Gavin Prime, the founder of Inzodiac, built an app that brings people together using astrology’s influence for dating, friendships, and business ties. This app pairs individuals based on how their star signs match, offering a fresh and meaningful way for people to connect. Gavin, as the founder, establishes the app’s core principles and communicates effectively with everyone, from top-level board members to diligent housekeepers. He once heard a valuable insight: “If you want to understand your business, talk to the janitors and security personnel—they interact with every department and can provide holistic, valuable feedback.”
Gavin’s happiest daily moment arrives when he steps into a bustling Business Incubator. The ground floor buzzes with a mix of people, from students to educators and businesses. As he ascends to the first floor, he encounters a cluster of startups all striving for similar objectives. This dynamic environment fuels endless possibilities and potential. With each visit, Gavin’s excitement grows, pondering the potential opportunities that could arise—a truly exhilarating experience.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Gavin Prime:
Describe who you are as a person, inside and outside of the workplace.
I remember getting consoles as a kid and thinking to myself, I think I can improve them.” I had no idea about the technical aspects and skillsets of console building, but I would always think about what I could do if I opened up my Nintendo. I never did because it was the most expensive thing I ever had. I suppose the idea that I could improve on something never went away.
The best part of my week is taking my son to Rugby practice on a Sunday morning. Come rain or shine, once practice is over, we take a rugby ball, just the two of us, and we play our own training games. With a young family, my time outside of Inzodiac is spent with them. As an individual, I like to see people getting along and working together, something that I believe comes through in the workplace. I always try to make people smile, and I prioritize making myself available to anyone who needs help, Collaboration is really important. I think I’ve always been a people-centric person.
Describe your background, and what did you do before you started/joined the company?
I didn’t do great at school but loved computers, so I went to college to study for a vocational qualification in I.T. I loved it and went into the workplace, but I only found work in data entry type positions, which really bored me. I was out of work for a while, and like many students, I fell into security. I found that I had a good instinct and continued into Loss Prevention and Security Management in the retail and education industries, with an additional focus on Safeguarding young and vulnerable adults. In the meantime, I started my first tech business, an online penny auction. I really enjoyed the experience and was looking forward to expanding the business into the U.S when disaster struck. My Co-Founder had misappropriated funds invested by our Angel Investor. It was a devastating blow, and I had to wrap up the company. I eventually ended up selling the software to a competitor for a nominal fee. I then took a break to evaluate my business options and continued my work in education security before a friend approached me with an idea that he wanted to get off the ground. It was a car detailing business that had great potential. I branded the business and got great organic listings on Google with SEO techniques I had picked up from the previous business. It was going well until my co-founder decided that he didn’t want to continue. I want to explore it again someday. I also started to look after friends and families’ websites, hosting, emails, and domains, which added to my knowledge. I took 3–4 years before I decided to venture again with Inzodiac.
Tell us about the inception of the company. How did it all start?
I met a friend that I don’t get to see very often as he lives in Chester. We went out for a drink and a catch-up, and he began telling me about two dates he had been on, They weren’t the greatest dates, and he informed me that neither date was a match with his star sign. I suggested to him that if matching with star signs was so important, why not just use an app that did it for him? At that time, none existed, and we started to brainstorm what such an app would look like. It was nearly two years after that meeting that I started working on Inzodiac, the app that uses star sign compatibility to bring people together.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
Learning from previous mistakes in the past has been quite important, and I knew that this time the best chance of success was to start solo, ensuring that no one else could negatively impact the business. I think all startup founders need persistence. As barriers presented themselves, we managed to find a way over, under, around, or through them. There’s been no shortage of challenges, I witnessed businesses and entrepreneurs fade away when presented with similar challenges. When we joined the University of Hertfordshire Business Incubator, we were a large cohort, but Inzodiac is now the only remaining business from Cohort 5. The common understanding is that startups fail due to financing or execution, but if one remains persistent, solutions are never far away.
I value people. We have learned from each other for thousands of years; Businesses are built on people and communities. Everybody has something valuable to contribute, value your people and your people will value you/your business. People are the foundation to success.
Which are the major services of the company and how do the company to get ahead in the competition? What value-added services does the company provide?
Our core offering uses technology and astrology to connect people in a new and unique way. Existing dating and astrology apps offer filters and horoscopes, neglecting star sign compatibility. We’ve streamlined compatibility by eliminating personality questions and complex scoring systems, this simplifies the user experience, boosts accuracy, and appeals to a wider market.
What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in, and how do you build this culture?
Carl Sagan once said, “We’re all made of star stuff” The people behind Inzodiac are STARDUST: successful, transparent, ambitious, relatable, determined, unbiased, and skilled team players. They are passionate about creating a fun user experience and personalizing matching based on compatible star signs and personality traits. In tech, there is a saying “break it on purpose,” which is cool, but then put a team together and fix it, that’s even cooler.
We’re a group of people who want to do well for each other; everyone values each other’s opinions and builds on each other’s ideas. We’re a lean organization and have been selective when bringing people onboard to ensure everyone authentically matches our values.
What is the significance of innovative ideas in the company?
Innovation is vital to survival. We’re a group of people who will play with new thoughts on features and offerings on a daily basis. If you and your team do not innovate, the value you provide to your customers will be taken away by your competitors innovations. Our ability to utilize current innovations in AI has enabled us to develop AI insights into the app, way ahead of our competitors. Eventually they’ll get there too, but we won’t be chasing them.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
We mentioned this previously, but it is so important. PERSISTANCE! After co-founding two businesses, I know how challenging it can be to go into business with the wrong people. This time I went alone, it was hard as hell, but I wouldn’t change it. Each challenge has given me knowledge of something that I didn’t know before, building my resilience. You’re going to face so many challenges, but each one will become a part of your founding story. Be persistent, embrace the journey.
