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04/03/17 | Founders

AskaTechie Focuses on Matching Startups and SMBs to Tech Experts

In a $900 Billion industry with a matching platform of vetted IT professionals, AskaTechie is looking to change the game.

It’s no secret that finding the right tech expert for your project or business is a huge pain. It can feel a lot like dating on Tinder. You meet an overwhelming number of random people and they turn out to be unqualified, just plain rude, or some mysteriously unverifiable entity. And the few good ones always seem to be “taken”.

Enter AskaTechie, a new online matchmaking marketplace of vetted tech experts, which helps people and companies find qualified IT professional contractors. AskaTechie is positioning themselves to be the “eHarmony for finding tech experts”. 

The problem? People don’t know what they really need when it comes to technology, much like dating. AskaTechie is trying to address that in three steps: consulting on business technology needs, presenting technical talent for projects, and preparing the project plan – a one-stop Techie shop.

The IT Professional Services worldwide spend in 2016, according to Gartner, was estimated to be $900 Billion USD, and this lucrative industry just keeps growing, despite worldwide political turbulence. With new political powers enforcing tighter immigration control practices in the US, the global freelance economy and remote outsourcing market is arguably more important (and possibly more difficult) than ever for businesses to find the best technical talent.

AskaTechie is the brainchild of Aliya Amershi, who having beat the odds throughout her career in a male-dominated industry, is no stranger when it comes to challenges.

Her love affair with technology began in grade school, well before Google and Facebook became household names. She went on to receive her Bachelors in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia and gained several years of international professional experience working with some of the top players in the tech and media industry, including EA Sports and Viacom Networks. On her roster of accomplishments her and her team winning an Emmy for the successful launch of the Nick App while at Viacom.

Aliya decided to leave the comforts of her corporate life in New York and take the plunge to pursue her passion of starting her own business. As part of her transition strategy and market research, she moved to her hometown of Vancouver, Canada and worked as an IT Consultant in the small business sector, as well as host events in the tech startup space.

She simultaneously worked to verify an unmet need in the market. People were wasting time, money, and heartache trying to find tech help, with options like Google, Craigslist, and UpWork falling short in key areas. Upon further research, Aliya discovered that people just wanted to be told what they need by someone they trust and be presented with a few good options.

Aliya made it her mission to solve this problem, specifically for the underserved market of Startups and SMEs. In today’s growing digital economy, entrepreneurs and business owners need to have a solid presence both online, and also behind the scenes. Unfortunately, many new startups and even established businesses don’t have the basic technology and infrastructure in place to operate and grow their business effectively.

Aliya has seen customers run their business website without being optimized for mobile viewing, manage back-end production using pen and paper, and consult with unqualified contacts to help them make major technical decisions, which are often damaging.

Her goal is to make sure new startups begin with the correct technical footing and established SME’s digitally transform using the right IT Professional resources.

AskaTechie soft launched their MVP platform and services in late 2016, receiving an immediate response from their short campaign and close network, which seemed to reaffirm a real need in the market.

Aliya was able to bring on a team of seven across Canada and the US to her bootstrapped business, successfully working within the remote, distributed model. Aliya attributes her network, influence, and technical know-how to giving her the extra edge to recruit top talent, and as she puts it, “it takes a Techie to know a Techie”.

Being both a business owner and technologist, Aliya understands the needs of her Customers and Techies to accurately match them, establishing trust and brand reputation. Her matching process is currently being prepared to use an algorithmic approach, so that future development can incorporate AI to institute more automation, precision and scale to the system.

For the company, Aliya knows she needs to think ahead, focus on perfecting their “secret sauce” and take the business to the next level, while maintaining their competitive advantage. The next steps for AskaTechie are to reach a larger audience and find strategic partners that will help accelerate the business growth in this multi-billion dollar industry.

 

About Aliya Amershi, CEO & Founder,

Aliya is a Technologist and Visionary with over 20 years of experience. She has worked with the top players in the tech and media industry, including EA Sports and Viacom Networks. Her roles have included Software Engineer, Tech Lead, and IT Manager, earning her an her team an Emmy for the Nick App at Viacom. She is now the CEO and Founder of her own tech startup, AskaTechie.com, which is the eHarmony for finding tech experts. Matching Customers with IT Professional Contractors that specialize in Web, App, and Software Development through its online marketplace of vetted experts. Aliya always loves a challenge and goes by the motto “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.


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