Asaf Nevo of Pico Get Personal.
Tell us about yourself?
I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. From my required military service, to my University studies- I’ve always tried to find ways to innovate general, day-to-day situations, circumstances, etc. The founding of Pico is actually one of my favorites.
Myself, along with another co-founder, Roi Mozer, successfully operated and ran a popular night-life company in downtown Haifa. Right down the street from where Pico HQ is now. We would constantly try to find fun, interesting ways to bring technology practices into the night-life space.
We even tested a machine that gave our guests the opportunity to order their own drinks that got rid of the long queues often found in crowded bars, restaurants, etc.
So after a few years of fun there, we decided we wanted to go full-time into our side project, spoiler alert, it turned out to be Pico. We left our positions, sold our shares, and dove right in.
And originally, Pico – Get Personal used to be Pico.buzz and was started as a photo-sharing platform after we noticed that after popular events, such as weddings or birthdays, there was no easy way to share photos with all of the attendees.
Mind you- this was before Snapchat, Instagram and Instagram stories. The whole idea at the time was to create a way for people, brands, and organizations to share photos easily, and for brands to have one dedicated place for user generated content.
That was our pitch anyway. We eventually pivoted the company to where we are now – a data-driven fan marketing platform powered by AI, and our third co-founder Aviv Paz, joined us as we started to develop, test, and launch the product.
We’ve been in the market with a working product since 2017, and have over 50+ teams and leagues as partners. It has been an extremely rewarding process and experience as we have not only seen growth within the company, but within our winning team too.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
In my opinion, the biggest misconception is that people think startups are gold mines and that you can easily open a startup and in a few single years you will become a unicorn. It’s not like that and there are 90% more failing startups than successful ones.
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
The best tip I could give myself would be – Stay Calm, Keep Pushing. As an entrepreneur this is something you should know and be ready to handle.
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
My experience as a serial entrepreneur shows that resilience is the secret for success in business life. The ability to take a hit, wash your face and move on is crucial for your success.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Felixbility helps create a healthy work life balance. Sometimes you work more during the day, sometimes during the night, and sometimes you need time off.
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
The huge gap between how little brands really know about their audience keep us pumpped on a regular basis
Where do you see your business in five years?
Pico helps brands and sports teams to understand who their clients and fans are. With the technology we provide to our clients they are able to collect data and use it for their marketing needs and to improve their revenue. We see a lot of interests in what we are doing and we understand how the market is changing therefor in five year I believe we will be the leader in data collection and management space
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
Educating the industry about zero-party data and the importance of holding and controlling the data inside the organization will be our biggest challenge. Furthermore, we will have to continue and grow our team while connecting with the right talents in the coming years.
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
There are many success stories that can be found here {https://www.picogp.com/successful-digital-activations}, but I think the first ten large companies signing and using our platform is one of our greatest achievements.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
Pico targets Sports teams and Consumer Packaging Goods (CPG) brands, which means we are using a B2B strategy to increase brand awareness and generate qualified leads. Clients and customers usually find us through stories we publish, content marketing and social media posts, webinars, and other collaborations. As an official SAP partner, we receive many leads through that channel as well.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
The best tip I can give to fellow startup founders is: mental state is everything. Make sure you work on your mental strength and well being.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
A lot of joy, comfort, the opportunity to do what I love, to grow and build, to be happy and to enjoy my family.
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