Lease-X/Luzul: David Uy
David Uy wants to revolutionize Internet searching. The 29-year-old Calgarian dresses in a suit, wears a diamond stud in his left ear and has a killer idea he thinks will reshape the net. Uy’s web application, Luzul, is an opinion-driven search engine that lets people peruse the web according to what others think is popular. “We’re not trying to compete with Google or Yahoo. They’ve mastered keyword searching,” he says, the “we” referring to his biz partners, brothers Gary and Owen Ma. “But there’s a missing hole with algorithmic search right now that can only be filled by human contribution.”
One of the first steps for Luzul, still in its implementation stage, is to have an icon that sits on a browser’s toolbar which lets users rate websites from one to 10 while surfing. The aggregate information is added to a database that can be used to search according to what others think is a decent site. “If you look up ‘art’ on a keyword driven search engine you won’t be able to find anything except for how many times ‘art’ appears in that web content,” Uy says. Luzul will tell you what others say is a good art site.
While obvious pitfalls exist, such as spam-like attacks where people manipulate website rankings, Uy has already come up with a propriety process to prevent search manipulation based on the eBay model, and he plans to launch Luzul off Facebook, to leverage the social networking site’s existing user base. “It will be the first real application to launch itself off Facebook,” he says.
If it sounds like Uy knows what he’s talking about, he does. The Internet addict, who spends 18 hours a day on his laptop, is already on his second business. In May 2006, along with the Ma brothers, he launched Lease-X, a matchmaking service that lets people unload and acquire each other’s car leases. Uy was kind enough to pass along some tips.
01. Plan Ahead
Spend about half your startup energy on a business plan, and get it reviewed by people you consider successful. “To make sure it flies you really need to open yourself up to criticism.”
02. Accept Risk
If you’re not prepared to, stop right now. A startup sucks up time and can be taxing on your personal relationships and finances. Be ready.
03. Learn Fast
“I can’t say start with A, then move onto B, and everything will be OK,” Uy says. No one ever feels like they know enough when they start. The best you can hope for is to learn quickly and to be flexible.
04. Monetize ASAP
You need to make money. For a retail site, that’s easy: sell things. Search engines and social networking sites have to be more creative. One of Uy’s ideas for Luzul is to collect statistics about what people think is a good site and sell those stats to companies seeking to improve their web content.
Category: Entrepreneurship, Profiles, Work
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