First of two parts
SAFFRON is a spice. In this part of the world, it has been appended to a company that is spiced by youthful charisma and spirit by its founders Ralph Chua and Karl Len Dimla.
In an industry steered and stirred by innovation, Chua and Dimla stand out because they form part of a generation called Millennials. The BusinessMirror asked Chua and Dimla how they are, what led them to put up a successful information technology start-up, and their roles as CEO and CTO, respectively, of Saffron Tech Inc., a unit of voyager Innovations Inc.
BusinessMirror: How would you describe yourself as somebody who’s considered a part of a certain age group?
Ralph Chua (RC): I could say that I am part of the millennial age group, being 22 years of age and one common trait of Millennials is taking risks. Like building a startup, there is a risk associated with it, which we, the team, shouldered as we took the plunge to found Saffron Technologies.
I am also a problem solver—I find myself looking at problems here and there, and trying to find the best possible solution for each one. I like to call this critical thinking.
Karl Len Dimla (KLD): I think I am a part of the age group whose life is greatly influenced by technology. I prefer doing things the new and innovative way. Whenever there is a new technology, I feel really fascinated and excited to try it.
I don’t really always have the most advanced tech, but I see to it that I am updated with what’s on the market now, and what new things are being created. I have my gadgets with me all the time. The gadgets that I usually bring are my smartphone and smartwatch. I use my smartphone mainly for communication and music. As for my smartwatch, I use it for notifications and fitness.
The Internet has been a great part of my life. I use it every day, from social media to researching for specific places that I want to go, up to discovering new artists that I want to listen to. I rarely ask questions from people, because I first want to research on my own and find the possible answers to my questions before approaching someone to validate it.
I am a full-time Android developer but I also quite live an active lifestyle. I am very passionate about innovation and tech but, at the same time, I see it to it that I still have a work-life balance. I go out almost every day. I explore new places and activities whenever it is possible.
What experiences did you have growing up that you believe contributed to your conceptualization of Saffron Tech?
RC: One experience I could share would be losing my dad at the age of 9. Being the eldest male in the family, I had to adjust to “head of the family-like” position, since my mom was, of course, the real head of the family. Not having a father, there were some issues which I had to solve myself—I did not have somebody I could go to for help in specific things, I had to learn to think for myself, do research, and also think for others.
My mom actually told me a story that when I was young, I told her to answer only the things she can answer, do the things she knows how to do, since my dad left a lot of things unanswered or unsolved and some things we didn’t know how to work on.
By the time we conceptualized Saffron Tech, my experience of having to learn for myself and gain a lot of information helped me give insights and suggest or think of strategies to help build our first product, Croo.
KLD: I grew up in an “average” family. Since I was young, I commuted using public transportation. Through those years, I could say that I’ve quite had a few scary experiences. It made me a little bit paranoid and very aware of my surroundings whenever I am outside of our house. I always do research and read up on news, most especially the ones involving modus operandi in public transportation. I think my awareness and exposure to these kind of experiences have greatly affected me and, at the same time, inspired me to develop a product that may help my fellow Filipino commuters.
What personal experience did you have that led you to create Croo, the location-identifying application?
RC: The safety aspect of Croo was from Karl Len, which she can share the story of. As for the hardware aspect, when I was young, like any child, I would try to play detective, inspector, superhero and such. It was here that I got the inspiration for the wearable panic button, like in those detective movies where they keep a secret button to alert the headquarters, or the reverse in superhero movies where the hero will come save you when you click the button.
KLD: I really can’t say that there is a single particular “experience” that led me to conceptualizing Croo. I guess the main reason in coming up with Croo is my awareness of safety threats whenever I am riding a public transportation.
I usually leave our house very early in the morning and go home very late at night. I always feel scared whenever I am commuting. I can’t say I could physically defend myself when I am in danger—like most women—so I really wanted something that could help me contact my parents if ever something happens.
We’ve already thought about Croo when my friend got kidnapped last year. The idea actually won first place in the Here Hackathon 2014. But then, the kidnapping incident involving my friend really inspired me to push through with this and put it out in the market. She’s a really important friend. I never imagined that there would be a time in my entire life that a person I know would be kidnapped. Good thing she was found and she’s safe now. However, I don’t want another friend, officemate, or any other Filipino to experience that.
What were you doing when you came up with the idea for Croo and/or Saffron? Or were these ideas planned out carefully? How long did it take you to come up with these ideas? What special thing or activity did it take?
RC: For the initial idea of Croo and Saffron Tech, we, the six founders, were actually in a meeting about joining the Ideaspace Foundation competition, and coming up with possible entries we could submit. From KL’s story, you can see that it was actually their entry, Navigaide, which won the Here Maps Hackathon last December, and it was this product we tried to improve to build a business around.
Since all of us were developers and engineers, we thought of a lot of possibilities of businesses around the product. We actually had a long list which we voted through, to which Croo came out the highest.
Our team actually takes a very long time in our meetings, which usually last on average between two and three hours.
And as for special activities, usually it is in quiet moments, like driving home alone or taking a bath, that I get the inspirations for further improving the product and business model, which I then suggest to the team so we can discuss accordingly.
KLD: I always wanted to create an application and release it in the Google Play Store. One night, Arisa Ochavez [cofounder] and I were eating at [a restaurant in a mall in Mandaluyong]. We were discussing about possible applications we could create. That’s when I remembered my past experiences and came up with the application part of Croo.
It was quite funny because we didn’t have any paper at that time, so we used the paper placemat at the resto to write down our ideas. Arisa preferred writing and drawing our ideas so we could conceptualize better. During that time, we came up with the almost complete basic features of the Croo application.
Arisa and I really love to think about new ideas. We actually have an “idea bank” where we write down our ideas whenever we have one. So if we have a free time or an opportunity to create a new product, we will just look into our idea bank and select which among these ideas could be best done at that moment.
As for the hardware part, Ralph was the one who really thought of incorporating it with Croo. He introduced to us the iBeacon when we were thinking of a key differentiator for our IdeaSpace Foundation competition entry. He suggested that we create safety accessories that could connect with the app, which in the end became the main product of Croo.
What do you think Saffron Tech contributes to this generation? Why do you think this generation needs it/these?
RC: Our main target is, of course, to improve the lives of the people, to contribute to society and to solve real world problems. Being a solution to a real world problem, which should be and was validated, Saffron Tech’s solutions and products will definitely answer this generation’s needs, and give them an option to address their needs.
Second would be the story of Saffron Tech, which we can use to inspire the current generation to take the plunge, manage your risk and innovate continuously. Risk is one thing that is constant in any generation, but being young, time is something that we can afford to risk so that we can start early, try to build things fast, so that we can fail fast, as well. And in failing fast, we continue to improve until we achieve success just like Edison, who had to fail 99 times until he made the light bulb at the 100th time.
KLD: We all know that our country is not getting really safer. It’s the reality. There are a lot of threats against our personal safety. Kidnapping and rape incidents are increasing.
Also, our workhours are not the usual 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. anymore. People tend to go home late or go to work really early, especially in industries like business-process outsourcing. This generation is becoming more exposed to the world outside our safe and comfy homes.
Saffron Technologies is offering people and their loved ones peace of mind and a sense of safety wherever they are. We want to give them a simple and subtle way to let their loved ones know of their current situation if ever they are threatened or in danger. Even if the person doesn’t know where he or she is at that moment, we detect the location and send it via SMS to his or her emergency contacts the instant the application is triggered.
Moreover, people wear accessories almost every day. Why not make these accessories that are commonly used for aesthetics do something more? Why not let these aid you whenever you need help?
To be continued
Image credits: Saffron Tech