At that time, if a company wanted to use ChatGPT in its application, it needed permission. Jaroslav Škrabálek therefore wrote to Sam Altman. “And I got permission,” adds the founder and CEO of the startup Hey Wox.
However, using ChatGPT brought him complications. He even lost the chance of investment because of it when a very experienced and renowned investor rejected him. “He said to me: ‘Mr. Škrabálek, how many people will write this naturally with an application? Maybe 2–3% of people like you.’ And half a year later, almost everyone was using ChatGPT,” smiles Jaroslav Škrabálek.
The central brain of the household
The idea to create a smart record of electronics came about by chance. Jaroslav Škrabálek couldn’t find instructions from which he could find out what the error code on a broken induction hob meant. He therefore had to find an email with an invoice, find out the model of the device in it and then google it.
This led him to the idea of creating a “central brain of the household”. An application that finds appliance models from invoices and orders and then answers users’ questions related to them.
Back in 2022, he prepared the first version which allowed to find out what the error code on the appliance meant. “And also to check if you can handle the repair yourself or it is better to call a service,” says Jaroslav Škrabálek.
Hey Wox was originally intended for households. But soon was created also a version for companies, which functions as an asset register too.
Savings of up to 120 € per year
In 2022, the world was hit by war in Ukraine. With it came an energy crisis, gas and electricity prices rose sharply, and Jaroslav Škrabálek realized that Hey Wox offered a solution.
“We have felt for some time that just interpreting documents is not enough. The energy crisis showed us the direction in which to move,” describes the situation experienced founder, who has been in the startup environment since 2008.
Therefore, he added a function to the application that alerts users to outdated appliances with too high consumption. At the same time, it shows them how much energy they can save by buying new electronics.
For example, the consumption of a refrigerator increases by 1–2% every year. In 10 years, it is around 20%. Modern refrigerators are also much more efficient. “We calculated that if customers in the Czech Republic buy a new one after 10 years, they will save CZK 3,000 (around 120 €) a year on energy,” explains Jaroslav Škrabálek.
A step towards circularity: an appliance marketplace
Jaroslav Škrabálek also decided to add a marketplace for old appliances. People who buy, for example, a new washing machine thanks to Hey Wox can sell their old one using the same application.
The application thus supports sustainability and circularity. This helped it obtain a grant from the Up2Circ program. “Thanks to it, we managed to complete the marketplace,” praises Jaroslav Škrabálek of the program.
He learned about Up2Circ thanks to JIC. “I noticed it in the newsletter that I receive from JIC. And I immediately became interested,” he recalls.
Hey Wox will also help with energy and insurance
The author of the Hey Wox application has been working with JIC for more than 15 years.
