Wild Society App: Startup Journey: from 0 to 1
StartupReporter publishes a new article of the series “Startup Journey: from 0 to 1”. In this series of articles, we would like to show startuppers not only through their innovative projects but also by talking about their personality and the team.
Wild Society App is a mobile hub that allows Fishermen and Hunters from all over the world to enjoy their passions while giving Businesses a tool to scale up their business opportunities.
Oleksandr Komarevych (OK): – In February you’ll go to Start-up Grind Global Conference. How did it happen?
Vittorio Conti (VC): – I could say “we have planned it” and show off confidence out of the ordinary. But I will not do it as it’s not my style and above all because it is not the truth.
I have always been interested in what happens in the world’s most famous Valley and when I got the chance to apply and submit the application for my Start-Up, I did not think twice; even though I instantly thought “this is not gonna happen”.
When two days after the application I was on the phone with a manager from the SG I thought “this must be some kind of joke!”. The day after I was introducing my project on Skype for the 2019 Global Conference!
When we received the official invitation, I started to realise this dream of mine was about to become reality. We made it.
It’s an important goal not only for how it could affect our future but also for what it does represent. Being considered for the SG in the Silicon Valley attests how good we have done so far with limited resources and it’s definitely a brilliant starting point towards a greater awareness of the quality of our work and the effectiveness of our project.
OK: – More than 20000 downloads at the launch of the app, how did you prepare for it and what is the result?
Vittorio: – Working for years in leading companies of the Gaming field where TripleA projects require a great work organisation in order to be completed, I learned that planning every single task is the key to be prepared for any eventuality.
In our working group, I am fortunate to collaborate with people who agree on this work ethic and we can, therefore, manage unexpected situations well. Clearly, we were surprised by the enthusiasm of many fans from all over the world who decided to join and use our platform to record and share their adventures.
OK: – What are the main lessons learned from this experience?
Vittorio: – It doesn’t matter how much you have studied and refined your product, the market can always give unexpected answers, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Redesign functions to meet the needs of your users is the key to grow, release after release, exponentially increasing the sense of belonging to the platform.
OK: – Which advice can you give to someone who wants to go to leave their job and launch their startup?
Vittorio: – Previous experiences are those that define our future, in life as in work. Taking such a decision is not easy, because the society we live in often makes you feel wrong and different especially if you want to do something out of the ordinary in your daily life.
Personally, I have given everything for my career in the gaming world and I felt the desire to try to do more without considering negative all the personal sacrifices that this choice would have brought.
On the contrary, leaving a “golden goose” to face the unknown makes you grow a lot more as an individual compared to a career that progresses on well-known tracks.
Needless to emphasize the importance of having original ideas and also to be a bit “crazy”. The fantastic feeling to see what is happening before the others do it’s just amazing and I suggest using the initial scepticism you’ll see in others as fuel to feed the fire you have inside. Seeing the doubtful people changing their opinion and attitude towards you and tour project after you reach your first small goals is pure and true adrenaline.
The rest then it’s done by your hard work by the ability to never give up, even when you seem to be wasting your time not getting the desired progress you wanted. Get yourself surrounded by people who, like you, believe in the project helps in difficult times, that sooner or later will come, like for everyone else.
OK: – What is your roadmap for the next 3-6 months?
Vittorio: – The next 3-6 months will be full of passion, work, concentration but also full of enthusiasm and great achievements. After the Seed, thanks to which we will have better structured the development and promotion of the App, we will be in a position to finally focus our efforts on the birth of those tools that were originally part of the draft of the project.
Innovative features that will open up new markets and that will guide us in a subsequent phase of our journey, in which there are the conditions for making great, great things.
OK: – What is your vision for the next 5 years in your field?
Vittorio: – The Social Networks world is changing fast, and the trends are no longer those that was 5 years ago. For example, younger audiences prefer to communicate with instruments that until a few years ago we would have never expected to see in vogue.
It is a need that is born with the boom of mainstream networks and that, in my opinion, should be taken seriously into consideration. A faster, more practical and immediate world, where “Now” already means “Yesterday”.
The world of “the outdoors”, historically more attached to traditions, is evolving with increasingly advanced technical equipment and new advanced equipment being made every year.
A wind of change given by a movement that is pushing to even change the opinion that people have about the Hunting and Fishing world. We look at this with great attention and awareness in our projects and we will be ready to take every opportunity available.
OK: – Tell me more about your team as the team is vital for a start-up at any stage. Who is in your team? Could you tell our readers about the uniqueness of each team member?
Vittorio: – The uniqueness of my team is undoubtedly represented by the fact that I share a previous working experience with each of its members, so they all are people I trust. It was very natural for me to put them together under the same project as soon as I had the chance to do it because everyone has very different experiences but all of them share an incredible desire to leave a mark with their work.
Take, for example, Kevin, our QA and Support manager. 2 years ago he was leading a group of workers in a factory and now
An avid fisherman (like all of us), a great computer enthusiast (self-taught) he rolled up his sleeves and started to study in order to become an essential member of this project. Commitment, desire to achieve, hunger and humility are undoubtedly the qualities that all the guys who work with me have and working with them is already a great reward for me.
OK: – How would you describe your team in one word?
Vittorio: – Aware

OK: – Now, let’s go with a bit more in details about your personality. One of the questions I think is important to know about founder, is “Why you choose to create this project and not others?” It brings to another questions: what kind of child were you? Did you have someone who influenced you?
Vittorio: – I grew up in the countryside in a small village in central Italy and this allowed me to get closer to fishing and hunting as a kid. Nature, if seen with a respectful and attentive eye, can teach us lessons that are so difficult to see in a society where interests and success are often mistaken for
I chose to create this project because when I came to the conclusion that working for others meant nothing to me anymore, I looked inside myself and I decided to transform a need I had as a fisherman and a passionate hunter, in a job opportunity.
In the end, I think the question to ask yourself is just one: which area do I personally know? What do i think is actually missing in this area? would it be cool to have it?
Once you’ve figured it out then you know what to do; it is not always easy and straight forward, however just remember “great things often start from small”.
OK: – Why did you become a founder and what should anyone develop in him/herself to become a founder?
Vittorio: – Personally, it was a process reached step by step.
First, through the work and the gratifications that come from it, I realized that in the real world there was a place reserved for me; then this “place” was not enough anymore: I knew with my creativity and ability to stay focussed and think positive I could have achieved better goals in life.
If you’re in the wrong place doing the wrong thing you start thinking that you’re wasting your time and when this happens you need to start pushing harder to change your existence. Once you do, things will move very fast.
OK: – What is the most important lesson you received in your start-up journey so far?
Vittorio: – That we should not waste our time complaining about the possibilities that life has not given us or about the fact that a dream is and will always be just a dream because we think we do not have enough talent or means to make it come true. It is vital to understand that without commitment, talent is nothing but an unfulfilled potential, and therefore to transform one’s dream into a goal is only a question of will and tenacity not of fortune or innate talent.
OK: – What would you recommend to readers who have an idea, but haven’t figured out where to start yet? Based on your experience, what would be your advice to them?
Vittorio: – Studying the market in which this idea should be launched. Figure out how to monetize it, understand who are your competitors analysing what they do well and what they don’t, preparing a plan in every single aspect, and start evaluating who could be part of it or who would you need to put it in action.
Write down all your ideas, repeat the plan aloud memorizing what would be your road map from day 1 trying also to understand your project’s weaknesses and potential future development.
OK: – What purchase of €100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months (or in recent memory)?
Vittorio: – A Train Ticket.
Heading to London the day I had the idea to create WS.
OK: – What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly influenced your life?
Vittorio: – A book that was given to me as a gift and that I really appreciated was “Open, an Autobiography” by Andre Agassi. The reason why I have picked this book I would summarize it with a sentence in which I see myself a lot: “When I started
OK: – What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?
Vittorio: – When you have an idea and you talk to people around you, you have to expect 3 types of reaction:
– They are enthusiastic about it, they understand its potential, encouraging you to make it happen and become loyal to this idea immediately.
– They indulge you, they ask you disinterested questions but almost never really understand or almost certainly think it’s crap.
– Those who: although it seems like a good idea to them it is difficult that they will recognize it at least until the masses will do so and then they will say that they have always believed in it and want to be your best friends.
What really matters? What you do believe.
You and the people who cared about you before success or failure, so, as soon as you receive bad recommendations, don’t let them influence you, you must remain focused on your work, always trying to improve it and never…..never give up.
OK: – If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it – metaphorically speaking, getting a message out to millions or billions – what would it say and why? It could be a few words or a paragraph.V
“There is only one kind of success: being able to live the life you always wanted to live.”
OK: – What is one of the bets or most worthwhile investments you’ve made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
Vittorio: – Believing you can get a job in a
OK: – What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing you love?
Vittorio: – I often go to Sweden, in the Northern forests for 4-5 nights on my own. Into the wild without mobile devices or PCs. I bring a fishing rod with me, a travel hammock, and some food; spending my days fishing in rivers and lakes in absolute solitude.
Starry nights, the noise of the wind through plants and trees, and the inexorable flow of the river are excellent remedies to the stress of civilized life.
OK: – Vittorio, what would you like to wish the readers?
Vittorio: – When you have a vision which is clearly only in your head it can be difficult to keep the enthusiasm and the attention at high levels… especially in the initial phase where you see others thinking that your idea cannot take you anywhere and it is a total waste of time.
These are the moments when you need to focus more and stay positive because if you do so, results will come faster than you imagine. When this happens you’ll be so proud of yourself that remembering those sad moments will probably be one of the best feelings you’ll ever experience.
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