Asim Bučuk interview

November 11th, 2010, Sarajevo

Asim is originally from Sarajevo and spends his time between London and Bosnia. He is a graduate of the Jaroslav Černi School of Electronics in Sarajevo, The Southbank University (MCSE+I), after that Asim worked in London for the likes of Telewest Communications and Goldman Sachs. He left Goldman's in 2008 to work full time on Bondaii…..this is his story

His current motto is: I would love to change the world but I don't have the source code yet.

Ascendant: What is the project all about?

Asim: Bondaii is an innovation in the domain of mobile applications. It is a very simple way to interlink people using any mobile phone on any network. What this means to our users is that you will not need business cards, enter information on small mobile key pad, or lose contacts with someone when you lose your mobile phone.

Ascendant: Give us some technical details?

Asim: our software will run on 85% of mobile phones using J2ME Android and iOS platforms. Other key components are a remote database connected through the Internet and short range communication between two devices in close proximity.

Ascendant: what did Ascendant do for you?

Asim: Ascendant was tasked with identifying potential investors and work on the initial financial model. Over the past 14 months Ascendant introduced us to finance South East, Intel and a number of IT Blue Chip companies. I should also add that they fed me with a very large number of coffees and brought me to my senses when things were getting really bad .

Ascendant: describe the Finance South East deal.

Asim: Finance South East is an organisation that manages funds on behalf of the South East England Development Agency. They have a number of financial products for different stages of a company cycle. We have received our funding from the Commercialisation Fund which is a unsecured loan of £60,000 for the prototype development and initial market testing. In addition we were able to raise an equal amount in the form of equity from an angel investor. These funds jointly will allow the concept to be taken to the market at the Beta testing stage which represents a critical milestone on the road for any IT software based product.

Ascendant: How did Ascendant manage to do this?

Asim: I am originally from Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina and met up with Ascendant on a visit to my old city, as I currently live in London. After a period of analysis of the project Ascendant was able to use its extensive network in the region to put me in touch with the Angel investor Network In Slovenia. Along with Ascendant I presented the project in Slovenia and as a result of that I made contact with Finance South East.

Ascendant: What do you think you can offer as advice to any entrepreneur in the IT sector after this experience?

Asim: My first reaction is ˝don’t do it˝, and keep your day time job!! Just kidding!!! But I will be very clear that as an entrepreneur with a new idea you have to have boundless passion for what you are striving to do and unlimited energy and commitment. The route to success for these projects is littered with people who gave up on the way. So it is really hard.

It has been a very long process especially during the recession which has meant that the number of investors available has considerably reduced. But in all honesty Ascendant was able to give me the kind of moral and technical support that everyone in my shoes needs desperately badly. They worked really hard to use all their contacts and to make new ones in the VC sector. Importantly they understand what challenges are faced by these projects, and have a strong sense of what it takes to make a project fly with the investment community.

Ascendant: OK but this is not Ascendant's normal line of work really?

Asim: absolutely, it is very hard to break ground in this territory and Ascendant committed to helping and did, undertook to raise financing and met the promise and for this I am a true believer that advisory services such the ones provided by Ascendant are essential. I would also emphasise the fact that Ascendant has a special place in my heart as they are operating in my old country, understood what we were trying to do and were willing to stick it out with me throughout the process. But don’t expect them to be kind to you. They are not sweet talkers and will more often than not be brutally honest about the prospects, your chances and the threats to the project.

Ascendant: So when can we expect Bondaii to launch fully?

Asim: So long as we do not have any unforeseen glitches we have committed to our shareholder and backers that we will launch in January 2011. I should mention that our Bondaii team is now split between two countries. Our HQ is in the south East of England and we have also established a small development company in Sarajevo where most of the development is taking place – I am particularly proud of the fact that we are using the talent available in Bosnia to support this project.

Ascendant: What do you expect to happen then?

Asim: We will launch both J2ME and Android applications (possibly IPhone), it will be for a closed network of Beta users. This will allow to stabilise the software for more native platforms like Symbian, Blackberry and Windows Mobile which is essential if our viral software distribution is to work.

Ascendant: and in two years where will you be?

Asim: We are aiming for more than a million users within the next 24 months, we will launch other services such as smart ID cards, replacement for Chip and Pin, Public Transport Access etc…..

Ascendant: So you are looking for more financing?

Asim: Yes, we are now looking for an additional £750,000 which we currently hope to raise from a mix of Angel Investors and the follow on fund from Finance South east, although this has still to be confirmed.