With new ideas being created and digitalization reaching a new level, we have immersed ourselves in the online world. In addition, we also look forward to finding innovative solutions in terms of daily life. We interviewed Nayef Hamarsheh, the Founder of Aesgas Smart Solutions. He developed an extraordinary system that can help monitor gas and water meters easily, enhancing how we read meter consumption.
Let’s learn about Nayef’s journey and how his idea came into existence through this interview below.
The Major Idea
Could you please explain the idea behind your company?
Nayef said, “Our company focuses on smart telemetry, where we measure gas and water consumption. This is the major idea of our business. We are the first in the region to apply a completely digitized billing system for gas. From the installation of the gas meters to the tenant’s consumption, we read the consumptions daily. Then we send the month’s bill electronically through a payment gateway. As a result, we have a paperless system aligning with the current digitalization trends.”
Starting It All
Could you please tell me a bit about your career journey?
“I am a computer science engineer and graduated in 1995 from Jordan. During my graduate studies, I used to work as a junior programmer in multiple companies. I also used to do programs on my own. Hence, my career journey commenced even before I graduated.
After working as a programmer, an idea hit me, and I started my own business. I started gathering information about the gas systems and telemetry. My major audience is the gas companies in Jordan. Hence, I sell solutions to them. I also sell hardware which are smart meters with a full system.” He replies.
When we asked Nayef to share his advice with beginners, he replied, “If you have an idea, you need to stick with it. Don’t let it get away. When I got my business idea, I encountered several obstacles along the way. How to make the system? How to begin? How to build it and start running? These are some concerns when starting out on an idea. I travelled to China 5 times when I developed this idea. I even cooperated with a large metering company. I met them several times, and we introduced all the ideas. And now, here I am, with a complete product and running 4,000 meters here in Jordan.”
Developing The Idea
You just mentioned that you went to China five times while developing this idea. So what was your experience there?
“I didn’t have any experience in the gas system. Hence, asking the experts about what to consider seemed a good idea. So, I linked to it. I am actually residing in a building where the gas company comes every month, and they read the meter manually.
Manually reading the meter consumption may also come with human errors. So, there’s always a debate in our minds about whether we consume this much gas. That’s how I started to think of ways to implement my idea, where people can monitor their gas consumption regularly. They can even control it by using a mobile app. People can set how much gas they want to consume on the app, and the system will give alerts if they exceed the limit. I wrote down these ideas and started consulting gas users if they were facing issues with reading gas consumption.
So, I went to China for the first time in 2018 and subsequently flew three times a year. Then we started building the system, and in 2019, we finished and launched it to the public on the cloud. After testing for 3 months, the system was up and running smoothly and helped us measure everything daily.
During the pandemic, people were sitting at home and weren’t allowed to go outside. So, I managed everything from my home as my system is on the cloud. We even have an accountant who is sitting at home, making payments, registering on the cloud, etc. I am cutting down costs in a big way and maximizing the results by running everything remotely.” Nayef shares.
Technology-Based Business
We also asked, “What are your views on technology? Is it helping your company grow?”
“Technology is excellent. Everything is based on technology, from preparing the payment gateway to monitoring consumption and getting reports. It helps me monitor all the payments. Everything goes in a full cycle – from the consumption to the tank level management and payment management.” he responds.
We further wanted to know what Nayef aims to achieve in the future. So we asked him about his goals. With that, he answers:
“When my idea for the system of monitoring gas consumption succeeded, I decided to do water telemetry as well. Later on, I introduced the smart pre-paid system. Normally, people have to visit the gas office and pay for their meter recharge by swiping their card. However, through this system, they can just recharge their meter online anytime. I want to convert all such processes into online modes. In addition, I am also trying to expand in the region. I even found some clients in Iraq and am planning to expand into the Saudi, Egypt and North African markets as well.”
Passion For The System
We noticed that Nayef has started a very unique and valuable system, so we asked him, “What’s your opinion on your system’s success?”
“What made my system successful actually is the passion and patience behind it. In addition, the customers always need pushback from the market. Why should we make a change to our systems? We have people go and read the meter in a timely manner. You do it on a manual basis, but what happens if there is heavy rain or snow and you cannot reach the building? You cannot reach the meters at that time. What happens? Okay, I’ll read it after five days. Then you’ll lose five days. Second question, do you know what I also do with this solution? I can disconnect the service remotely while I’m sitting in the office.
My provisions are only seven days a month. In contrast, other companies have provisions of almost six months because they’ll find it very hard to go and physically dismantle the meter. If the customer does not, you have to actually send a team and technician to dismantle it and put it back. It’ll take them around 2-3 days for the reinstallation. While in my situation, it takes only an hour for the service.
In addition, you have to work on the provisions of your collections. I even send my bill exactly at the end of the month. And by the first day of the month, I start collecting payments from the customers.
While doing all these business processes, what keeps you moving forward even during challenges?
Convincing the customers was the most challenging part. I tried convincing them in multiple ways by describing multiple scenarios to them. In addition, I had to invest a lot at the beginning to stabilize the software and the system. Further, I even installed the solution for around six months for a customer. I wanted him to believe that this system was worth using. After a while, he was convinced since he was running this system on a parallel basis with the manual system, and he found that he could actually cut the cost and maximize profits while moving to the digital solution. The first order he gave me was 1000 meters.” he says.
Digitalization & Uniqueness
You have talked about digitalization as well. So how are you adapting to it?
“I have everything digitized. I have a smart home with smart devices, and I even drive a Tesla, which is connected to my mobile. From my home to my car and work, I monitor everything digitally.”
Do you use any innovative ideas to be unique?
“The unique ideas that I’m introducing to the market. It’s not only digital but also touches the daily life of customers. For example, last year, there was actually heavy snow, and people were suffering because we used to depend on people in that building to go and measure the tank of the building and to submit it to the company. This year, actually, we overcame this obstacle. We even introduced smart gauges on the tank itself, which enables us to monitor the tank itself. It can tell how much the tank has got when it’ll be finished, so people will be able to request gas filling when they see that the tank is empty.”
Lastly, we asked, “Could you give us a brief about your services and your upcoming plans?”
“The upcoming plan is, as I told you, that after succeeding in the gas system in Jordan in a smart way and expanding to other regions,” concludes Nayef.
Connect with Nayef Hamarsheh on LinkedIn
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