Paper business cards to become the needle in the Haystack
Announcement posted by Haystack 21 Oct 2014
Under embargo until Tuesday, October 21
Brisbane is one step closer to becoming a paperless city after the launch of a global electronic business card app by local tech start-up Haystack in the CBD today [October 21].
The Haystack app – which promises business cards, without the paper – stores and automatically updates the business cards you receive, and lets you share your own business card directly from your phone.
Haystack Co-founder and CEO Ran Heimann said it was important to Haystack’s founders to launch locally in Brisbane, with the app resisting advances from international investors which would have seen it relocate overseas.
“We live in Brisbane, this is our home, and where we want to see the next big global app come out of,” Mr Heimann said.
“Australia is good for a lot of things, but for a tech start up, it’s far from ideal.
“While our ideas, human capital and technical ability are on par with the rest of the world, we lack the ecosystem to support our technology entrepreneurs, meaning many are forced to relocate overseas, or risk killing their projects.
“Fortunately, with the right idea, a great team and the benefit of international experience and contacts, we’ve been able to create our own local ecosystem to support the Haystack venture, right here from our office in Kelvin Grove.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but we believe Haystack is Brisbane’s next big global success story, and that is worth fighting for.”
Mr Heimann likened Brisbane’s CBD to an American college campus in terms of its connectedness and size, making it the ideal launch pad for Haystack to go global.
“Everyone says that to be a global app, you need a college campus like Harvard or Stanford – Facebook, Google, Tinder, they’ve all come out of campuses,” he said.
“A campus environment is quite unique because it offers a small network of highly connected individuals who can help ignite that crucial first spark of social interaction for an app.
“Well, Brisbane is Haystack’s college campus.
“The Brisbane CBD is highly networked – everyone knows everyone – and it’s around a similar size geographically; the perfect Australian equivalent,” Mr Heimann said.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said Haystack’s decision to launch its global app locally helps to further Brisbane’s reputation as an innovative and entrepreneurial city that is brimming with business confidence.
“Haystack is a prime example of Brisbane’s growing digital start-up sector, which we are committed to nurturing and supporting under the Digital Brisbane Strategy,” he said.
“The digital economy is the way of the future for Brisbane businesses, it is essential we continue to drive economic development and capitalise on export opportunities, which is exactly what Haystack is doing with this app.”
QUT and PricewaterhouseCoopers have joined Brisbane City Council and Brisbane Marketing in lending their support to Haystack, expressing their interest in rolling the technology out across their organisations.
“Every company who has seen Haystack so far has loved it, and wanted to be a part of it,” said Mr Heimann.
“While there have been close to 100 attempts by various apps to disrupt paper business cards, the reason why Haystack will succeed where other companies, including LinkedIn and Google, have failed, is because we are the only app that is truly universal, auto updating and completely free to use.
“Unlike previous efforts, you don’t need to have the same app, or the same phone, as the person you’re sharing your card with.
“Haystack will work with anyone, for anyone, on any internet connected device and will make your business card look better than the original, with more functionality than your old paper card could ever deliver.
“It is also auto-updating, thanks to a custom learning algorithm that sits at the heart of Haystack and constantly searches for more accurate information, deciphering social and relational data to work out the old from the new, to ensure your contacts are always up-to-date,” he said.
Download the Haystack app from the Australian Apple App Store or Google Play today and never get caught without a business card again.
Visit www.thehaystackapp.com for more information.
The Haystack app – which promises business cards, without the paper – stores and automatically updates the business cards you receive, and lets you share your own business card directly from your phone.
Haystack Co-founder and CEO Ran Heimann said it was important to Haystack’s founders to launch locally in Brisbane, with the app resisting advances from international investors which would have seen it relocate overseas.
“We live in Brisbane, this is our home, and where we want to see the next big global app come out of,” Mr Heimann said.
“Australia is good for a lot of things, but for a tech start up, it’s far from ideal.
“While our ideas, human capital and technical ability are on par with the rest of the world, we lack the ecosystem to support our technology entrepreneurs, meaning many are forced to relocate overseas, or risk killing their projects.
“Fortunately, with the right idea, a great team and the benefit of international experience and contacts, we’ve been able to create our own local ecosystem to support the Haystack venture, right here from our office in Kelvin Grove.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but we believe Haystack is Brisbane’s next big global success story, and that is worth fighting for.”
Mr Heimann likened Brisbane’s CBD to an American college campus in terms of its connectedness and size, making it the ideal launch pad for Haystack to go global.
“Everyone says that to be a global app, you need a college campus like Harvard or Stanford – Facebook, Google, Tinder, they’ve all come out of campuses,” he said.
“A campus environment is quite unique because it offers a small network of highly connected individuals who can help ignite that crucial first spark of social interaction for an app.
“Well, Brisbane is Haystack’s college campus.
“The Brisbane CBD is highly networked – everyone knows everyone – and it’s around a similar size geographically; the perfect Australian equivalent,” Mr Heimann said.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said Haystack’s decision to launch its global app locally helps to further Brisbane’s reputation as an innovative and entrepreneurial city that is brimming with business confidence.
“Haystack is a prime example of Brisbane’s growing digital start-up sector, which we are committed to nurturing and supporting under the Digital Brisbane Strategy,” he said.
“The digital economy is the way of the future for Brisbane businesses, it is essential we continue to drive economic development and capitalise on export opportunities, which is exactly what Haystack is doing with this app.”
QUT and PricewaterhouseCoopers have joined Brisbane City Council and Brisbane Marketing in lending their support to Haystack, expressing their interest in rolling the technology out across their organisations.
“Every company who has seen Haystack so far has loved it, and wanted to be a part of it,” said Mr Heimann.
“While there have been close to 100 attempts by various apps to disrupt paper business cards, the reason why Haystack will succeed where other companies, including LinkedIn and Google, have failed, is because we are the only app that is truly universal, auto updating and completely free to use.
“Unlike previous efforts, you don’t need to have the same app, or the same phone, as the person you’re sharing your card with.
“Haystack will work with anyone, for anyone, on any internet connected device and will make your business card look better than the original, with more functionality than your old paper card could ever deliver.
“It is also auto-updating, thanks to a custom learning algorithm that sits at the heart of Haystack and constantly searches for more accurate information, deciphering social and relational data to work out the old from the new, to ensure your contacts are always up-to-date,” he said.
Download the Haystack app from the Australian Apple App Store or Google Play today and never get caught without a business card again.
Visit www.thehaystackapp.com for more information.