A Look Back at 2021
It’s that time again… New Year’s Eve is upon us. Before we ring in the new year, we want to take a moment to reflect and celebrate all that you have helped us learn and achieve in 2021.
Looking back on the past year at HYON, it’s been a whirlwind of growth which brings new challenges, new opportunities, and, most importantly, considerable discovery.
It feels like just yesterday we were just white-boarding projects that are now near completion. Our team has spent these past 12 months obsessing over how we can surpass HYONeers' expectations by building the best experience when buying and selling secondhand goods.
So, without further ado, here are a few checkmarks we’ve put beside our to-do list in 2021.
Thanks to you, we were able to retrieve items from being thrown away and give them a new life. From big items to small, allowing us to navigate the sales journey with your unused goods has kept items in circulation - something we can all feel pride in.
Launched the HYON app
The release of the app made it so much easier to upload and sell items. With your feedback and ideas, the introduction of Hyon into iOS and Android was one of our greatest accomplishments this year.
Worked with some amazing companies
We were given the opportunity to assist organizations in 2021 in their efforts to achieve circularity for their surplus. These partnerships have put Hyon’s name on the map in helping companies achieve sustainability mandates and we’re incredibly grateful to be a part of this positive change.
Expanded our work outside of Saskatchewan
The value of the Hyon platform has been experienced coast to coast as we have served owners and buyers from Montreal to Vancouver.
Grew our team
We welcomed many new faces to the Hyon team this year and are incredibly proud of how this group has ‘jelled’ (a tech term for… having a great culture and doing just about anything to protect and amplify it). Might we encourage you to abandon this blog for a moment and meet our amazing team here.
Built a new presence online
As we adapted our service to you, the way we talked about our company needed to be remodelled. The updates to Hyon’s site reflect the lessons you’ve taught us over the year. Our team continues to keep our ears wide open on how we can serve you even better in 2022. If you haven't taken a look yet, now would be a good time to take a break from this blog and check out the site here.
Launched ‘Chat by Item’
Those using the app can recall that it once was very onerous to chat with us. You had dozens of items and only one place to talk about them. Chat by Item was Customers Choice of the Year for best new feature (we just made that up but challenge you to prove us wrong if you had a different favourite release in 2021). Christmas came early for all of us… as of mid-December we now have the ability to keep our chats separate and organized by item.
Created a test HYON Shop
After you all started sharing your nightmare stories around buying and selling on existing marketplaces, we couldn’t refrain from creating something just a little bit better. The test shop is a way for us to learn how to better serve our buyers - making the process transparent and convenient. Have ideas on the shop experience and what you’d like to see? We would love to hear from you as you do some online shopping.
Partnered with like-minded organizations
The Circular Innovation Council and the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council are two organizations working to advance the circular economy. We have been fortunate to have joined forces with them in 2021 as we support their missions to keep items in circulation and work to improve the future state of our planet.
Met each other in person for the first time
Our remote team, spanned across Regina, Saskatoon and Toronto, had the opportunity to get together and finally meet in person. There are no words to describe the vibe amongst this group. We absolutely love working together… and… since learning our work styles through Kolbe, we can’t help but laugh as we now know why we are the way that we are.
What a year it’s been! Adios 2021. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us over the past 365 days… you’ve given us the opportunity to do what we love and serve in a way that truly matters.
As we move into a new year, Hyon will consistently expand to think bigger, better, faster. Your ideas and support help our team fulfill its mission to create a better world for used goods. This is just the beginning of our journey together.