Changing the future

EVER wished to not have to worry about having internet connection? Does it feel like it’s a constant waste to not fully utilise the purchased data plan? Fortunately, with Simplify, these problems can be solved. Here, Yen Pei Tay shares how Simplify works and his experience being the founder.
“At the age of 12, my father got me my first x286 IBM computer and I remember the first computer game I played was the first generation Tetris. Since then, I was amazed by computers and developed a tremendous interest in computer science,” said Yen who then decided he wanted to pursue his studies in computer science.
With that it began, a journey to the future. Graduating with a Bachelors in Computer Science and completing his Masters in Business Administration in Manchester, Yen worked in a telecommunications company for 15 years before deciding to be an entrepreneur.
Although starting out was hard, he did not give up. He had the technology first before coming up with the idea, and the trust from people was what he needed to develop the app.
Initially, Yen and his team decided it was a good idea to go to mobile operators and pitch their initial idea of sharing a home WiFi password to a cloud, allowing people to exchange credits and loyalty points. But thinking of the trouble they had to go through, they decided it would be more suitable if they went with a different proposition.
Yen is not only the founder of the app, he also designed the entire app himself without a graphic design or multimedia background, saving a tonne for not hiring a graphic designer.
Without a loan, they spent less than RM50,000 on the development of the app. Like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, the organisation officially started in August last year.
Starting an awareness campaign was a way to allow consumers to pay more attention to how much they would actually pay for a SIM card and the data plans that come with it, rather than buying cheap data from another user who has data to spare.
How it works is simple. The app allows users to resell their extra data with just a touch of a button. There is no fixed price range, instead the price users wish to sell per GB of data. Users are also authorised to sell in different currencies.
For example, if the trafficker wants to sell their data for RM3 per GB, the purchaser would first know if their data is fast or slow through the icons placed next to the trafficker’s name. After making payment through credit card, debit card or PayPal, consumers will be allowed to use the internet. If the data paid for is not used, consumers will not be charged extra. Traffickers are able to change their settings to whether they want an encrypted password or password-less.
“It is like an open competition,” Yen claims. “Imagine if everyone is connected to their 4G, the tower will have to serve each and every phone. But if everyone is willing to share their data using data sharing or as we love to call it, data pulling, it creates less traffic, less congestion to the data network.”
Simplify only profits about 20% of the sold data. For example, if data was sold at RM3, the company profits about 60sen from that.
“It is really not about the money,” Yen said.
Currently approaching almost 50,000 downloads, Simplify is now an award-winning start-up by winning the top 50 most innovative companies in Southeast Asia.