Founder Focus: Q&A with Marvin Harris…Meet Ovalz
SP: Tell us about the business name, Ovalz - how did you decide on it?
MH: When the company first started, we were focused on building various "ovals," circles, or business networks and pulling them together to help small businesses reach and maximize their fullest potential; hence the name. “Mathematically, the Z stands for infinite possibilities. We’re bringing that to businesses in a way that promotes growth, while challenging the trillion-dollar industry of inventory stock errors.”
SP: Growing small businesses face so many daily challenges. Why did you choose to focus on fixing inventory issues, above all else?
MH: Ovalz has a mission to alleviate inventory stock-out. Fluctuations in online purchases can lead to under or over stocking, creating scenarios where a customer completes a purchase then receives a cancellation after the fact. The business may lose that sale, the customer then buys elsewhere; thus, impacting loyalty and delivery of brand service promises. Ovalz is a web-based application that integrates with other platforms like Shopify to help retail e-commerce store owners in the food & beverage industry save time finding stock errors so they know what they have on hand, how much, when and where. “Small businesses must prepare for the future of commerce; every business must see themselves in the e-commerce business in order to grow. Adopting new business models and running smarter can help us create 1 million stronger small businesses.” This information and other insightful data allow owners to bring hidden data to the forefront to increase sales. One example is retailers starting to measure business by fulfillment instead of revenue per square foot to understand product performance by channel when compared to other sales channels; i.e., customer conversion rates using Etsy versus Amazon versus direct website purchases, versus in-person or in-store pickup.
SP: Speaking of Amazon, Ovalz was recently accepted into their AWS Amazon Program! What are you looking forward to most about the Amazon Activate program?
MH: With these initiatives, we will have the ability to accelerate R&D leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning predictions for customers facing new business models.
SP: We've watched e-commerce evolve drastically over the last decade with drop-shipment, same day deliveries, etc. How does the Ovalz team stay informed and updated with the constant industry shifts and where does research show us heading?
MH: Covid-19 has accelerated e-commerce growth by 6 to 10 years. E-commerce is currently only 14% of total retail sales, growing from 11.5% in December 2019, so a lot of growth potential remains. E-commerce sales are likely to increase by about 7%, (reaching 21%) in total retail sales by September 2021. A few other points of the future evolution in e-commerce wil be drop-shipping, with an expected 500% increase by the year 2025; and home food delivery which is expected to be at $300 billion by the year 2030.
The Last Word
A few other noteworthy accelerators who also recently welcomed Ovalz into the fold are We Work Labs with their Black Founder Accelerator, YCombinator’s Start Up School, 1863 Ventures, and Opportunity Hub as well as the University of Maryland’s Discovery District! Marvin and the Ovalz team are thrilled to be part of these programs that provide technical support, resources & credits to help facilitate a successful acceleration using technology.
To learn more about Ovalz visit www.ovalz.io or subscribe to Marvin's podcast 1Mstrong, available wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also reach Marvin on social via LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.
Get More Information
👉🏿 Sign up to join our community and to learn more about our legal services visit www.precipiceip.com/purchase. Precipice provides intellectual property legal services to science and technology startups.
Sierra Polk is the Chief of Engagement at PRECIPICE. Sierra has extensive expertise is marketing, social media engagement, entrepreneurship, and social justice initiatives.
Angela Grayson, CIPP/US, CLP is an author, speaker, and lawyer. She is the Principal and Founder of Precipice IP, PLLC. Angela is a patent, trademark, copyright, and technology law attorney with almost 20 years of experience helping science and technology companies protect products, brands, designs, and data from idea to launch.