How This Vacation Rental Services Owner Solved His Own Technology Problem and SaaS'd It Out for His Industry

Na'ím Anís Paymán of Zeevou talks to Geordie about discovering the Zeevou idea, developing software successfully with zero experience, and funding the MVP.   

Na'ím Anís Paymán is the founder and CEO of Zeevou, a customer relationship management platform. Zeevou allows entrepreneurs and managers in the vacation rentals industry to manage their property with ease. He talks to Geordie about his journey.  

What You’ll Learn 

• What prompted Na'ím to launch Zeevou? 

• What problem did Na'ím experience with his project management software? 
• How Na'ím navigated the problems he faced in his capacity as the property manager 
• How did Na'ím fund his MVP when the company was transitioning into the SaaS model? 
• How the direct booking system works 
• How the freemium package works 

• What outbound marketing strategy does Na'ím and his team use? 

In this Episode: 

According to Na'ím, Zeevou is not an ordinary startup, but what he calls a spin-off startup business. Initially, Na'ím says he had a property management enterprise specializing in managing short-term rentals. Along the way, they faced issues and struggled to determine the right software online.  

After days of searching without positive progress, they decided to develop software to help solve the problems existing in their system. Out of this quest, Zeevou was born. Na'ím says while they launched the business recently, his project management company has been in existence for many years.  

At some point, they had to discontinue their operations because everything was not working accordingly. He gives a detailed explanation in the podcast. Listen in for details on how they spend six months without a system, instructed his developers to replace the entire system, and how the developers misunderstood its core. 

 

Na'ím says the project management system they were using before was developed for hotels and property managers struggled to make it work effectively. He explains the system in this podcast, and you need to listen to understand. He also mentions a range of issues that hindered the proper functioning of their software. Listen to the podcast to find out how the system Na'ím and his team was initially using operated.  

Today, Na'ím says they have advanced their system to accommodate various features, which you can learn about from the podcast. Unlike their previous project management system built for hotels, their advanced system is specially designed for property managers. Na'ím says the system that they launched just when the COVID-19 pandemic hit has experienced significant growth.  

He mentions that offering direct bookings has been instrumental in their continued growth and explains how it works. Find the details from the podcast. Na'ím notes that they developed the software as a matter of urgency to handle their issues.  

As a result, and seeing that he had not developed software before, they missed some details, which you can learn about from the podcast. He mentions that some of their clients say the software is overly complicated, making it non user-friendly.  

Pricing is a critical part of any business when it comes to conversions. Na'ím says the fact that their paid plan is slightly pricey discourages clients from converting. However, they have decided to maintain their prices without competing with other players in the market.  

Listen to the podcast to understand why Na'ím and his team keep that principle. How then does Na'ím monetize the platform? He gives comprehensive details to explain this concept in the podcast. You can only understand it better by listening.  

Marketing plays a massive role in business continuation. What strategies have Na'ím and his team been using to stay afloat amid the pandemic? Where have they been getting their users? Na'ím says they have done little marketing using funds they received from sponsors. They won most of the sponsorship awards through applications.  

A big part of their marketing has been through word of mouth and ensuring that customers are happy. Previously, many of their customers came from Facebook groups and Instagram. They have recently incorporated content development in their marketing strategy. They also have an outbound marketing strategy that you can learn about from the podcast.  

According to Na'ím, their property management services and software are currently working well together. Startups need lots of support to thrive, and Na'ím is committed to establishing the right solutions. Together with his team, they are currently working on a tool that startups can leverage to manage all their requirements, including development, marketing, and sales. Listen to the podcast to learn more about this tool. 

Resources 

Zeevou.com 

Na'ím Anís Paymán LinkedIn 

Na'ím Anís Paymán Twitter 

Na'ím Anís Paymán Facebook