Yndica is the new physical eCommerce platform

My name is Giovanni Roberto Franzan, and I’m the founder and CEO of Yndica. It is a platform I have developed that allows people to discover amazing products made by innovative designers and inventors that often go unnoticed because the general public never comes across them.

There are innovative products and brands out there that most people would love to know about, but they don’t. And this is the main reason why I came up with Yndica.

I moved to the UK at the young age of 16 because I wanted to be more independent and expand my horizons in a different country. It was a difficult decision at the time, but I believed that somehow this would lead me into a different, more exciting path. While in the UK, I learned about design, and engineering and distinctly remembered one day thinking, “This is amazing.

This is what I want to do …” And I consider the years since arriving in the UK as the most difficult, yet inspiring years of my almost 22 years in existence.

I wanted to become an inventor because since childhood I’ve always wanted to create new things, but the prospects of going down that path were not great. What is an inventor anyway? Is an inventor a designer, an engineer, or a little of both?

I have pursued various educational paths. I first got into architecture and then product design later. However, I’ve never really considered myself an architect or a product designer. One day while working late at night I stumbled on a documentary about some young designers.

The documentary showcased the inventions of these creative minds. I felt that the products were amazing, but unfortunately these products would only ever be seen by the few viewers of this specific documentary. So I had an idea about creating a platform to showcase these products to the general public and in that way help them reach out to a wide range of people who might be interested in what they have to offer.

And this realisation has led to the creation of Yndica. The platform has been in development for two years, and the process has been an incredibly difficult one. Working 100+ hours every week, creating the team, engineering and patenting the Pod, creating the technology for our web app etc…

While it was by far the hardest route I’ve ever taken, I love every minute of it. I never thought of myself as being an entrepreneur. I still haven’t come to terms with the title, and I don’t like the jargon related to startups. And because I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur, it made me more motivated to go through all the hardships. I took an idea and turned it into a company. 

In a nutshell, Yndica is an unmanned, physical e-commerce platform designed to serve today’s on-demand world. We showcase the coolest products on the market today. We provide the products with the exposure they need, as well as the ability to sell next to the world’s largest retailers. This makes the playing field levelled for everyone. If your product is great, it’ll sell a lot, simple.
Our goal is to showcase a wide range of highly innovative, great quality products. We use the latest technology to provide a unique and seamless experience to consumers. At present, our focus is London and other major cities in the UK. But we hope to bring our innovative platform to other top cities in the USA, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and other key areas across the globe.

Yndica promotes the products by placing them inside display cabinets called Pods in the busiest shopping locations in the city. We want to help both SMEs and consumers alike. Our Pods act as a bridge that connects SMEs with their target market.
We make sure that products on display in our Pods have met stringent criteria.

Our Pods are powered by lithium ion batteries that are hidden inside the Pod’s base, and replaced weekly. The batteries power multiple screens inside the Pod that show features of the products and how they work. The batteries also power different lighting systems for the products, as well as CCTV and alarms. The interiors of the Pod were designed to be modular to allow us to display different types of products, from fashion to the latest tech gadgets, in many different ways.

Yndica also provides a sales platform that’s compatible with any Smartphone. Consumers just need to open the browser in their Smartphones or tablets and go to Yndica.com. Then tap on the camera button found on the home page. They just need to take a photo of the product tag that’s next to the product, and our software will do the rest. The platform will then display the product’s information and images. Consumers can save the product or purchase it through PayPal. Our web app allows any mobile device to go through the process in an instant.

Every Pod also has a Wi-Fi hotspot. That means you will be able to access the mobile app when your smartphone’s reception is low.

www.yndica.com

The video below shows the process clearly