AI Lab — a startup that enhances business efficiency through AI

Artem Panferov, city — Tashkent, serial entrepreneur, senior business analyst, AI expert, @laptyspuch

Pavel Panferov, city — Tashkent, serial entrepreneur, business analyst, @pasha.pek

Anastasia Markova, city — Tashkent, Founder and Creative Director of EndCode and AI LAB, @anst.mark  

About Us

Artem. My experience is related to the automation of mobile applications. I started my career at DNS, the largest network of digital home appliances in Russia. I progressed from a salesperson to deputy manager, and then to product manager. I led the "Store of the Future" project, developed a mobile application for employees, and a cloud-based task management system.

After DNS, I worked at "Azbuka Vkusa" and Ozon, focusing on optimizing business processes. In 2022, I moved to Tashkent, where I launched a mobile application development studio with a focus on AI.

Anastasia. For the past six years, I have been managing creative teams, working in marketing agencies, the HoReCa sector, and startups. In our company, I am responsible for design, production, and marketing.

Our team is a family business: Artem and I are married. Pavel, Artem's brother, headed the sales department at TTK, a major Russian internet provider network. He had experience in internet communications and worked briefly as a business analyst at the startup "Locker Post." After moving to Tashkent, we launched a studio specializing in Low-code, using frameworks like Flutterflow, within a few months. We became one of the first official experts in the CIS in this area and continue to develop it. Family ties help us work efficiently and create high-quality products.

How It All Started

Artem. We have two businesses: EndCode Studio, which develops mobile applications, and AI LAB, a business process laboratory. The idea for EndCode Studio emerged after moving to Tashkent, when Artem and the team researched available tools to implement ideas. I came across FlutterFlow, a Low-code builder for creating mobile applications, which significantly simplifies the process. Understanding its potential, we began developing the studio and training the team.

Initially, we took on any projects to build a portfolio and gain experience. Partnerships with other teams helped us understand client needs and accelerate development. Gradually, we began focusing on AI and neural networks, which became the foundation for creating AI LAB.

The Team

Anastasia. Our team includes not only employees from Uzbekistan. There is a part of the team that remains in Russia, as well as relocators from different parts of the world. We have formed an international team, and we collaborate with office residents from various companies in Uzbekistan.

Artem. At the start, the most important criterion for us was enthusiasm. We started with a Low-code builder, but at that time, there were practically no training courses or even useful videos on YouTube. The only source of information was the documentation of the service itself, which was actively developing at the time. Our idea was that anyone could be taught visual programming, and this concept continues to take root in our company, especially with the advent of neural networks that allow delegating code and function writing.

In the early stages, when we did not have significant resources, we looked for interested people who understood that they wanted to learn something new and were willing to dedicate time to it. We valued the skills of fast and active learning, immersion in a new environment, and the ability to adapt to it.

Challenges

Artem. At the start, it was difficult to find quality clients with adequate budgets and a correct understanding of development costs. We took on projects in unfamiliar areas, encountering unexpected difficulties and solving problems on the fly. There were also classic problems: tense relationships with clients, cases where they refused to pay. But we always continued to move forward, understanding that problems are inevitable and we need to learn from them.

The most valuable experience was the case of inviting a new employee to the startup as CEO. At that time, we did not formalize the agreement, and as a result, the cooperation was terminated unilaterally. This taught me the necessity of legally documenting agreements, despite verbal promises.

Artem. Looking back on three years of entrepreneurship, I want to emphasize one thing: do not be afraid. Fear consumes many resources and brings little benefit. Go where it is scary and unclear, and decide on further steps on the spot.

Do not be afraid to start something new, constantly learn, try different approaches, and experiment. Be persistent, like samurai, and follow your path. If you do not be afraid and continue to move forward, you will definitely achieve something significant.

Anastasia. "Fear stops action" — these words became our motto.

Target Audience

Artem. The target audience of AI Lab is medium and large enterprises. Implementing neural networks allows significantly reducing employees' work time. For small businesses, such time savings may not always be effectively converted into real money. In contrast, large companies can use the freed-up time to increase employee productivity or in other ways, allowing them to directly convert saved resources into monetary benefits.

Additionally, implementing specific tools often requires significant financial investments. Small and medium-sized businesses may not always be able to afford such costs for quality process improvement, although the cost of technologies has decreased significantly in recent years. Large companies, on the other hand, can implement specific solutions, allowing them to significantly reduce expenses.

Anastasia. Artem is an active participant in the PRO Business club, where he speaks on topics related to neural networks and business optimization. He trains entrepreneurs as part of his participation in the club and actively communicates with them. Thanks to this interaction, Artem conducts analysis of the live target audience, which allows us to form and adapt our range of services based on feedback from the community we communicate with in Tashkent and, partially, in Russia. We build our vision based on real cases and the needs of people we work with.

In EndCode, we have implemented more than 50 projects in two years. AI Lab has been around for about a year, with approximately 20 cases. The portfolio includes both small projects, such as chatbots and analytics, and large projects with major companies.

Artem. In the first year of AI Lab's operation, we were looking not for specific clients, but for people willing to experiment. Our laboratory nature reflects the desire to explore the potential of artificial intelligence technologies for optimizing business processes. We focused on creating non-standard products based on client expertise and our AI competencies.

An example is the collaboration with a legal company, where we developed a chatbot for interviewing employees, identifying problems in processes. This led to 11 new projects, including an AI archivist for automatic mail distribution. Our solution speeds up the process, saves resources, and provides transparency for management.

Anastasia. Artificial intelligence and neural networks are already widely used in everyday life, but in business, they are just beginning to gain popularity. Many entrepreneurs are hesitant due to lack of knowledge and insufficient readiness.

We believe in the future of neural networks, viewing them not as competitors to humans, but as an exoskeleton for the brain, enhancing our abilities, like JARVIS for Tony Stark. We strive to develop this idea among entrepreneurs. In the next one to three years, we expect an increase in interest in neural networks and their mass implementation in the market.

Incubation Programs

Artem. We did not participate in acceleration, but we submitted an application for a program for startups in Central Asia with a project based on Nyro, being developed within AI Lab. The program is scheduled to start in early November, and we have good chances of getting in.

We also submitted a second project for acceleration, in which we act as developers for a team of entrepreneurs from various projects.

Anastasia. For the past two and a half years, we have focused on building a foundation. As part of the Nyro project, we became finalists in a competition held at ICTWEEK. Out of 73 applications, we entered the top 4. One of the jury members at Speed Dating shared insider information that we were separated from third place by only half a point. However, the top three places were truly deserved. We are confident that we have many victories ahead and we will definitely reach that.

Artem. We invested everything we earned from EndCode in the first year and a half into launching AI Lab. Currently, AI Lab operates on its own funds and develops by serving clients.

After moving from Russia, we did not have significant capital, so we started all our businesses with our own funds. Each of them had to reach break-even from the first month of operation. We view this experience positively, as the ability to create a business that starts earning immediately is an important skill that can only be developed this way. At the beginning, we thought about seeking investments and developing along the traditional path, but we stopped at a stricter approach. We realized that the ability to effectively spend other people's money is a skill that is not always useful. It is much more important to learn to create a company that generates profit, and we put ourselves in conditions that force us to constantly learn and develop this skill.

Achievements

Artem. We actively collaborate with the leading university in the IT field — ZeroCoder. They recently invited our co-founder Pavel to record a course on FlutterFlow.

We also participated in several hackathons, where we took prize places. In addition, we received the status of FlutterFlow experts, becoming one of the first in the CIS with such credentials.

Plans

Anastasia. We continue active collaboration with three major projects that will become our main ones. We also collaborate with IT Park Uzbekistan, with which we have implemented many projects in the last two years. In 2022, we held a joint event on investments in Uzbekistan, which was initially planned for 50 participants but attracted almost 200 people. Now we are discussing new directions for optimization and are confident in further strengthening our cooperation.

Artem. We are looking for business angel investments for the Nyro project. In July, we focused on this product, but later realized that more resources are needed to start a startup, so we temporarily froze the project and returned to serving clients. Now we have a ready MVP, concept, and calculations. After receiving investments, we will allocate a team in AI Lab to develop Nyro.