Gandal Foglia
Business Student @ HEC Lausanne
I build digital projects to learn what business school can't teach me. This is my work and what I've learned from it.
About
I'm studying business at HEC Lausanne while building digital projects on the side. Formal education gives me structure, but it’s through building things that I gain real understanding.
I've built several projects over the past few years—some worked, most didn't. Each one taught me something I couldn't learn from textbooks alone.
This site isn't about showcasing polished success stories. It's a honest look at what I've built and what I've learned along the way.
Background & Interests
- 2nd-year Bachelor student at HEC Lausanne (Management/Economics)
- Self-taught web & mobile developer (TS, React, Swift). Studied one year of Computer Science at EPFL (Java, Python), but did not continue.
- Curious about how business strategy, tech, and design decisions shape real products.
- I care about making things people actually want to use, and that last beyond a quick trend.
Projects & Learnings
A collection of things I've built and what I learned from them. I believe in sharing both successes and failures — they're equally valuable.
[REDACTED] *
Archive Project Story
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.
Elfgorithm
ArchiveProject Story
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.
mmori
ArchiveProject Story
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.
The Bigger Picture
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 business education provided useful frameworks, it’s these hands-on experiences that have truly shaped my understanding.
Connect With Me
Feel free to reach out if you'd like to connect or discuss projects. I'm open to conversations about building things and learning from experience.
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