QX is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Zoran Nasteski, CEO and Co-founder of QX, to learn more about how they’re using blockchain and Web3 technology to create safer online retailing spaces, their reasons for joining S3E Charge and their ambitions to grow the business in the next 5 years.
Hi Zoran! Tell us about QX, the mission behind the business and the technology you’ve developed.
QX is a Web3-based platform that helps brands and retailers connect and engage with their customers without using their data. We use a combination of blockchain and cloud technologies to enable brands to become more effective at managing their customer engagement and experiences.
Trust has been declining on the consumer side, so we’re utilising blockchain because it’s the only proper technology that helps brands re-build trust and improve their connections within the retail space.
How would you define your entrepreneurship journey so far?
For us, launching a deep tech startup focused on an industry as big as retailing and e-commerce has felt like venturing into total uncertainty. So it’s been a very bold move from everyone involved in QX!
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We’re now at the point in our business where we need to start making some important decisions. Most of our financing has come from ourselves and from some early-stage accelerators, but now we have to decide if we want to pursue a private investor path or seek public funding; as a deep tech startup, we’re not necessarily 100% dependable on external funding, but it makes our odds better to succeed in our venture. We want to be more knowledgeable about the funding opportunities that exist out there, and learn what’s possible and accessible to us, not just run to the money.
We want to be very strategic in terms of what type of capital we bring into the business. And I believe S3E Charge will help us move forward in this area so we can make the right decision for our startup.
What are the key ambitions for QX? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
When I think about QX in the near future, I see as a small company that supports a very heavy industry that has become extremely dependant on data and is now suffering a huge fall-off in consumer trust because of that.
Our mission is to become the go-to experts on e-commerce innovation who understand consumers’ needs and, in turn, are able to create safe online retailing spaces by protecting shoppers’ data.
Drawing from your own experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who’d like to launch their own startup?
Don’t chase the money! Think long and hard about what you’re trying to do because, at the end of the day, what you design and develop is what will bring value, both to your business and to your customers. You don’t want to go into the market with a mediocre product that no one will pay for, so you need to start by focusing on building your product or service and the problem that you want to solve.