Discover SWAPIN

11/07/2018
For the third time, we present you a startup in full expansion whose activity and career could inspire you.

This week, we will introduce you to the SWAPIN startup.

We had the opportunity to talk to Loris Di Nardo Di Maio and James McGill, the founders of this young company with strong growth potential, and we would like to share this interview with you to tell you more about how they work and also our partnership.

But first and foremost, here is a brief presentation of their company.
How about SWAPIN?
SWAPIN was created on July 26, 2018, by the two co-founders, Loris Di Nardo Di Maio and James McGill. The first is a Lead Backend developer and the second is a Project Manager. Within this young and dynamic team, Yonas Abraham is in charge of finance and customer relations. MobileThinking is also a shareholder of the startup.

SWAPIN is a platform for housing research and exchange. It uses a “matchmaking” system in an innovative approach to help you manage your flat search while offering you more accommodation choices, including those that do not appear in traditional sites.

Searches are made easier because the ads are filtered according to a certain criteria (i.e. types of accommodation, location, number of rooms, etc.). As soon as an offer corresponds to his specific request, the tenant receives a notification on his smartphone. A way “more adapted to modern lifestyles”, according to James McGill.

On the owners’ side, SWAPIN makes it possible to increase the occupancy rate of apartments, whose rents are currently on the decline.

SWAPIN won the first prize at the AIDEAS pitching competition held on May 3, 2018, at the University of Geneva. This victory gave them direct access to the second round of the MassChallenge Switzerland.
Here is the report of our exchange with Loris and James:

Why did you choose SWAPIN as your company name?
There is no real story except a little brainstorming to get something short and containing “swap” ????

What are your strong points?
“Our approach, our Business Model, is to be accessible to a greater number of users by making the
application free. We have the monopoly in Switzerland. We are completely out of step with all the applications or research sites found in Switzerland - always very conservative and therefore not very innovative.”

Your success?
“We are satisfied that we have developed this new idea with few resources and that we have learned a lot both humanely and technically. In other words, we are proud to have brought this innovation to the market and to have succeeded in bringing it to life.”

Do you have an anecdote to tell us?
“Yes. We talked about our project twice to Microsoft in Zurich. The first time we were rejected, but we had the courage to represent ourselves a second time! This paid off because the idea finally seduced them. We have obtained the equivalent technical support of several thousand francs to use on their "Azure" Cloud.”

Your future vision for SWAPIN?
“We would like to improve the dynamics of the change of apartment by adapting the mobile application to maintain a continuous contact according to the needs of users.”

Why did you choose us?
“From our first meeting, we were thrilled with MobileThinking. After only 45 minutes, the scope and MVP were presented in a clear and precise manner. This particularly attracted us and encouraged us to work with MobileThinking.”

What did you appreciate about our collaboration?
“Your honesty and transparency. Mattia does not hesitate to express his opinions and says what is feasible or not, whether it is pleasant or not. The external point of view of an expert provided a great added value.”

Can you describe, in your own words, the approach we have taken to you to resolve your problem(s)?
“You quickly understood and identified the needs of our project and proposed the optimal solutions.”

If you were to recommend us to other companies/startups what would you tell them about us?
“That MobileThinking is reliable, competent, flexible and open to good ideas.”

What do you think we should improve?
“Expand yourself to be able to make bigger and bolder projects with us.”
SWAPIN team
If you want to know more about SWAPIN, click on these links:
https://swapin.ch/en/index.html
https://mobilethinking.ch/portfolio/swapin/
MobileThinking thanks James and Loris for their kindness and honesty.