Gandal Foglia

About

I'm studying management at HEC Lausanne — third year, focused on digital business and marketing. Before that I spent a year studying computer science at EPFL.

I'm curious about what happens at the intersection of business strategy, design, and technology — not in a broad abstract way, but concretely: why do some products work and others don't, what makes people actually use something, what breaks when you try to scale it. I've been building projects for a few years now. Most of them are archived. That's the point.

This site isn't a portfolio. It's a record — what I built, what I learned, what I'd do differently.

Projects

I built this digital loyalty app to replace paper punch cards for local cafés and restaurants. Despite initial interest and even an App Store and Google Play release, merchant acquisition proved much harder than expected. Interestingly, a user created an account on the platform one day before filing a trademark for the identical name, later using this to send a complaint through Apple Legal forcing me to remove the app.

* The original name has been redacted due to a trademark claim filed after the app's release.

Challenges

Complexity of multi-platform management Maintaining consistency across web, iOS and Android became a significant technical challenge. Each platform required different solutions and deployment processes.
Couldn't reach critical mass of users or businesses The platform needed both users and businesses to be valuable, creating a classic chicken-and-egg problem. Without enough cafés, users wouldn't download the app, and without users, cafés weren't interested.
Overbuilt features before validating core value I spent months building advanced features like analytics dashboards and custom reward systems before confirming that users and businesses actually wanted a digital loyalty solution.
Unexpected trademark issue Even though no trademark existed when I launched, someone registered the name after seeing my app and used this to issue a takedown notice. This unusual situation caught me completely off-guard, as I had checked trademark databases before launch.

Lessons

Digitization doesn't solve fundamental problems Just moving an analog process (punch cards) to digital doesn't create more loyal customers—if people aren't loyal to begin with, a punch card (digital or paper) won't change that. The value added by going digital was minimal; to truly encourage repeat visits, you need to be more innovative than simply tracking purchases.
Digital Literacy & UX When onboarding local merchants, I saw firsthand how digital literacy barriers can block adoption. This highlighted the need for simple, intuitive UX to make technology accessible for everyone.
Importance of market validation I should have spent more time on customer interviews and simpler prototypes before investing heavily in development. A paper prototype or Wizard of Oz test would have revealed issues much earlier.
Register your trademark immediately Even if no trademark exists when you launch, consider filing immediately to protect your brand. The app name could have been saved had I filed for trademark protection upon launch rather than waiting.

Created Elfgorithm to solve the annual frustration of organizing Secret Santa exchanges among friends and family, and as a way to learn new technologies. While the app worked well technically and included features like multilingual support and automatic matching, requiring every participant to create an account became a major roadblock—especially for group events.

Challenges

Seasonal engagement Usage was concentrated around the holidays, making it difficult to sustain activity.
Account creation friction Requiring every participant to create an account added significant friction for group organizers and participants.
Balancing simplicity and features Striking the right balance between making the app easy to use and offering enough customization (like wishlists, budgets, multilingual support) was challenging.

Lessons

Tech isn't always the solution Not every problem—especially social or festive ones—benefits from digitalization; sometimes tech can reduce the sense of connection.
User experience over features Removing friction is more important than adding features; requiring accounts for group actions can kill adoption.
Learning by doing Building the app was a valuable way to learn new technologies and frameworks, regardless of the outcome.

Created mmori as a personal memory journal focused on brevity and consistency. The app offers two capture modes: a 3-second video option that lowers the barrier to daily use, and a dual camera mode that simultaneously captures front and back perspectives like BeReal. Development included offline-first design with iCloud sync, but the project was ultimately archived for now due to technical challenges and shifting priorities.

Challenges

Balancing simplicity with features Finding the right balance between keeping the interface minimal while adding enough functionality to make the app valuable and engaging.
Video processing performance Optimizing video compression and processing to ensure smooth playback while minimizing storage requirements and battery impact.
Cross-device synchronization Implementing robust iCloud synchronization to handle conflicts, network disruptions, and varying upload speeds.

Lessons

Native performance matters Using iOS native frameworks provides significant performance advantages for camera access and video processing.
Technical debt compounds quickly Optimization problems left unaddressed early in development became increasingly difficult to resolve later.
Project scope should match available resources The complexity of video processing and synchronization required more time and technical expertise than initially anticipated.

These projects have shaped my approach to building things. Technical execution is rarely the biggest challenge — it's understanding users, finding product-market fit, and creating sustainable business models. While my formal education provided useful frameworks, it's these hands-on experiences that have truly shaped my understanding.

Contact

Open to conversations about building things, studying, or anything adjacent. Reach out on email or LinkedIn.

[REDACTED] *

Elfgorithm

mmori

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