4Rize Announces Closure and New Directions

Tashkent, Uzbekistan. We are announcing the official closure of 4Rize, our research platform for banks and fintechs. After careful reflection, we have decided to discontinue the service as of 11 September 2025.

Although we saw strong interest and engagement from beta users, we ultimately could not achieve the product–market fit we needed. The CIS market proved to be too small for long-term scalability. At the same time, we recognised that our solution, while valuable, was more of a “vitamin” than a real “pain reliever”. Continuing to educate the market would have demanded energy, time, and funding that were not sustainable alongside our full-time work and family commitments.

Pivot and Next Steps

While this chapter is closing, our journey is continuing. We (both founders) are remaining on excellent terms and have chosen different directions for the immediate future, while leaving the door open for future collaborations.

We will focus on building products that help banks and fintechs improve customer acquisition and success, with plans to expand into retail later. Another exciting focus for us will be media projects details of which we will share soon.

Gratitude and Acknowledgements

We want to thank everyone who supported us along the way, our beta users for their valuable feedback and trust, and the mentors and partners who gave us guidance. A special thanks goes to Plug & Play Tech Center and its mentors, who provided direction at critical stages.

Founders’ Reflections

Farkhod Saydullaev, Founder & Product Manager 

I always wanted to build a project around design and making UX research easier. That’s how 4Rize was born. The project helped me become a product manager, meet a lot of interesting people, and learn from my mistakes and I’m grateful for that.

The main challenge was that it’s nearly impossible to automate collecting app screenshots and video recordings, while customers always expect the latest version.

My advice to anyone thinking about starting a startup:

• Market size is a very important factor, don’t ignore it.
• Networking is everything.
• Learn how to sell. You can create a brilliant product, but without the ability to sell, it will just sit on the shelf.

I’m moving forward. I’ve had the thrill of building a startup, and I’ll keep creating new projects. See you soon in the next ones.

Gulnur Esova, Co-founder, B2B Growth Marketing Manager:

We did not raise even a single dollar and only managed to get ten paying customers. We made all the classic start-up mistakes, but we learnt a lot and experienced what it means to build something from the ground up, sacrificing evenings and weekends. We met clever, like-minded people we would never have met otherwise. I don’t see this project as a failure; it gave me the opportunity to explore other directions.

Legacy of 4Rize

Founded in October 2024, 4Rize aimed to take the burden of research off product teams in banking and fintech. Our platform offered a UX/UI library, user flow benchmarking, and the market inspector tool.

Over its journey, 4Rize participated in Plug & Play acceleratorprogram, She Loves Tech Global Competition 2024, and earned recognition both in Uzbekistan and abroad, including at Fintech and Banking Forum, 2024. 

The platform is closing, the 4Rize website will remain live as a reference point for what we built.

Farkhod Saydulaev
E-mail: farkhodsayd@gmail.com
LinkedIn

Gulnur Esova
E-mail: gulnur.esova@gmail.com
LinkedIn