{"id":14493,"date":"2017-09-06T22:28:27","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T19:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.husseinattar.com\/?p=14493"},"modified":"2021-03-21T10:04:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T07:04:11","slug":"sawerly-announces-200000-round-from-qb-co","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.husseinattar.com\/en\/sawerly-announces-200000-round-from-qb-co\/","title":{"rendered":"Sawerly announces $200,000 round from QB Co"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sawerly,<\/a><\/span>\u00a0the online marketplace that connects photographers and clients, have received a $211,000 from QB Co, an angel investor part of\u00a0Oqal Angel Investment<\/span><\/a>\u00a0network.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Bridging a gap<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Some professionals, in this case photographers, find it hard to market their services despite their talents. Sawerly, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, works through an integrated innovative platform that links photographers with clients. Service seekers can receive different offers and quotations from a wide range of photographers and filter them by price, quality, and reviews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sawerly’s around 500 photographers cover events, parties, real estate, special occasions, commercials, YouTube, and others. To book a photographer, customers can either go through the web, or the Android and iOS apps, and then enter their request, specifying the time, place, budget, and event type. The order is then sent to all photographers specialized in the relevant field. Every photographer has a profile that features their work, experience, and reviews from others. Clients make payments online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Founded by Hussein Attar, Mohammed Al Zahrani, and Bassam Seif, Sawerly was born out of a Startup Weekend Jeddah competition in 2013. Watch Rayan Adil\u2019s interview with Attar at\u00a0ArabNet Riyadh<\/span>\u00a0here<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly 10 teams are selected to pitch their idea in front of a jury for a chance to win a 75,000 SAR prize,\u201d Attar said. During the event, he voted for Mohammed Al Zahrani and Bassam Seif who pitched the idea of Sawerly. \u201cThey had an idea related to photography but it wasn\u2019t very clear yet. I didn\u2019t know them before the event. I just liked their idea and was the only one who voted for it.\u201d The Startup Weekend selection committee chose their project, and the three partners worked on developing it and pitching it in front of the jury.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After pitching, they then applied to Flat6Labs under the management of Qotuf, and despite applying after the deadline they still managed to get an interview. After their project was incubated by Flat6Labs, they took part in a one-week workshop, then\u00a0graduated<\/a>\u00a0along with five other companies.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nHussein Attar, one of Sawerly’s cofounders\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Getting started<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Attar, Sawerly has so far received more than 180 orders and generated more than 150,000 SAR for photographers. \u201cWe have participated in many competitions and pitched Sawerly to a number of investors,\u201d says the cofounder. With their newly announced investment, the cofounders are now looking to hire two Saudi women, as well as attract more talented photographers from the region.<\/p>\n

When talking about challenges the team faced at launch, Attar admits that it was hard to market his idea and attract talent. \u201cMost of [the team] only work with us part-time to keep their jobs at big companies.\u201d Another challenge they have faced was finding an investor who would be interested in funding a technical project. Most investments, according to him, go to fields such as real estate and contracting. \u201cThey don\u2019t see the benefit of investing in online projects: more return on investment, lower operating expenses, and high ability to expand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Having won several awards, Sawery is not without its supporters. The startup won second place at ArabNet Riyadh 2013\u2019s Hackathon, first place at ArabNet Riyadh 2014\u2019s Startup Demo competition, the \u2018Get in the Ring\u2019 competition, and most recently Attar was listed in Forbes Middle East\u2019s \u2018Leaders Inspiring a Kingdom: Saudi Arabia’s Entrepreneurial Elite\u2019 list, in the technology field.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source of Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sawerly,\u00a0the online marketplace that connects photographers and clients, have received a $211,000 from QB Co, an angel investor part of\u00a0Oqal Angel Investment\u00a0network.\u00a0 Bridging a gap Some professionals, in this case […]<\/p>\n

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