Max Bluvband is the CEO and Co-founder of AppsVillage (ASX:APV), a mobile App creation platform that enables small, medium and large businesses to create engaging professional Apps in a snap. Businesses can now effortlessly transform their Facebook pages into powerful & engaging Apps in seconds, with AppsVillage handling all the back end development both for Android and iPhone mobile devices.

What’s your journey in becoming a CEO and Co-founder?
My journey to becoming a CEO began many years ago now when my wife and I ran a small bookshop just outside Tel Aviv. Like many small business owners we struggled with the challenge of attracting new customers and communicating with our existing ones. I knew there had to be a simple way of creating a platform that would enable customer interaction and marketing for SMBs. I had a background in technology so I began looking at different options. Social media was, by far, becoming the communication tool of choice for people so AppsVillage was born.

Tell us a bit about your business and how you are commercializing?
AppsVillage creates mobile apps from SME Facebook and Instagram pages. The apps allow customer interaction, marketing and the creation of Facebook advertising. The company also recently pivoted into fintech, partnering with a range of US and Australian lenders to provide small business loans to its subscribers. Having your own mobile application that customers can use is one of the most important marketing tools for a small business. It usually takes months and tens of thousands of dollars to build such an application. Our service enables these small businesses to compete with their much bigger rival and have the same digital and commerce capabilities.

How are you managing with the current COVID-19 pandemic on both business and personal front?
We are actually one of the lucky companies for whom COVID-19 is providing a tailwind. The social isolation and subsequent closure of many businesses has meant digital interaction with customers is more important than ever so the app creation side of the business is growing. Many SMBs are also desperately in need of capital so the fintech pivot has been a successful one. We recently introduced fast-approval SMB loans up to $10,000 with a 24-hour turnaround because we could see how very much SMBs needed them Government funding can only go so far and the gap between the announcement of Government help and its execution is sometimes so long many SMBs cannot endure without other help. We’re hoping to bridge that gap and, at the same time, establish ourselves as an essential service for SMBs which will hopefully extend beyond this time.

What’s the most exciting thing about running your business?
The most exciting aspect for me is being a part of SMBs’ journey. Capital and connection are two of the most important things for SMB growth and we are able to help substantially with both. Having owned and grown a couple of small businesses myself now, I know how hard it is to compete with the bigger players. Being able to help them level the playing field is really satisfying.

How do you measure success?
I honestly believe that life is a gift and one that should be recognized and cherished every day. I have a wonderful family and a business that I love. This is my measure of success.

What do you think is the most important quality of being a CEO and Co-founder of a listed company?
I think the most important is patience followed closely by focus and a general sense of happiness.

What is your favourite book?
I have several but one I read repeatedly is “The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment” by Eckhard Tolle.

What message do you want to send to our readership in Asia?
These strange COVID-19 times teach us that we are all connected. There is no problem that is one individual’s problem alone. They are all shared. We must work together and stay connected during this social isolation to get through this as one globally connected world.

How can people connect with you?
Email:
Website: https://appsvillage.com/

Uzi Breier is the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director of Dotz Nano Ltd (ASX:DTZ), a technology company that specializes in the development and marketing of novel advanced materials used for tracing, anti-counterfeiting, and product-liability solutions. Dotz Nano serves customers worldwide.

What’s your journey in becoming a CEO?
I served 7 years in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and then studied in New York Computer Science and Industrial Engineering. Later completed my MBA in California, USA. Coming from a non-privilege background, I worked full time while carrying out my studies. My first important opportunity was with National Semiconductor where during 8 year of tenure, I grew from junior positions to senior ones and learned how the industry really spins. As a product-manager I interfaced with developers, sales & marketing personnel, customers, prospects, finance, legal and senior management, which turned to be a great opportunity to deeply comprehend the interfaces between these disciplines. After serving in senior sales and marketing positions at companies like Orbit Semiconductor, Flextronics and more, I was given my first CEO position and since then managed quite a few – both start-ups and larger listed companies till I arrived at Dotz Nano about 2 years ago.

Tell us a bit about your business and how you are commercializing?
Dotz is a technology leader, specializing in the development and marketing of advanced materials used for anti-counterfeiting, tracing, and product-liability solutions, providing comprehensive tagging, tracing and detection solutions to brands and manufacturers in different markets. When counterfeiters are acting with more than ever sophistication, producers are looking to provide their customers the certainty and peace of mind that their products are genuine and perform exactly as promised according to their high standards.

In essence we provide invisible unique fingerprint, embedded in the product (plastic, lubricants etc.) and a matching detector.

Dotz is selling its material (molecular markers) and special detectors as a “lock-and-key” solution both directly to customers, using sophisticated lead-generation and fulfilment mechanisms, as well as via various channels.

One example for such a channel, in the area of plastic products, is the use of compounders who prepare the mix, and sell to their clients products already containing the Dotz solution.

How are you managing with the current COVID-19 pandemic on both business and personal front?
The COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a major challenge for us. When entire economies ate coming to a halt, it is becoming very difficult to continue the research, manufacturing and selling activities. Having said that, this mega-crisis also brings about new opportunities for Dotz. It seems that the pandemic is driving many countries in Europe and USA to re-think their manufacturing strategy. When every country is struggling to buy its own face-masks, protective gear and ventilating machines – all manufactured in China and in great shortage at this time, many of them are now planning to move back home some essential manufacturing capacity. When this happens, they will need new and innovative ways to differentiate their brands and products, and Dotz is perfectly equipped to implement its embedded, eco-friendly and economical solutions to accomplish this task.

What’s the most exciting thing about running your business?
Most exciting thing about running this business is the ability to harness the talented team to solve customers’ technical and commercial difficulties, such that both customers and employees feel content and satisfied. When my employees are not only making a living but also reaching self-actualization, while producing happy customers – I feel excited and fulfilled.

How do you measure success?
Success is naturally measured in monetary terms, but in my eyes, it is also a function of contributing to society and for creating a better world.
By preventing some of the US $2.2 Trillion annual worth of counterfeiting activity worldwide, we are contributing to having a better society.

Think of a child car safety seat that with our markers can be identified as a fake one, hence saving the life of a child in case of an accident (as the counterfeited one didn’t go through the rigorous crash tests like the genuine one).

What do you think is the most important quality of being a CEO of a listed company?
The ability to read the market needs and re-invent yourself over and over, directing the skills and know-how of the team at the right vector. A good CEO is measured in times of crisis and this time is definitely qualifies as such.

What is your favourite book?
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Prof’ Yuval Noah Harari –
The author spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical, and sometimes devastating, breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural, and Scientific Revolutions. I believe that there is lots to learn about our future by fully understanding where we come from and how we developed as cognitive modern human beings.

What message do you want to send to our readership in Asia?
The Corona Virus will be defeated soon. The world may go through some associated difficulties but hopefully it will eventually turn to be a healthier one.

We at Dotz are fully prepared to contribute our small share in making it a better place to live in.

How can people connect with you?
Email:
Dotz Nano Website: https://www.dotz.tech/

In this quick-fire style interview with the CEO of Identitii Limited (ASX:ID8), Nick Armstrong, Spark Plus discusses the whole business model around banks, short- to medium-term plans, as well as objectives to roadshow in Asia.

Identitii are a intelligent information exchange using blockchain to reduce the risk of sharing documents and information between banks and corporates.

US $2 trillion is laundered through the financial system every year.

At Identitii, they believe this is partly because banks and corporates have not had an efficient way to securely share intelligent information about the origin, purpose and beneficiaries of a payment.

Identitii was founded in 2014 to address this challenge and today they help their customers know more about the transactions they are doing in real-time.

Identitii are contributing to a safer, faster payment system while building innovative technology and having fun along the way.

Visit their website for more info: https://identitii.com