socialtalkr

Andrew Trask

SocialTalkr:
Hey Andrew, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed. So in your own words, you can describe zrc2?
Andrew Trask:
My goal is for Zrc2.com to become THE Networking Community and Professional services hub for IT & Telecom Professionals.

SocialTalkr:
Why the name Zrc2?… and how did you come with the idea?
Andrew Trask:
Zrc2 is a “Z” code that is/was commonly used in Morse telegraphy. I chose it mainly for symbolic reasons..
When I first came up with the idea of this website and started researching, I found that in the main, there were 3 types of “social” type network to choose from…
1. The pure social network, for example Facebook, Myspace, etc..
2. The “Professional” or “Business” network; the likes or LinkedIn and Xing.
3. A number of smaller “niche” type sites which catered for a very narrow group of people .
The latter 2, in the main, were subscription sites, with only the bare essentials for free. The first group, as far as I could see, were really, social, fun, non business platforms…
The second groups are of course business platforms, but they consist mainly of a list of names/contacts and interaction between members is restricted to internal mail, which in the main, must be payed  for.
What I wanted to create was a FREE networking venue, for individuals working in, or connected to the IT & Telecom industries, where members are able to interact on both a business and social level..
I did not want to make the site a tight niche, as I felt that this would only restrict member diversity…
So, in a nutshell, I have attempted to create an online networking community venue which allows its members to network across a wide and diverse grouping that is still in some way connected. All for free..

SocialTalkr:
Who do you view as competitors at this point?
Andrew Trask:
I’m not sure that anyone would consider me a competitor at this moment in time, but ultimately, I would hope to compete with the likes of Xing and LinkedIn, Mvolve, Telcoprofessionals, etc…
But I don’t see many business/professional networking sites offering a range of social networking type features..

SocialTalkr:
If I was to join Zrc2 today, what would be the 3 most interesting things I could do there?
Andrew Trask:
Top 3….
I would have to say that the first would be the ability to create a detailed and extensive profile with which to promote oneself among the wider community…
Second would be the range of community/networking features available including the Forum, Personal blog and Notice board (sort of a personal mini forum)..
Thirdly, the discreet collection of links to goods and services which has been tailored to cover items which I believe to offer utility to my target audience, in addition to the Jobsearch tool…
The current range of links covers employment agencies, business and management tools (geared towards contractors and subcontractors), training establishments and reference materials, travel and news. They are mostly my personal selection, but we are always open to suggestions from our members and of course, we invite any company that feels they have something that may be of utility to contact us..So that we can post a link..
(SocialTalkr: Link Advertise on zrc2)

SocialTalkr :
So how long has zrc2 been up and running?
Andrew Trask :
The initial planning and development phase began in November of 2007 and we had a working skeleton of a site by the end of March 2008. This was then further developed through April and May (2008) and we began testing our Alpha site between May and mid June. The Beta site was (soft) launched in mid June and full launch began in earnest on the 7th of July 2008.

SocialTalkr:
Who are the people behind zrc2, besides yourself?
Andrew Trask:
Initially, it was just myself and I outsourced the initial site build to a team in India. Since April, I have been working together with a team of 3 software developers…who are based in Hungary..
(SocialTalkr: Equity for zrc2 is 100% held by Andrew)

SocialTalkr:
How was the development funded? And are you planning to take in investors in the future?
Andrew Trask:
To date, it has all been funded from my savings..
I have certainly considered the possibility of approaching investors; but I am currently “unconvinced” as to whether or not to proceed along this avenue…
Of course, it would help to ease the burden financially…
But I think it would be more helpful to have an equity partner, with experience in sales and marketing  who would pretty much “bang the drum” in the marketplace whilst I carried on maintaining the site itself..
I have to admit that I seriously underestimated the amount of work required to publicize and drive traffic (potential members) to the site…
Perhaps I was too focused on development and getting the thing tested and launched, that I took my eye off the promotion ball…
Whichever way you look at it, I thought that getting to launch would be the difficult thing, when in fact it was just the start of a massive task..
SocialTalkr:
First step is hardest right? Anyway…speaking of development, what were your biggest obstacles building zrc2? Prior to that, did you have any web development experience?
Andrew Trask:
From day 1, I believe that the biggest obstacle by far has been getting others to see what is in my head!
As far as the product is concerned that is…
It has, at times, taken hours to present what I wish to see in a certain feature in such a way that others are able to see it too..
I don’t think that the developers had a problem with the vision of the finished product; more like, being so focused on delivering a feature/tool, and not seeing that feature/tool from a user’s perspective..
But I guess that’s why I’m here! Attention to details and ensuring that everything is logical and functionally correct…
(SocialTalkr: Andrew is based in the UK, but travels to Hungary to liaise with his developers)
SocialTalkr:
Lets talk about you. What were you doing before zrc2?
Andrew Trask:
I started my career in 1980 when I attended the British Army Communication College in Harrogate; I then spent 14 years in Military communications and left the Army as a Management level Network design Engineer. I then went on to work as the Chief Communications officer on the United Nations Demining program in Mozambique. After this, I began working in the Mobile/Wireless field. I began working for Vodafone and went on to work in many positions, including the following companies: Orange, Mobistar, Viag Interkom, Nokia, Dolphin Telecom, Nokia (again), Ericsson and Transworld resources in positions ranging from Network design Engineer to Technical Architect (RAN/Radio) and Director of Global Network Planning and Design Services….
I took time out during the past few years and trained as a (freelance) photographer and eventually came up with the idea of Zrc2 last year..
I have spent the past 8 months working almost exclusively on Zrc2.com…Although I do get the occasional photography assignment (Diversity is great!)

SocialTalkr:
So in these few months, what were your marketing efforts for zrc2?
Andrew Trask:
For my initial “soft” launch, I attempted to gather together a small group of friends/ex colleagues to start using the site, putting some pressure on the system and to report bugs and any other issues. Obviously, I was also keen for this group to “spread the word” as it were…..
I next posted a press release with a number of “free” press release websites and was lucky enough to get picked up and reviewed by “Killerstartups”; in addition, I spent an eternity submitting my site details to online directories…
I also conducted a brief “google” advertising campaign - which I quickly paused (it brought in lots and lots of hits, but mostly from people who were, not suited, not interested, or just liked to click PPC links for fun!)..
SocialTalkr:
How do you plan on monetizing your network once you’ve reached a sizeable audience?
Andrew Trask:
I am hoping that in exchange for the free facilities, users will oblige by using the range of affiliate links to goods and services if ever they are in need; in addition, I believe that once a reasonable sized membership has been achieved, I should be able to attract income from corporate users (recruiters, job posters, head hunters) and general advertisers…

SocialTalkr:
Do you have any set targets/milestones?
Andrew Trask:
I would say that the first key milestone for me would be to achieve an active user base of 100, 000 members, which I would hope to achieve by the end of the year..I have to admit that some days it tough to find the motivation and keep going, but you just have to get on with it, no matter how frustrating things are at times..

SocialTalkr:
But it’s been a worthwhile journey right?
Andrew Trask:
I’ll answer that question in about 6 months

Links Summary

Visit Zrc2:
http://www.zrc2.com
Andrew on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/5/9b4/742
Press Release on Zrc2:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200807/1215426664.html
zrc2 has been reviewed on:
http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/zrc2-com-it-pros-get-social
Business/Company Information:
http://www.tradevibes.com/company/profile/zrc2-com
Advertise on Zrc2:
http://zrc2.com/advertise/advtenquiry2.php