Flowcess

My Role: Technical Co-Founder

Technologies

Project Overview

Flowcess was a startup I co-founded, funded by the German government through the EXIST program, with total funding of approximately €200,000. The platform was designed to help businesses with multiple locations, such as gyms, fast food chains, and cleaning companies, enhance service quality and optimize task management. Flowcess leveraged smart resource coordination and gamification to ensure the right employee completed the right task at the right time, improving efficiency and reducing operational costs.

As the sole technical co-founder, I was responsible for all technical decisions and the entire development process while also managing startup-related tasks such as operations, marketing, business development, and investor relations. Despite initial success and strong interest from potential customers, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to pivot towards the Enyi project.

My Role

As the technical co-founder, I led the development of the Flowcess platform from the ground up. My responsibilities included:

• System Design and Development

  • Architected a serverless infrastructure utilizing AWS services like DynamoDB, AppSync, Lambda, Cognito, and S3 for scalability and cost efficiency.
  • Developed a Progressive Web App (PWA) using Angular and Ionic, ensuring cross-platform accessibility.
  • Implemented features for recurring task management, employee coordination, and real-time performance tracking.

• Customer Engagement and Testing

  • Conducted on-site testing of the app in gyms, gathering feedback and iterating on features.
  • Explored partnerships with fast food chains, cleaning companies, and supermarkets to expand market reach.

• Startup Operations

  • Managed business operations, including finances, investor relations, and team coordination.
  • Built and maintained relationships with customers, freelancers, and stakeholders.

• Marketing and Business Development

  • Developed and executed marketing strategies targeting B2B clients.
  • Pitched to investors and potential partners to secure funding and growth opportunities.

• Gamification Implementation

  • Designed and integrated gamification techniques to increase employee motivation and engagement with the platform.

Technical Project Description

Flowcess was built as a cloud-native, serverless SaaS platform, leveraging AWS services to provide a highly scalable and cost-effective architecture. The key components included:

• Frontend: Angular and Ionic for a Progressive Web App (PWA) accessible across devices.
• Backend: AWS AppSync for GraphQL-based communication, Lambda functions for backend logic.
• Authentication: AWS Cognito for secure user authentication and authorization.
• Storage: AWS S3 for storing task-related media and user-generated content.
• Database: AWS DynamoDB for efficient, scalable data management.
• Workflow Automation: AWS Step Functions to orchestrate task processes efficiently.

This architecture enabled a robust and scalable solution, ensuring businesses could manage thousands of tasks across multiple locations in real-time without performance bottlenecks.

Challenges

• Scaling for Multi-Location Businesses: Ensuring seamless task management across numerous sites with different operational needs.
• Efficient Data Handling: Managing and optimizing data processing and storage to handle a high volume of tasks and user interactions.
• Gamification Design: Creating an effective gamification system to drive employee engagement and motivation.
• Market Expansion: Adapting the solution to different industries beyond gyms, such as fast food chains and supermarkets.
• COVID-19 Disruptions: The pandemic drastically impacted customer operations, making market adoption more difficult.

Achievements

• Secured EXIST Funding: Successfully obtained ~€200,000 in funding from the German government (EXIST scholarship + Young Innovators program) for development and operations.
• Early Market Validation: Tested and validated the product in gyms, securing Letters of Intent and generating interest from additional industries.
• Deployed a Functional SaaS Platform: Delivered a working B2B solution tailored for businesses with recurring task management needs.

Current Status

Due to the unforeseen impact of COVID-19, we ultimately pivoted from Flowcess to Enyi, a new project leveraging some of the technological foundations and business insights gained from Flowcess.