The Origin of Gigzz: Getting Started with An Idea

I love technology, especially the intersection between humans and machines. Where that love came from or why, I am still trying to decode. I can lose myself for hours; if I had days, I could lose myself for days researching, reading, and testing new products. Therefore, it’s a good thing that I work in high-tech. In fact, right now, I have the great opportunity to be working on a Generative AI product. However, this blog is not about GenAI; it’s about taking all that passion and working on a project, a new app, with my son.

After watching the Facebook movie, my son came to me again. This was not the first time he asked how he could be an entrepreneur. This time, I had an answer. Come up with ideas, and let’s discuss. I have worked in tech my entire career and have worked for many founders. It never occurred to me that they spent time trying to come up with ideas so that they could be an entrepreneur; I thought it was more like divine inspiration. Prior to watching The Facebook movie with my son, I had watched the Spotify version. That is when I realized, watching both movies, that founders are not magical; they are driven.

The difference for me, because I have had many ideas, actually ones that I’ve seen come to life by others, is  passion. I don’t want to be a founder or entrepreneur for the title or the ‘image’ I 100% need to be passionate about the idea, concept. And, Conner came to me with a few ideas, and then there was one that stuck.

Step 0: The Idea

He wanted to build a website that listed out all the jobs in the local area. His friends were looking for jobs but having a hard time. I agreed that it was a good idea, so we started talking about it, and I was thinking it through, visualizing the solution, a website that would aggregate jobs. He could probably do the aggregation himself, and thinking back, maybe that would have been the right path forward or start. 

But, we’ve moved way beyond that because I said, why would we do a website when teens are on their phones? Then, my boyfriend had the zero-to-1 idea of offering neighborhood Gigs as well.

Step 1: The Name - Brand

That was the step that moved us from having an idea to putting it in motion. As a professional product marketer, I wanted a name. So, we all started brainstorming names. Why start with a name? The brand is so critical, especially with Generation Z. We threw out names; it was like a riff party. We’d take a name, run it through our logic: did it roll off our tongues, did it get stuck somewhere, or just fall flat? Would teens like it? Was it hard to say? Would it stand out? Did it capture the essence of the problem we were trying to solve? 

And, we came up with Gigzz. My son was pretty adamant about a short, easy name. I wanted it to quickly explain what the app is for. This is a process I’ve done a few times now. In fact, I love naming. I did it with Lifestyl, then my new site that is coming: Fractional Product Marketing. I was also part of the naming process for a GenAI product, which was also really fun to participate in, the personification of AI.

Step 2: Research & Market Intelligence

This is a critical step. Not to be skipped. It started while we worked on names, actually and this step never ends. It’s where you get deeper into the market, is there competition, if not, who are the outliers, for example, Indeed.com is a potential competitor because they potentially take market share and could likely spin up an app. This is when you speak to potential customers and users to see if the idea resonates, but if it’s so new, they might not really know what they’d do. For example, the iPhone, no one asked for the iPhone, because it did not exist.  It was not an enhancement to the flip phone, it was entirely different. 

This section really needs its own blog post because there is a lot of science and art to how you do this and then apply it back to your product. It’s one of my favorite parts of this process, thank goodness it requires constant attention. 

Step 3: Budget

How much are you able and willing to spend? I did not want to ask for outside money, not even from friends and family. Perhaps, in the future, but for the early phases, I wanted to build it and see what it would and could become. Funding it yourself is the most true form of work. You get to do it your way, and if you are someone who cuts corners, you’ll cut corners. But if you are someone who wants to build a great product, you’ll strive to build a great product. 

During this phase, I had my first moment where I felt lost. Where I thought this might be the end, the point at which this journey ends, where I can’t find a solution. In this particular moment I got a second bid that was 10 times the first. I had to pause. How can the two bids be so far apart, like light years? The agency in Portland, also shared some stories about working with offshore teams that made me nervous. The difference made me think, question, pause again… in the end, it was not feasible based on my levers and  research to build a beta product for that amount.

During this process, my boyfriend and partner in Gigzz, told me that it was my decision and either way we’d make it happen. While, I recall the conversation in detail and where we were walking—it’s likely this freedom, this trust is what kept me moving forward.

I have opened up my world to a new type of entrepreneur: the bootstrappers. Having worked for VC or private equity-backed companies, it never occurred to me that there was this other group grinding it out, finding success there way. I decided early one to be a bootstrapper, but it was great to know there is a world out there of others.

Step 4: Development

Okay, now that we have the idea, the name, and the budget, how do we build this thing? In actuality, I worked on step 3 in tandem because I needed to know what the options and costs were. Finding a developer or group was actually very hard and stressful. I work in tech, and only one person that I asked had any leads for a development agency or developer. I reached out to former colleagues, even another pre-seed founder who I know had interviewed many developers.

There is this point that has happened a few times in this process, as I noted above, where I am thinking to myself, this might be the end, this might be the point at which I can’t find a solution. And, I ask myself, if that is okay, and the feeling is no, it’s not okay, and I somehow find another route, another way, more energy. 

I did a Google search and found Agicent. I spoke to the owner and immediately liked what he was saying. He got the idea, fast, and had real-world suggestions for the app that either enhanced my thinking or added tremendous value.

I knew I needed at least three other quotes, so I went to work and had more meetings. Each meeting has led to insights and ideas, but I ended up going back to Agicent.

Step 5: Legal

I can’t really emphasize how important legal is to the foundation.  I’ve incorporated legal into the mix of the business, not as an afterthought, but part of the process. It goes back to why am I doing this? First because I am passionate about it, but I want to take what I have learned the good, the bad and do this in a way that aligns with my core values.

It’s like building a solid base from day one; LLC, app development agreement, trademark for the name. 

Step 6: The Build

This step is the product management and engineering portion. It’s probably my least favorite, but critical. My career I’ve spent in product marketing and have thought of going into product management due to my passion for product.

These were a few major steps (with many steps in each major) to get to the V1 released December 2023.

Want to chat about your idea or process, ping me kristie@lifestylco.com.