Ronify
A digital customer-tracking solution helping small businesses operate contact-free during COVID-19
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Introduction
COVID-19 dramatically impacted all industries, but it disproportionately affected small business without the resources to stay afloat during the pandemic. As a restaurant owner, my father experienced these struggles first-hand.
Over the summer of 2020, my brother and I set out to define, design, and build a solution to one of these problems: Ronify.
The Problem
During COVID-19, the government of Ontario required every small business to track their customers. Each customer must provide their personal information (ie. name, phone number, email, etc.), so they could be alerted if an outbreak were to occur at the business. This was typically done using pen and paper.
Customer perspective:
- Uncomfortable and unsafe due to shared physical resources (pen, paper)
- More human interactions increased virus spreading risk
Business owner perspective:
- Tedious to maintain large stacks of papers with customer information
- Difficult to search through hundreds of pages during outbreaks
- Risk of missing pages or unrecognizable handwriting
It was super useful to communicate with my father and his business partners to get feedback and a better understanding of the problem.
Our Solution
Ronify is a digital customer-tracking solution that works in three simple steps:
Business Setup: Business owner creates an account and configures their business
- Ronify generates a unique QR code that directs to a custom form
- Form asks for personal information specified by the business
Customer Check-in: Business owner prints the QR code and displays it at their entrance
- Customers scan and fill out the form independently
- No physical contact or shared resources needed
Contact Tracking: Business owner can now track customer information contact-free
- All data stored securely in one online location
- Easy to search and contact when needed
Impact & Recognition
While the urgent need for Ronify has decreased, it served as a valuable tool for several small business owners in our neighbourhood during the height of COVID-19. The project has been recognized with several awards:
- Concept by Velocity - Semi-finalist
- Randy Bauslaugh Entrepreneurship Award - Winner
Key Learnings
This project provided valuable experience in:
- Product Design: Creating wireframes and user flows with Figma
- Full-Stack Development: Building web applications with Python (Flask) and MySQL
- Problem-Solving: Identifying real-world problems and creating practical solutions
- User Research: Gathering feedback from actual users (my father and his business partners)