Running a business, especially a small or mid-sized one hyper-focused on growth, is to state simply, complicated. From building the right product and brand marketing, to putting the right tools in place back of the house to advance HR and productive team solutions, to searching for a next edge to compete with larger enterprises, there is no shortage of support needed for hustling SMEs.
WISAMI is a Hanoi Founder Institute portfolio company creating software to simplify work for Human Resource professionals. Led by Founder & CEO Khánh Hòa Phạm WISAMI is building a complete employee engagement SaaS platform, one that works simply and without all the tech bloat. CEO Pham explains,
WISAMI chooses how to make small, standard measurements, and fast adjustments. The product must focus on a fundamental problem that many organizations face.
Unlike traditional HR tools, which commonly try to tackle every aspect of the job, WISAMI offers solutions for each primary need such as timekeeping or recruiting. The mentality was developed as a response to the needs of SMEs who often bring on costly tech stacks, but rarely need each of the tools that are included. The WISAMI team feels that the approach will let them better tackle the $300 million Southeast Asian market, and then later into the $13 billion global pool for SaaS-based HR solutions.
Their first product, a timekeeping solution, lets employers easily track employees as they clock in for their shift, take breaks, and finish up for the day. This is accomplished in the form of a simple app, a physical device, or a combination of app and a special RFID card. WISAMI’s solution varies from their competitors in that it solely focuses on timekeeping, but also meets the needs of modern-day businesses. Today, many small and medium businesses have remote teams, field projects, or even separate offices, but can’t justify the cost of enterprise-level HR software that can tackle each, which is exactly what WISAMI focuses on.
The initial tool is focused on ease of use, which in turn simplifies the onboarding of users and the administrators of the platform. In the future, they will focus on staff training and recruiting tools.
Though many of Phạm’s peers in SEA focused on consumer products, he feels there is more scalability and longevity in developing B2B solutions. According to CEO Phạm,
Firstly, the time and resources available to customers are easily increased. B2B customers often demand to build their own products, or even do so out of necessity, according to the processes and culture the company and are willing to pay a lot for a solution that meets their requirements. This increases the time and resources to serve each B2B customer; The product is easily torn in many directions, obscuring concentration, making it difficult for the business model to expand.
Phạm goes on to say that B2B products are typically complex in nature and require experienced developers and project managers. Not only do they need to be experts in their field, but they must also fully grasp the nature of the industry they are developing solutions for in order for the features and tools to accomplish their goals. Between WISAMI’s founding team’s background, there is a mix of leadership, development, and expertise in HR-related environments. Pham says,
The product must be both simple and satisfying for many different business requirements.
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