea of what the app needed to be. I combined my savings with some from Mum and Dad to reach $1750 to develop the first app prototype.
Along the way, I teamed up with switched-on, young Kiwi business brains. We used crowdfunding to build up equity capital, raising $240,000 in late 2016, and we’re looking to do another round later this year.
It takes a lot of hard work, and there’s always more to do, but I’m really proud of where we are with more than 6000 app users in Auckland.
What are some challenges you've encountered as a young entrepreneur and how have you dealt with them?
My biggest challenge has been adapting fast enough to meet the needs of the business. LazyAz has grown exponentially and I have had to learn, adjust and adapt my leadership according to our growth.
I don’t think I’ve fully learned what sort of leader I am, or could be. But reading the experiences of other people and entrepreneurs has helped guide me.
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Advertise with NZME.What, or who, inspires you?
I am so inspired by other young Kiwi entrepreneurs. I have been lucky to meet a few through conferences and common friends Toby Carr and Lilia Alexander are a couple of entrepreneurs who are also innovating here in New Zealand.
In what ways would you say your generation thinks differently compared to the older generation?
I think that we take things more for granted than our older counterparts. I believe we have a tendency to think bigger, take larger risks, and be willing to follow through when we leap before we look.
I think we’re similar in the tenacity we show towards a challenge, but we lack the patience and stability that we find in our parents and the older generation. I know that I need to learn to take the best of both worlds.
Where would you like to be in five years?
I'm still an entrepreneur, and working on my next venture in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. They are on the bleeding edge and will change the face of global society. I'd like to see both AI and robotics develop responsibly,and not usher in the age of our new robot overlords.
Right now I'm . . .
Listening to: HBR [Harvard Business Review] Ideacast.
Watching: Suits.
Reading: Everybody Writes.
Enjoying: Life.
Looking forward to: Our next capital raise.
