Our Journey

Over the last fourteen years we have build for ourselves a reasonably successful real estate photography business that we’ve called REpics. Working with numerous real estate agencies, we have been averaging 120 shoots per month. Which is not too bad for a business that runs from one camera bag and a couple of laptops.

The nature of our business means that we work with repeat clients. Where at times the same client would book with us 5 to 10 times a month.

At the beginning we would handle the booking process the conventional way; booking, rescheduling and cancelling via phone calls, messages and emails. It was frustrating, it interrupted the flow of shoots and required so much attention. It didn’t make any sense to work that way. Neither for us or our clients.

We tried a few of the available options, but we wanted specific customisation to suit our requirements. So as a side project, we created Avie. Mainly for our use, but the way the app structure and design developed, it turned into a platform where anyone can set up a profile for their own business and connect with their own clients. And that is completely independent of our operations. Being freely available, a few of our friends in the industry got onboard and are using it as well.

Avie has come a long way since it was launched in late 2019. Handling thousands of bookings in that time. This meant that any bugs that came up were fixed and many design and functionality updates were added.

Our Philosophy

There is a scene in SpongeBob Square Pants where Plankton screams at SpongeBob: “I’m busy planning to rule the world!” And SpongeBob replies: “Well good luck with that.” And continues on his way.
We are a bit like SpongeBob. Not at all interest in ruling anything. Just want to live a fulfilling and useful life. We can’t see ourselves owning or running a multinational, ASX listed mega company. It’s the simple life we seek.

The level of success we have achieved in our business has given us the means to fulfil our needs and most of our wants. And as we get older and wiser, we’re realising that we don’t really want too much more.

Seeing how well Avie has worked for us and our friends, we have toyed with the idea of scaling it into a major business venture. But we’ve always had trouble putting together a business model that would align with our values and beliefs.

The one and only meeting we had with a venture capitalist was an absolute turn off. It concentrated on how quickly it could be scaled up, and what the exit strategy would be. Right there and then it was clear that it would not be the path we would take.

We have always admired people who build and run social enterprises. We appreciate the effort that it takes to build a fully functioning business. So the people who go to all that trouble, yet their measure of success not being their own financial gains but the assistance they provide to others, deserve our respect. They are the ones keeping the world from falling into complete capitalist chaos. A quick investigation into the world of social enterprises and you would be surprised at how many there actually are.

With this in mind, we considered turning Avie into a social enterprise. But it was not workable as it did not directly serve any social purpose. But we still wanted to build something that would bring people together and have a level of social value. So after much reflection and discussions with some very helpful people we have reached a clear vision of exactly what we want to build.

Our Vision

To develop Avie into a comprehensive tool for micro and small service based businesses. Powered and supported by its community of users; always remaining free of charge for those who need it to be so, and with an optional subscription for those who want to pay it forward.

We have set the ball rolling by funding Avie’s development and running costs. But as the community grows, we are optimistic that these costs will be covered by those who share our ideals.