Dave
Hey everyone, Dave here with another episode of the Philly Tech Connect podcast. Today I’m speaking with Simone Ammons, an engineer, business owner, and the founder of QuneUp, a company that helps manufacturing companies in the biopharmaceutical space reduce equipment downtime and boost equipment productivity. Simone, how are you doing?
Simone
I’m doing well, how are you?
Dave
I’m doing well. This is a cool product and a cool space that I didn’t know all that much about, but when I was looking at the website and watching the explainer video and everything, it made perfect sense. So, talk a little bit about your background and how it led to this idea.
Simone
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me on this podcast. So, background-wise, I’m an engineer by training, bachelor’s in chemical engineering, master’s in biomedical engineering. Prior to moving into the pharmaceutical manufacturing space, I worked in the chemicals and oil and gas industry. And then, once I got my master’s degree, I switched over to the pharmaceutical space. So instead of working on equipment that goes boom, like with BP spills and things like that in Texas, here, the products we make, you actually ingest. They’re injectables, pills, and drug therapies.
So, the engineering is a lot more, I wanna say, higher stakes because it’s going into an actual human, into a patient. But as an engineer, it’s still equipment at the end of the day. And what was happening, and I was surprised when I switched industries, is that nothing ever broke down between 9 to 5. It was always midnight, Friday, Sunday morning – like off-hours. And then I would run to the sites and think, “Where’s the information? Who’s the manufacturer? What’s the model number? When was the last time we calibrated this piece of equipment? Does anyone know where the SOP is? Is it updated?”
We would spend hours – I’m not exaggerating – hours trying to channel that information. So, I had the idea during the pandemic. You know how we use a QR code to go to a LinkedIn page or a website? I wanted to use the same technology, but instead, embed equipment information directly into that QR code, hence the name Qtup. Just like when you take your car to the mechanic, they ask for the make and model. A Corolla is very different from a Hummer, right? So, I wanted to embed that equipment information into Qtup. Using that, you can start troubleshooting the equipment, send it to procurement, get maintenance involved, and get production back up and running.
That was definitely the stress behind coming up with this product.
Dave
Super cool. I love the idea. I’ve never been in that situation – it’s not my background – but I immediately get it. It just makes a lot of sense. So, is the idea that your customer would embed that information in the QR codes, or is Qtup accessing some type of global database to pull from?
Simone
A little bit of both. A lot of that data exists; it’s just floating in space, not in any one location. Often, engineering, procurement, and maintenance in these larger companies are very siloed. So, from an engineering perspective, you need to see the whole picture before you can even start to make an assessment of the equipment. Just like when you walk into the ER, they get your blood pressure, height, weight – your basics, right? That information is there, but it’s not always easily accessible.
A lot of the software and SaaS built is tailored towards office workers and people with the luxury of time. But on a production floor, you don’t have that luxury. It’s down, it’s leaking, something’s happening right now. You need the information right now. What do we do?
The front end is definitely a QR code you access, and on the back end, it’s an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or global asset management software. This lets you see, from a management perspective, the entire floor or multiple facilities – whether regional, national, or global. It gives you access to different levels of equipment information, going up the food chain.
Dave
Very cool. I get the idea, it makes sense. Your background fits perfectly for it, but it’s still a big leap to say, “Okay, I’m going to start this business.” Did you have entrepreneurial experience, or was this a big leap? How did you take it?
Simone
A big leap. I officially started the company last year, but I’d been mulling over different ways to make life easier on the production floor. COVID was the defining moment for me. The world was crashing, everything was upside down, and what was normal wasn’t normal anymore. You couldn’t see anybody, everything was minimized. Communication and interactions weren’t happening, but the equipment still had to run, and production goals had to be met. The FDA was still breathing down your neck for compliance. We actually saw, coming out of the pandemic, the baby formula shortage because the FDA shut down facilities that didn’t meet criteria.
COVID was hard, and entrepreneurship is hard, but I took that leap because I wanted a solution for the newer engineers coming out. They’d had two years of disruptions with no in-person labs or internships. Meanwhile, the more seasoned engineers, unfortunately, were forced to retire or passed away. It created a perfect storm of a knowledge gap, so this wasn’t just about putting another tool into the ecosystem. It was about providing support – a tool to help new engineers access that decades of tribal knowledge that had disappeared.
Dave
Has anything surprised you about the journey of running the company over the last couple of years?
Simone
Definitely. I’m based in Philadelphia, but what happens on the West Coast trickles over. The SVB bank collapse, inflation – a lot of gains we saw post-pandemic evaporated overnight. It hampered the crazy growth we saw in 2021 and early 2022. The entire startup ecosystem has changed, and it caught me in the middle of my decision to quit my job. So, I’ll be transparent – I offer technical writing services because I’m an engineer who likes to write, and that’s what’s paying the bills while I get Qtup off the ground. The whole landscape for SaaS development has morphed, and I don’t even know what’s considered “normal” anymore.
Dave
Yeah, it’s like having the rug pulled out from under you while you’re running. What’s next for the product? It feels like a solution that solves the problem, but what’s the long-term vision?
Simone
Right now, I’m looking at partnerships. I’m at Pennovation Works, where I started doing my first pilots. Business is really about relationships and connections. It’s not just about getting an LLC and moving forward. It’s about connecting with people who have resources, whether legal or technical. Moving forward, it’s about strategic partnerships and being seen as a thought leader. I’m really active on LinkedIn, and I’m managing my expectations for the buying cycle since I’m in a B2B SaaS space. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I’m using my engineering background to inform my approach to sales, marketing, and landing paid partnerships.
Dave
Are you working on this primarily by yourself? Did you consider bringing on a co-founder?
Simone
It was me initially, but I did bring on a co-founder for the coding and backend development. However, my weakness is in marketing and business strategy. I took advantage of accelerators, especially those offered by the city of Philadelphia, and I brought on someone with a STEM background who had gone the executive leadership route. It didn’t work out as planned because our approaches were very different. Now, I work with contractors and partnerships for legal, accounting, software development, and marketing, and I’m bootstrapping as much as I can.
Dave
Yeah, software is a long grind, especially bootstrapping. I know that firsthand. Thanks so much, Simone, for giving us the 411 on Qtup and what you’ve been up to. How can people get in touch with you or learn more about the product?
Simone
You can visit us at QuneUp.com – it’s spelled like “tune-up” but with a Q. We’re on YouTube and LinkedIn as well, under the handle QuneUp. I’d love to get your feedback or talk to fellow entrepreneurs and founders. And of course, future clients and collaborators too.