Kawhi, like all ideas, had a time to surface for an opportunity to present itself.
For me, it happened in 2020,during the ending phase of our
Country's first lockdown. Businesses were allowed to open but with trading limitations. I was
frustrated that getting Coffee from my local was difficult to achieve. You were asked to support
local businesses, but the experience had to be physically contactless in a way you could only grab
and go. I immediately noticed that Coffee houses were not geared up to do business this way. They struggled to take orders and capture / process payments.
I thought,
"Why can I not click a button on my phone and pick up my regular coffee from my local coffee shop
at a designated time?"
I was aware back then that other Apps offered a 'sort-of' answer to this; I know that large Fuel
Companies in my home country allow their users to order Coffee (from their Petrol Stations) and pay
for fuel with their proprietary App.
And there lies one problem to solve.
Why keep it to just one place of business to order Coffee?
Which, for me, further expanded into:
"Why can't I do this at any coffee shop, in any town in any Country?" Using One App.
Even before lockdowns, I experienced frustration while traveling and not knowing where the good place
was to get Coffee. I've often wondered:
"Where do the Locals Go?"
We all know that Coffee places offer loyalty cards. Stamp 5 or 10 to get your next Coffee on us. The
problem is the card itself; you quickly gather too many. Carrying several loyalty cards is a burden
to manage. And you forget which coffee cards you have.
I looked at my phone and knew there were Apps for Discount cards. But why wasn't there one for Coffee
Stamps?
"Why do I have to carry all these coffee cards?".
I saw several problems that needed solutions.
Ideas are great, but not if you don't act on them.
As I write this at the end of 2023. I'm reflecting on how far this has come since its original
concept (in my head) back in 2020.
The following has happened in less than three years (which, writing this down now, seems like a very
long time when I think about it). Yet, If I ever get to a position of giving advice, one bit would
be, "Great Things Take Time, and also! Don't give up."
- I've taught myself how to code. That is code Apps and websites—more on the UI Design and App
Flow side. (FrontEnd Dev)
- Formed a business, adding a like-minded tech co-founder in 2021.
- Defined our Business objectives. (believe me, that's not easy; you can aim too high or too
low, end up blowing your trumpet to nobody, or undervalue your true potential and fall
short)
- Fully developed and validated with Users a working App prototype.
- The Tripple "Ts" - Thoroughly thought through, the App Flows ensuring they aligned against
our business goals and objectives, but also keeping the Users experience as the number one
focus.
- Set down our first official timeline.
- Launched a Website
- Set down a deadline date when we plan to Launch the first Beta.
In Nov 2023. I started telling people about it.
Kawhi is a bootstrap venture. Meaning we are self-funded. My co-founder and I are in a unique
position where we have the technical / business skills and 'geek' expertise to build this from the
ground up.
As this is not the final part of the story. I'll swing back here in the coming months to give some updates.