A developer from Turkmenistan created a real estate search application called SatJay

In the previous issue, we told the story of Bakhtiyar Mamedov, founder of TakykAI, who creates AI solutions for the Turkmen language.

Selim Annabaev, founder of SatJay

Since childhood, I have been interested in computers and programming. The idea for SatJay came to me while I was looking for housing in Malaysia. At that time, I wondered how much more convenient it would be to search for real estate in Turkmenistan if there were a single service where you could find all the necessary options in one place. That's how the idea for my own project was born.

When I joined the Startup Academy program, the initial concept was slightly different — I wanted to create a real estate aggregator. But during the process of working on the project, the idea gradually transformed into SatJay.

Now it is an application that combines rental and sale of real estate, as well as related services — interior design, renovation, furniture, and realtor services. I wanted to create not just a platform with listings, but a service that addresses various needs of a person when searching for or selling housing.

Startup Launch

After the soft launch, in the first week we received more than 100 registered users, and retention exceeded 40%. I think this was influenced by the fact that we added various engagement mechanics: news, recommendations, personalization, and thematic collections.

Development took about two years, and during this time, of course, there were periods of burnout and moments when I wanted to give up everything. But I was continuously supported by my belief in the idea and the support of my loved ones. At some point, you realize that if you believe in the product, you are ready to continue even when it becomes difficult.

What's Next

Currently, SatJay is just beginning its journey after the soft launch. For me, the next important stage is to understand how much the product is needed by the market, which features users use most often, and what needs to be improved.

I believe that one of the main indicators of product demand is whether users return. Registrations and initial downloads are important, but it is much more important to see real, recurring demand.