We’re thrilled to present the latest addition to Afluencer’s content lineup – our podcast series featuring insightful conversations with influential brand owners. In this inaugural article, we have the privilege of introducing Alex Buyanov, the visionary founder of IT Arti, as our esteemed guest.
Meet Alex Buyanov: The Mind Behind IT Arti
Alex Buyanov, the innovative mind driving IT Arti, takes center stage in the Afluencer podcast series. With a wealth of experience in the world of influencer marketing, Alex shares captivating insights, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped his brand’s journey.
Podcast Premiere: Delving into the IT Arti Universe
Join us in exploring the enchanting world of IT Arti through the eyes of Alex Buyanov himself. We’ve embedded the riveting YouTube podcast video below, offering an exclusive glimpse into the transformative power of influencer marketing.
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Transcription Insight: A Peek into the Conversation
Gain an insider’s perspective as we burrow into the transcription of our engaging conversation with Alex Buyanov. Discover the strategies, anecdotes, and wisdom that have fueled IT Arti’ success, all captured in this in-depth transcription.
In Conversation with Alex Buyanov, Founder of IT Arti:
Alex:
Basically I’m doing the e-commerce business over ten years, but mostly we were doing it in Eastern Europe. We came up with the idea that we can make a wooden puzzle and we can make a nap that can help to make any portrait. The problem is on this project because the market does not exist. We started with Google ads, Facebook and Instagram, but it costs too much.
We need bloggers for sure, so we just need lots of people to see. It takes you about 6 to 8 hours to make a street car portrait and it looks really amazing.
Brett:
Welcome to our Afluencer podcast. We’re all about collabs. We connect small brands up and coming businesses with influencers, creators, micro influencers. Today we have Alex joining us on the line. He’s the founder of I.T. Our team, which is the world’s first all inclusive do it yourself kit, creating a portrait and string art style from any photo. As Alex notes, less than 1% of us are creative and have the ability to do this on our own.
I am in that 99 plus percent with no artistic ability, so I’m looking forward to talking to Alex. And we also have some great opportunities here for our influencers who are our minded, great commission based.
Opportunity.
So Alex, welcome and can you share a little bit about your background and what inspired you to start it?
Alex:
Yeah, no hybrid thing here. So basically I’m, I’m doing e-commerce business over ten yearsold, but mostly we were doing it in Eastern Europe and I’m founder of it’s kind of big project. It’s cosmetics. So we’re still in now supplies around Eastern Europe. We’re doing all our $1 million CMOs. But and it’s not American marketing, you know, everything is much cheaper on the Eastern Europe.
So it’s kind of a big project. And so we also have our offline stores, which are also selling our now supply and are starting to be started. Think about it, probably like three years ago. So I was investing in one project and they were doing crafts from what they were doing, wouldn’t support and they weren’t doing very good.
So they had some problems with sales and we will start looking to okay, what else we can produce results, abilities and we came up with the idea that probably we can make at Basel wouldn’t Basel and we can make an app that can help to make any or any portrait. So the idea was we’re making a kit we put like seven different colors of wood and squares and we make in our app that can help to make construction.
So we didn’t just download any pictures and and gives you instruction. But there was a problem with those wooden puzzles because they were too expensive. We were using like very expensive kind of roots, like black white. And they really took the kit retail price for kits was extremely high, so you could understand this project. And after a while we just said, Ah, we are still looking into this idea of what we can produce.
Are. And we came up with the idea that you can do a street portrait. So how does it work? You Again, you just download your picture any photo to our app and it provides your instruction and you just pull the strings by the numbers that did the kids here and it takes about 6 to 8 hours to make a string cast portrait.
And it’s it looks really amazing just what people when they see it, they just sort impressed. But we also have like other kids, like painting kit Diamond kit, cross-stitch kit. We’re going to really zoom them in. Not so much so but was a problem is of this project because market is not does not exist so people don’t know about this product.
It’s not like when you sell it something people know you need to the people that they can do such thing. And it’s a little bit different from what I was doing before. I was usually doing e-commerce. It’s a known brand, so, you know, one product. So on here right now, we just started this and people said to us, so much for us market and we just started doing a couple of bites ago.
Brett:
So that’s very cool. It’s good and bad starting something new, right? Because you there’s no existing search volume, right? So you don’t go to Google and say, hey, these are the keywords were targeting because I imagine nobody’s looking for a string market, right?
Alex:
So you yeah.
Brett:
You ranked I imagine high, but there’s no volume. So you’re establishing the market. So you’re the leader in a market that’s not there yet. Right. So it’s up to you too. Is that very cool. Just kind of taken us through that process and it sounds like a good type of gift. Am I thinking through this right where if I need a Valentine’s Day, it just passes.
Maybe mother’s I got Mother’s Day coming up for the wife. That might be a cool type of gift where, you know, keep the kids busy for 6 to 8 hours or more. So that’s kind of a win win putting this together in terms of the string art. So is that how we’re we’re looking at it from literally any picture on my phone, I can grab download and then we’re recreating it with the string art.
Alex:
Yeah. And the most important, the kids are all included. So you got animals, snails, three and four. You don’t need to buy anything else. And both are excellent. And there are some projects that make it nearly the same, but you need to send them some picture before and then after that that they’ll send your customer kit. Our kit is customized, so you customize it by yourself when you when you get this kid and this gives you opportunity to gift it to somebody.
Because if you want a gift, it is somebody you don’t know what kind of picture she wants to create. So these are kids you can give it in person and decide by himself what kind of picture he’ll download to the app. Yeah, so like 80% of sales are probably will do as a gift.
Brett:
Yeah. I gotcha. That’s very cool. Do you have then all colors of string in there that they’re able to wear your photo?
Alex:
No. Right now it’s sort of the black and white.
Brett:
Okay. Gotcha. Oh, okay. So you do it from the shades and.
Alex:
Yeah, from shades.
Brett:
Different shades. Got it. Okay, cool. Yeah, I think that’s a big advantage versus have an upload it somewhere because these are personal photos. You feel a little weird sometimes just throwing them out there and then waiting for something in the mail. It’s nice to have that all inclusive on your side.
So what have you done so far.
In terms of I mean, is it very interesting marketing challenge in terms of creating the market? Essentially, what have you done here, especially in the US, in terms of reaching and potentially engaging the target audience?
Alex:
We started these Google ads with Facebook and Instagram, but it costs too much.
Brett:
Yeah, I think that’s the story of.
Alex:
Yeah.
Brett:
For sure. And then probably like you’re saying, I mean, Google. Well, I mean, Google was a good deal when I started using it like 20 years ago. Now it is not cheap, but also, I would imagine in your case, there’s no I mean, there are there is a volume on any of the keywords that you need or is that just not is anyone looking for string kits today?
They’re not too much, but.
Alex:
They’re looking for different type of string, same cars. You can try like gifts or people that are looking for you for gift, but the price is still a little bit too high. So we need bloggers for sure. So we just need lots of people to see it and they don’t buy it immediately. So if you would just find out about it today, maybe like in a few months you’ll start to think, okay, I need to.
If somebody like a birthday gift and I seem like a cool idea and before, like couple of months before. So it was interesting when you find out about the kid, the time when you decide to buy the buy it. I can do it if you’re a few months.
Brett:
Mm hmm. Yeah. Makes sense, right? It’s in your head. It’s in my head today. Right. And then Mother’s Day is coming up in a couple of months, right? Maybe a month and a half. Right. So that that kind of makes sense because you keep in your head and then you make the purchase. So if we think about it from a marketing, from an influencer marketing standpoint, then creators, right?
Perfect people to kind of get this in the hands of as they create the content, then I’m kind of thinking through it ideally would be maybe like a real where they’re going through and showing, Hey, here’s me creating this photo using the string. Our kid, the fair ideal partner standpoint.
Alex:
Mm hmm. Yeah, it’s actually a very interesting product for bloggers because most of the people likely to it’s not on and selected not all of it because of the result. Actually the process that takes about 6 to 8 hours. So you can split it like for a few days. It’s meditative and you’re just pulling the strings and you just meditate really slow.
So and there are you can make like a good or a really nice video for really nice content for your blog. But there is another problem. When you’re looking for a blogger, you actually can make like a great content, but you need to spend like six, eight, 8 hours to make this drink hard. And not everybody wants to make this like some people.
Yeah, or yeah, I would like to I would love to do this, but some bloggers said it will take so long to make it right.
Brett:
Yeah, makes sense. You want someone who wants to do this and I see in your collab, which I love to kind of dovetail into here for people who qualify, you’re sending them a free kit, which is very generous. It’s $149 value, so it feels like we we want people who want the kit because, yeah.
Alex:
I want to.
Brett:
Do the project. And then, oh, by the way, as you’re doing the project, then you’ve got the opportunity to make money because you’re offering commission as well.
Alex:
Mm hmm. Yeah. Nielsen Commission. Because if you start to prep or post, they’ll need to invest like lots of money into real retirement, maybe in a year or so. So that’s why they are right now, they’re looking for commission.
Brett:
Yeah, that makes sense.
So what types of influencers and.
Creators then are you thinking? I mean, it strikes me as a pretty broad range, right? Where we’re really since we’ve got all these gifting opportunities. And it’s I mean, there’s always gift season, right? Valentine’s Day earlier in the spring or your Mother’s Day coming out. We have Father’s Day coming up. It’s you take a calendar and see certain days.
I mean, there’s always opportunities for these types of gifts. So are there any.
Specific influencers and creators that we’re trying to reach here.
Alex:
Are actually for gifts? We don’t know yet what specific types of bloggers we need to use. We just trying different bloggers are. There is another part, which is the way, but and lots of bloggers out there like the way. But when you make collaboration with DIY bloggers, that’s mostly for people who want to buy it for themselves. So and our our main goal is a gift.
So it’s not so we can collaborate with DIY bloggers, but I don’t think it’s it’s our main goal. We are looking for bloggers of cool people of which to find something interesting, to find gifts. So you just Google for lifestyle right now. Yeah, that’s a specific.
Brett:
That makes a lot of sense. And one thing that we can do, we will get the link to your collab underneath with the podcast. Once we get a public, we’ll get all your commission stuff set up. I mean, one thing we can potentially do is either cycle it through all the gift season, so we’re to provide probably a mother’s Day focus next.
And then after Mother’s Day, flip it to Father’s Day so we can either do that with the same collab and just kind of changing the headline in the intro, or you can potentially create additional collabs and have a running in parallel if there’s gift overlap season. That’s a nice way to do it. Or you can say, Hey, Mother’s Day, you know, special gift string our kid.
I mean, it’s a it’s, it’s a home run for Mother’s Day and none of us husbands or dads ever know what you get. So this is kind of a land. Just need to get that out there. And then what? Father’s Day, Same thing, right? Father’s Day. Knowing you knows to get dads, because if they need something, they just go buy it themselves or they say they never need.
Yeah. So those are those are some great opportunities coming up from the.
Artwork side of things here. Alex Any opportunities to license the artwork for use.
You know, in terms.
Of these IDR kits or is they all custom photos today or is there an opportunity.
For artists and creatives potentially license their, their artwork for use in these kits?
Alex:
I didn’t get what you mean.
Brett:
Yeah. Are these photos that we’re doing in terms.
Of the kits where we’re going to send the kit and then we’re going to use one of our photos? Or is that essentially any photo we can pull, any Porter Yeah, any photo at all. So that’s a nice wide range, right? I don’t have to have the photo on my phone. Right. My Mother’s Day gift could be that we’re creating any photo, whatever the kids want.
Right? Or kits.
Alex:
Yeah. Yeah. It just I can show it to you.
Brett:
That would be awesome.
Alex:
So just give me a second. So you’ll see a preview of of the results if you get this Airstream casket and then you just press the play button and it dedicates to the number and color and you bobble the string.
Brett:
Yeah. Nice.
Alex:
Okay.
Brett:
Yeah.
Alex:
Very.
Brett:
Very cool. That’s awesome.
So anyone who wants to buy.
One right now as a gift, Alex, where can they find you? Online and on social media?
Alex:
All they can find on our website, also on Amazon.
Brett:
So to find these gifts are going to go to RTI. Dot I Oh and I’ve got the website up here.
These are very cool. I see what you’re seeing saying now. It’s in terms of the kind of grayscale these look lifelike in terms of their portraits and we’re going to flash the preview of of yours truly up here. So appreciate you putting that together.
Alex also on Instagram at a t, r t, and we’ll get the.
Collab posted here as well. So anyone interested in promoting i t r t these are some awesome. Yes. I mean this is a home run. I appreciate you taking care of my Mother’s Day. Shopping needs ahead of time here, so I’ll either get it from your website or Amazon. Whatever works best for you guys here. So I appreciate you joining us.
Alex, and looking forward to hosting your collab with us.
Alex:
Yeah, Yeah. Thank you very much.
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Reflecting on a Journey of Innovation and Influence
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