Matthew Fan, 16, of Frisco, TX, is one of this year's competitors in the i.Invest National Youth Business Competition. Matthew is the founder of ProductiveTime, a smart time management app and a goal achievement tool that automatically plans various daily tasks and to-dos.
We spoke with Matthew to learn more about the business venture:
Tell us about your startup:
ProductiveTime is an application serving both as a time management and a goal achievement tool. The app allows the user to add and create various tasks he or she regularly performs along with the amount of time they usually take. With this information, ProductiveTime outputs a personalized schedule specifically tailored to each user's needs. With this, ProductiveTime delivers the best and most efficiently organized schedule based on your previous schedules. ProductiveTime also doubles as a helpful way to accomplish your goals. If the user has a desired goal or habit they want to develop, ProductiveTime can also seamlessly include this into their daily schedule. ProductiveTime relies on machine learning to help tailor the app to the individual user.
Who or what inspired you to start ProductiveTime?
My mother was the main inspiration behind the development of ProductiveTime. Always working and providing for our family, she struggled to balance her responsibilities both at home and at work. My father, too, often worked at home. The environment of our house was distracting, and seeing how hard they worked, I really wanted to help them alleviate their stress. However, I was always occupied with schoolwork. What if, I thought, there was a way to generate a personalized schedule automatically, and then ProductiveTime was born.
How will ProductiveTime impact the world?
ProductiveTime can help solve common organizational problems. It can also serve as a way for company employees to manage their projects and priorities better. ProductiveTime can seamlessly incorporate habits you would like to create into your schedule, ultimately serving as a way for users to manage their everyday tasks and duties, while also developing habits that will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives. ProductiveTime will enrich the community around me by improving the habits and lifestyles of individuals through better time management skills. I personally know the stress and energy needed to cope with the endless tasks we all face.
What are the next steps?
We are seeking funding to build the ProductiveTime app and website. Although the algorithm behind the app is mostly complete, we still need a simple and attractive design for the look of our application. With the app completed, we will be able to release a beta version for testing and customer feedback. This way, we can quickly improve to develop the best possible app for our customers. Our website will serve to inform potential customers about how ProductiveTime works and how it can positively impact their lives. If they [customers] are interested, they can also enter their email to learn more about ProductiveTime from the monthly emails we will send. In addition, this website will also serve as a platform for customers to provide feedback and suggestions about what they want to see in the product. After the release of ProductiveTime next year, the interest we have generated on our website will translate into our first customers, and allow us to hit the ground running as soon as we launch ProductiveTime.
To mentor or offer support, email info@i-investcompetition.com.