Contapp is The Smarter Way of Digitally Managing Business Cards

Contapp is the smarter and more convenient way of digitally managing & utilising business cards whilst helping reduce paper waste globally.

We interviewed Giuseppe Milazzo, the Founder of a new bootstrapped tech startup called Contapp, which officially launched in the iOS & Google Play Stores at the end of February 2020.

Here is the founder, the story of Contapp, and why it started. But first of all, their COVID-friendly app is available to download for free in the app stores.

The Founder, Story of Contapp and Why it Started

We’re an innovative team that has started a bootstrapped tech business with no outside funding. Our vision is to build a platform to add value to business-minded people whilst helping save the planet from paper waste. All branding and marketing are done in-house, with the development of our platform being the only thing outsourced.

Before pursuing my new career as the Founder of Contapp, I have been in Marketing my whole career. I have worked with global names, such as Xerox and Mercedes-Benz, which then paved the way for me to join an e-commerce business as a Marketing Manager.

As you can imagine, I was attending so many exhibitions and events in my time in Marketing. I was going to events empty-handed and coming back to the office with handfuls of goodie bags and an untold amount of business cards (most of which would never see the light of day again).

Every time I was coming back from an event, I always thought about how much waste is generated from these events. The biggest thing for me was business cards. I’d receive so many business cards, and at the end of the day, I’d forget who gave me the card, what we spoke about, and where we actually met. To me, this was missing the whole point of a business card, something you use to contact another person you are interested in.

What’s even crazier is the amount of paper waste printed business cards generate. Did you know, 10 billion business cards are printed every year, 88% of them are thrown away within a week of handing them out? This is something that raised many alarm bells. The environmental impact it had (which I wanted to solve), plus the wasted opportunities people are having with paper business cards.

So I thought about it. How can I maximise the use of business cards in an easy to view/manage way, reducing paper waste? That’s when the idea of Contapp came to fruition. I had a look at what business card scanning apps were available, and I was less than impressed with the build quality, features available, price of premium plans, and worst of all, how difficult they were to use.

What tools does your business make use of that would be valuable for other entrepreneurs to know?

In a world where we have everything at our fingertips, we have an untold amount of digital tools at our disposal to help us improve the way we do things. Better yet, they all help us become better connected. As a Founder, I have some tips to share on getting the most out of your teams and your business.

The first vital thing is to plan ahead. This could be simple things such as social media content and larger-scale things such as upcoming updates to your product/service. Having a structured daily task list is crucial to staying on top of things. For example, I use tools such as Later and Hootsuite to plan and schedule my posts in advance when it comes to social media.

If you are in a team, it’s great to have the ability to communicate and collaborate. My personal favourite tools for this are Slack, Google Drive, and Zoom. These 3 are my favourite tools because they are easy to use, and they can all connect. It’s perfect for teams, no matter how big or small they are.

Effects of COVID?

As a bootstrapped tech startup that launched a few weeks before the pandemic, COVID was either going to destroy the business or place Contapp as a must-have business tool during COVID. Luckily, users identified that our platform is a user-friendly alternative to digitally managing and exchanging business cards whilst maintaining high hygiene levels.

The use of technology during the pandemic has skyrocketed, and more people are connecting with colleagues & loved ones more than ever. For Contapp, we are another tool harnessing the power of staying better connected and bringing added value to business-minded individuals via business cards.

We’ve found that business people no longer want to use conventional printed business cards, and there are many truthful reasons why. For example, printed business cards get lost/damaged easily. In addition, they are not eco-friendly, difficult to manage, manual input of information from business cards, and more recently, they are not hygienic when exchanging business cards. All of these become redundant with a streamlined mobile app like Contapp.

Bearing that in mind, COVID has certainly been the breakthrough for Contapp as we see an increase of users daily all around the world. We’re seen as a solution to a growing problem, the spread of germs related to business cards, and a smarter way of managing your printed business cards in digital form.

The future goals and aspirations

We have an exciting roadmap ahead as we continue to develop Contapp into the all-in-one personal business hub. As well as new, streamlined features into the app, we’re also planning to build a web CRM platform with powerful integrations.

The introduction of integrations from leading software will leverage Contapp as the all-in-one business app and CRM platform for individuals & business teams. If you would like to know more about our exciting roadmap, don’t hesitate to contact the Contapp team.

Exclusive Invitation for Startup London Readers

I want to offer ALL Startup London readers an exclusive invite to our Innovators Programme, plus the opportunity to join our BETA Testing when the CRM platform is built.

On an invitation basis only, the Innovators Programme will give you full access to all premium app features, free for life, in exchange for feedback on our updates. But be quick; there are only 125 spaces available for entrepreneurs.

To join or for more info, please email the team referencing ‘Startup London Invite’ – marketing@contapp.uk.