How A Young Kazakh Entrepreneur Creates A New Generation Startup
Which was invested in Kazakhstan, although the Americans wanted it
The founder of the startup Qtap, 29-year-old Madat Karimov, is not a typical IT specialist. Reasonable, even thoughtful, he does not throw professional terms at his interlocutor and honestly admits that he is new in the IT world. However, this did not prevent his brainchild - Qtap, the multi-platform of personalized pages that was launched in April of this year, from getting more than 20K active users and $500 thousand in pre-seed investments at a valuation of $3 million. Moreover, Qtap made an impression not only on Kazakh but also American investors: Madat was persistently invited to the famous accelerator Starta. After giving it some thought, he decided to stay in Almaty, choosing the acceleration program of the MOST Ventures - Investment Ready Accelerator (IRA). This fund, as well as a businessman Margulan Seisembay and Bakht Niyazov, venture investor and co-founder of MOST Ventures, as well as UMAY Angels Club, financed Qtap at its pre-seed stage.
The idea of Qtap is so simple that you can't help but wonder why it wasn't created earlier. At the same time, cutting-edge technologies were used in the development of the platform: Qtap combines the functions of a social network, a website builder and an online payment tool. In a sense, it’s a whole ecosystem designed for the broadest audience: ordinary users, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, big brands. In terms of potential mass appeal, as well as multifunctionality and decentralization, Qtap can well be called a service built on the principles of Web 3.0.
“At the end of 2021, I started thinking about doing something cool on the Internet,” says Madat. - I’ve been toying with the idea of something like a social network for quite some time. What matters to me is the number of users and how much we can integrate into everyone's lives. At the beginning of 2022, the idea of a social network for sites was born, where, in addition to creating sites, users could connect and communicate. It was clear from the very beginning that the platform should revolve around e-commerce.”
Qtap gives users access to a wide range of e-commerce tools. By creating a profile on the platform, a user (either an individual or a small entrepreneur, or a big company) can talk about the services and products provided, post price lists or event announcements, sell goods, monetize content, share links, etc.
What is the need for Qtap when you can register with one of the popular networks and promote your business or content there? According to Madat, Qtap solves a number of important user problems. “At first, not everyone got this,” he laughs. What value do those same influencers or bloggers get by using Qtap? It's very simple: instead of providing links to their social networks or, say, YouTube videos on their pages, they provide a link to Qtap, where all the information about them is collected on one page. With one tap, Qtap users can not only learn about all the activities of a particular influencer on different platforms, but also contact him or buy certain products or services with Google Pay, Apple Pay or a bank card."
All power to - the user
Influencers were the first to appreciate the benefits of Qtap, Madat said. One of them, the famous blogger and actor Arthur Askaruly, even joined the startup team as a co-founder and marketing director even before the launch of the product, in November 2022. Ordinary users also followed the influencers that joined Qtap, which led to good organic growth on the platform: on the launch day, April 13, 1.2 thousand users registered on it; today their number is close to 25 thousand. For Madat, these numbers are important: he wants to create a platform that would involve as many people as possible. At the same time, Qtap developers strive to give users control over the creation and editing of their pages, giving them the ability to manage their own data. “A story where everything belongs to the user is important,” says Madat.
On Qtap, you can monetize everything, the creators say: from online content (including, for example, play buttons or transition to closed telegram chats) to small shops. Moreover, the service does not withhold money due for the sale of content, services or goods; it is instantly withdrawn to the user’s bank card. “Essentially, our platform is a website builder and fintech service in one package. We enable users not only to sell, but also to beautifully package their products or content,” explains Madat. For this opportunity, Qtap users pay 3990 tenge per month. In addition, the service retains 11% from each transaction. According to Madat, this allows Qtap to create organic traction (or simply put, demonstrate positive dynamics in key business indicators). “We have a business model that works, we are already self-sustaining and we know where we can pour more to grow,” he says.
Almost a third of the $510 thousand raised at the pre-seed stage is used to test hypotheses; Madat and his colleagues are also investing in marketing, developing a new desktop version (given that 98% of users use Qtap via their mobile devices) and analytics (so that the statistics available to developers and users are more complete). “We are introducing analytics gradually, adding some tools almost every day. It is very useful for those who trade: it can show where the audience comes from, who buys, how many clicks (on a link to Qtap from other sites. - Author's note) are made per day. For brands, analytics is even more important. For them, this is an opportunity to build a decentralized network around themselves and ensure involvement of users,” the interlocutor explains.
Big companies are also gradually increasing their presence on Qtap. The platform is actively used by banks, stores and equipment manufacturers from Kazakhstan and foreign countries; Kazakh news media have recently begun to open their Qtap accounts. Brands are attracted to audience engagement metrics on Qtap. According to Madat, if a Qtap link is listed in the bio section of popular social networks, it has four times more users than on a similar link leading to Instagram.
Money talk
According to Madat, he felt the need for a platform like Qtap while working in offline business. Creation of a beautiful and functional website, online payments set up are the two main tasks that small entrepreneurs face. Sometimes it took Madat weeks to resolve them. “With Qtap you can do all of this in a few minutes,” he smiles.
Madat and his long-term business partner, Alzhan Sabraliyev, CTO of Qtap, gained their first experience in IT back in the early 2010s: they created websites and optimized business processes. Then the guys tried themselves in the catering industry: they launched a chain of cafes and worked in the dark kitchen format. The last offline business for Madat was the studio of craft furniture Ivyloft, which still operates today. Although, without his active participation. "I like to work with my hands, it's my way to relax," he says. Today I’m planning to go to the workshop, maybe I’ll make a table. Aisulu (Madat’s wife, influencer Aisulu Kasymbekova - Author’s note) has been asking for it for a long time.”
Offline business thus turned into a hobby for Madat. Most of his time is spent developing Qtap (sometimes he has to spend the night at work, he admits). He first thought about the need to say goodbye to the world of traditional entrepreneurship forever back in 2019. I nurtured the idea for two years and thought for a long time about the name of the platform. I chose Qtap for its simplicity and elegance. In addition, the name has a double meaning: it refers not only to the word tap, but also to the Kazakh language. “In the Kazakh market, our name is read as “kitap” - book,” says Madat.
At first, the interlocutor admits, he did not understand well what venture investments were. I was developing a startup with my own money - I had to sell the apartment and add all my savings to this amount. Having launched the MVP (version with minimal functionality), Madat began to think about attracting additional funding. Last fall, at the Digital Bridge forum in Astana, he met representatives of MOST Ventures, who became interested in his product. Motivated by the fund's interest in Qtap, the startup came to the appointed meeting with little idea of what was required of them. “We had nothing with us, only phones. We were told: guys, where is your financial model, where is your presentation? And here I thought we'd start talking about money right away. Upset, he went home. I decided that we wouldn't work well with each other. In the end, it turned out differently," laughs Madat.
A few months later in Almaty, he met Bakht Niyazov, who now closely advises the Qtap team. "I came to an event and I saw a man in a Gucci jacket standing there. I didn't know who he was, but I decided that I had to get to know him," Madat recalls. As with MOST, the acquaintance did not go well at first: while Madat was trying to talk about his platform, Niyazov was constantly distracted. Nevertheless, just a few weeks later, during a phone call, it was he who dissuaded Madat from accepting the invitation of an American accelerator. “In 15 minutes he managed to convince me,” the interlocutor recalls. Although I already had all the papers signed and uploaded to the Starta portal, all I had to do was click on the "Submit" button.
What made the famous businessman take on such responsibility? According to Niyazov, this is confidence both in Qtap itself and in Madat’s human qualities. “He was able to quickly convince me and show me that the product was cool and had the potential for rapid growth and exit. And I saw that such a project, in order to make global history, does not need to go through the US or Southeast Asia. Central Asia is enough,” recalls Niyazov. As for Madat, his special human trait is deep empathy. He understands business well, is energetic, optimistic and at the same time sociable, actively communicates with people, and is ready to give a lot, not just receive. This is a very rare combination of qualities.”
Madat is really serious. "We're doing a business that, God willing, will be connected to the core of our team and many other people for many years to come," he says. It seems that he has a plan of action that should bring Qtap closer to the coveted valuation of $15 million. The startuper has not yet revealed all his cards, but he is convinced that Qtap must approach the next seed round fully armed. "The seed story has to be about big money," he smiles mysteriously.
Arslan Akanov
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