Island fish, from catch to consumption

Seafood is one of the popular dishes among Iranians, and many people in the north and south of Iran are engaged in fishing. The concern of using fresh seafood is a long-standing concern.

Mohammad Amin Garhami, a final year industrial design student of Tehran University International Campus Fish Island Startup It tries to solve some of these concerns:

How did the fish island startup start?

Mahi Jazire startup is the first marine products store in Kish Island and the first platform for selling marine products in Iran. At the beginning of our work, we did a needs assessment for a while; In some cases, we encountered gaps, for example, travelers who came to Kish Island, wanted to take the island’s marine products with them to their city, but this was not possible for them. On the other hand, the citizens of Kish were also unable to shop in person in a closed environment due to the spread of Corona. Most of the island’s fishermen also sell their products in the traditional way; Therefore, after identifying these needs, we turned the threat into an opportunity and launched the Mahi Jazeera startup. In this platform, fishermen and fishermen sell their products and use this platform to increase the sales of their products.

So fishermen directly interact with people. It is true?

The type of business of Mahi Island is b2b and also b2c; That is, on this platform, fishermen can sell their products directly to customers and distribute their products in Superprotein and various markets.

in part b2c How does the logistics system work?

Logistics in Kish Island is done by air-conditioned cars and in the cities of Tehran, Sari, Kerman, Shiraz, Mashhad and Isfahan by air express and airplane, and in this regard, if a customer registers his order before 12 noon In less than 8 hours, the product will be delivered.

Where did you meet the pass accelerator and what services did you receive from it?

Since I am a scuba diver and I do water sports, I was already interested in fishing and on the other hand, I was also a student at Tehran University and the professors were familiar with me. In the innovation and idea generation classes, I mentioned a number of problems and presented some ideas, at the same time I shared this idea with one of my professors and asked for guidance on how to implement my own business, he is the person who He was introduced as the executive director of the Kish Hastahadeh branch in Hastahadeh Gozr; Pass accelerator is the only specialized accelerator located in Kish Island Innovation Tower; It was interesting that Mr. Vehi also had similar ideas in this regard, and after processing the ideas, the island fish was formed. In February 2019, we signed a contract with the pass accelerator and received services such as mentoring, shared workspace, etc.; Of course, before the formation of mvp, we also passed the pre-acceleration courses of Pass Accelerator, which were a kind of seed investment, so we also got the initial funding from the accelerator, and we are currently based in the island.

During these 6 months of cooperation with Pass Accelerator, did you reach your desired sales capacity?

Almost until today, all the programs went according to our predictions. But a series of accelerator services change at certain times of the year. On the other hand, since no group had ever experienced this field of business on the island, we got the required information a little late; For example, we recently noticed that in the summer the supply and demand decreases and because of the warming weather, fishermen work less; Therefore, we faced a little delay in reaching the plans we had in mind, and by God’s hope, the final goal we have in mind will be achieved at the end of October.

How many members does the team include?

At first, I did the launch of the idea alone; The island fish was then grown with the help of accelerator advisors, and at the same time cofunders were added. The team members include 3 main people. The three co-founders of the CEO, which I am myself, Mr. Rabiei’s COO and Mr. Baufa’s CFO; And a CTO co-founder is going to join us as well.

How did you meet the team members?

I met the main co-founder of CO, Mr. Rabiei, at the Passage Accelerator; At first, we were just friends, but after a while we decided to help each other advance the project. The other co-founders were either friends or were introduced to us by their professors.

Have you ever needed to get permission from an organization?

The main license was the veterinary license and the customs license, and then the digital media license to get this material. In order to send marine products, we needed a health certificate. The first approval of all our products is given by the veterinarian located in the supply shops (fishers); After packing and processing the fish, the product must go to the veterinarian again and get a seal of approval, and after being vacuumed and sealed, customs approval is needed to send it from Kish Island and free zones to the mainland. We received all the permits and in It is currently being sent.

What is your marketing plan?

Our marketing method will definitely not be in the traditional way, and if we have to act in the traditional way, we will do a small part of the work in the traditional way; Because our slogan is that we are “up-to-date” and basically the reason for the formation of this team is to make up-to-date changes and be the flagship of the new generation. Most of the advertising that we do in the direction of branding is in the virtual space. The digital marketing team does CPA, CPI and CPC. We provided reports in line with digital marketing, and advertising on social media helped a lot in branding.

What are your plans for product development? Are you looking to attract capital?

It is definitely necessary to attract capital for growth, so attracting VC is a priority for us; Because if we want to be the flag bearer of this path, its processes such as collection and packaging will not be possible with personal expenses. Therefore, we will definitely attract capital in the near future for progress.

What was the biggest challenge you faced?

Since we are in Kish Island, there are many restrictions for us. including the lack of specialized manpower, equipment, etc., even if we want to print a business card, we have to order it from somewhere else, or we have to consult with specialists who are not in Kish in line with the issues related to the site. These challenges were big challenges that we solved by using accelerator consultants and their experience.
We had the most important challenge to solve the island’s restrictions; Another challenge was related to air logistics because food products spoil very quickly and usually airline cargoes did not accept this responsibility; Because the flights are usually delayed and the way to receive and distribute the cargo in the destination city was also a problem, but we solved the problems to some extent with the connections we had.

Did you receive support from other organizations except the Pass Accelerator?

There were definitely other organizations, such as the Kish Free Zone Organization and the Veterinary Organization, who supported us, but the most and most important support was through the accelerator, and the rest of the problems were solved by talking and communicating; In the section supporting another organization, change the last line with the following text;

But we need more support from Kish Free Zone Organization.

From What mentors did you use in the accelerator?

The main mentor that we had was Mr. Vehi, he is one of the most experienced people in the field of e-commerce market police, and the experiences he gave us made the path smoother for us. Other consultants such as Mr. Tokalipour and Mr. Danesh were also mentors who helped us to solve the challenges.

And I would like to thank Gozr Accelerator and Kish Free Zone Organization for the help they gave us in this way.