In an interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Iryna Andriushchenko, Co-Founder of Handy.ai Inc., shared her journey from a high-ranking position at a major Ukrainian media company to pioneering the tech startup world. Her decision to launch Handy.ai was driven by the transformative potential of Generative AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to enhance operational efficiency in non-tech industries. Handy.ai stands out for its commitment to “ethical AI,” focusing on augmenting rather than replacing human efforts. The platform provides comprehensive AI-driven solutions that simplify business operations and integrate various corporate functions, ensuring ethical application of technology in every facet of business.
In co-founding Handy.ai, Iryna Andriushchenko is helping revolutionize the service industry via AI-driven business apps that can be used to simplify operations and integrate communications. The platform can be used to create service apps available 24/7 on any platform, in any language, via text, audio or video.
Iryna left her job as chief development officer at a major Ukrainian media company to start Handy.ai in Ukraine in 2019. When the war broke out, she relocated her business to Canada in 2022 and brought Handy.ai to influential incubator DMZ. Together with a team of like-minded professionals, she works on creating AI companions for businesses that enhance the client experience. She has also partnered with the University of Waterloo to evolve the platform further through research and development.
With almost 30 years of business experience, Iryna Is a program ambassador and mentor for Ukrainian start-ups at the Female Founders Fundraising Academy by Huge Thing. She was also recognized as a finalist at the Annual Women in Data Science Conference in Toronto and in the DMZ Women Innovation Summit.
To expand the company further into North America, Iryna and her team are embarking on their first major funding round this year with a goal to raise $750,000 to $1 million. Based on her own experiences so far, she says there are ways to enhance the support ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in Canada. These include developing an online, public education program listing funds and groups that invest in every stage of business development, as well as offering a user-friendly grant navigator tailored for women so they can identify suitable grants and know where to seek advice in completing the application process. Iryna also suggests assigning a mentor or “investment nanny” to women founders selected through competitions to provide guidance in funding options.
Before founding Handy.ai, you transitioned from being the chief development officer at a major Ukrainian media company. What motivated you to leave your position and enter the tech startup world with Handy.ai?
More than 20 years of my professional experience comes from working in the field of media and communications, including Starlight Media, the largest media company of Ukraine, where I headed digital development and innovation implementation. It was there that I realized the potential technology has in affecting and improving our communication. Also, I might not sound humble but I always had the ability to lead people, so becoming a co-founder of a startup was something really natural to me.
That’s how Volodymyr Demianenko and I created Handy.ai, a tool that enhances the operational efficiency of non-tech businesses with a use of GenAI and Handy.ai technology. To make the integration process easier for our clients, the next step in our strategy is to launch Handy.ai Creator Studio, which will allow us to reach out to more businesses and, as an outcome, more final users, and assist in building meaningful partnerships with system integrators and digital agencies.
Our approach is unique in that we focus on “ethical AI” that complements and supports people rather than replacing them. Handy.ai combines advanced AI capabilities and traditional automation, providing a comprehensive solution suitable for most types of businesses and partners. By using GenAI such as ChatGPT responsibly and sparingly, we are able to keep the costs low, which helps us work with small and medium-sized businesses, as well as larger enterprises.
Handy.ai focuses on AI-driven business apps that simplify operations and integrate communications. Can you describe a specific challenge in the service industry that your platform addresses and how it enhances the client experience?
Yes, simplifying the business operations is our main goal. Handy.ai comes up with AI Assistants that act as multirole super-smart human-like assets to service business. Considering, that GenAI develops with the enormous speed, its combination with automation and Handy.ai technology has a potential of revolutionizing the business environment for our clients. For example, our latest inspiration is GPT4o, that simulates emotions! Since everyone is concerned that AI doesn’t have a human touch – so important in service specifically – well, it has from now!
Let’s imagine you’re a hotel owner and have Handy.ai Concierge – your guests can call and chat with it, it can make jokes, or be pompous, or even cry when your guests check-out! All specters of emotions customized specifically for your needs. And the response time will be less than a second, so it’ll be super convenient interacting with it.
However, to work efficiently with the use of AI the business requires the whole ecosystem that would connect all the elements of your operations. This includes all knowledge sources, software, workforce, and business processes. That’s what our platform does, putting AI to actually work for you.
AI is set to handle 95% of customer interactions by 2025, yet without a platform like Handy.ai, which seamlessly integrates third-party AI capabilities (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI) with internal processes and software, small and medium businesses can’t fully benefit from AI. Our platform bridges this gap, making powerful AI tools accessible and actionable. We address these challenges by seamlessly integrating various automation systems, chatbots, AI, CRM, and human resources into one unified platform. This approach eliminates the need for manual processes and enhances customer satisfaction at the same time. By leveraging a combination of AI and human efficiency, our AI-driven processes optimize costs while delivering effective results.
Here’s another case: low-cost airlines, where booking tickets is not only cheaper but also simpler, translating into a superior customer experience with significant operational cost savings. Handy.ai mirrors this efficiency by combining generative AI with robust process automation. We enable service businesses to scale their customer satisfaction and capacity exponentially while drastically reducing operational costs. Our platform empowers businesses to seamlessly integrate state-of-the-art AI, enhancing both workforce support and operational automation within a single product
After relocating Handy.ai to Canada in the wake of the war in Ukraine, what were the key steps you took to integrate and grow your business in a new country? How has being part of the DMZ accelerator impacted your company’s development?
When the war started, we made a decision to relocate to North America, anticipating that most clients would come from there. The choice was between Canada and the United States, based on available support systems. Collision 2022 became a turning point. There, Canada emerged as a human-centric epicenter for “ethical” AI innovation, offering a strong AI community aligned with our focus on ethically responsible AI.
As Ukrainian delegates, we met incredible individuals from Toronto Global and accelerators who recognized Handy.ai’s potential in Canada. They offered invaluable guidance in establishing our business here. Hence, we moved our co-founders and business corporation to Toronto and started building a sales and marketing team here in Canada, focusing on the North American Market.
Joining the DMZ helped us focus on the business operations without worrying about publicity and network growth, as they provided the all necessary systems and experts to help us grow, including an office space that facilitated interactions with other startups and their expert networks.
You’ve mentioned the need for a better support ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in Canada. What changes would you like to see implemented that could make a significant difference for women starting and scaling businesses?
The Canadian environment is generally supportive of female entrepreneurs, with DMZ being particularly instrumental in promoting our growth. However, there is always room for improvement. Initiatives such as mentorship programs specifically designed for women in tech could be highly beneficial.
Currently, there are several effective but distinct programs available to women, including grants, investors, educational programs, pitch competitions, procurement opportunities, and media outlets that highlight female founders. However, as a female entrepreneur, there is no single, comprehensive resource that can assist in accelerating your growth and identifying available opportunities. Balancing participation in all these programs with other business processes can be challenging for female entrepreneurs.
To address this, a “guide” or “AI Assistant” could be created to assist women in navigating these various systems, especially for those who are just starting out. Such a program would combine all these separate resources into one streamlined platform. This might sound ambitious but I am confident Handy.ai can handle this mission – by utilizing automation and newest GenAI innovations. I personally wouldn’t say no to such AI assistant!
As Handy.ai embarks on its first major funding round in North America, what are your strategies for attracting investors, and how do you plan to utilize these funds to scale your operations?
Our plan is to commence the round in Fall 2024, in order to alight with the launch of Creator Studio, which will provide a highly functional space that is easy to use. This platform will enable us to collaborate with partners such as web studios, digital agencies, and CRM partners, aiding in the promotion of our product. This partnership strategy will enhance their service offerings through the combination of our services and their skills.
We are committed to simplifying the implementation process for our clients, but expert assistance is still required to integrate our software into clients’ processes. While we strive to make it user-friendly, it’s not as straightforward as Gmail.
The funds raised will be allocated to marketing and sales initiatives, creating a cohesive marketing strategy to scale our startup. Additionally, we aim to enhance our no-touch platform and AI integrations. A significant portion of the funds will be directed towards marketing the service and educating our clients and partners in North America, as well as facilitating partnerships.
