Boston’s Leading Mobile Dev Shop Continues to Double Growth; Launches 7 Apps in Just Over a Month
It goes unsaid that mobile is, well, huge right now — and Boston’s Raizlabs growth proves it. This mobile strategy, design and development firm has been doubling in size every year since release of the iPhone in 2007. And they are on track to do the same in 2011. Just how in demand is the company? Since the beginning of December they have released 7 apps — that’s in just over a month’s time.
Unknown to many, this relatively small shop in Coolidge Corner has been behind the mobile presence of some of Boston and beyond’s most beloved companies. Most notably is RunKeeper, the fitness-tracking app that reached the #5 most downloaded spot in iTunes earlier this month. The very first RunKeeper iPhone app released was also, in fact, Raizlabs’ very first mobile project.
“RunKeeper was really our springboard into mobile,” founder Greg Raiz explained today earlier on the phone. Raiz, who started the firm in 2003, initially focused on web design, and quickly evolved the company into a full-service mobile shop upon release of the iPhone.
His company has released over 40 iPhone, iPad, and Android apps with companies across the nation since RunKeeper, but they continue to hold Boston close to heart. “We like doing apps with a personal touch, and plan to continue to have our strongest presence in Boston,” Raiz explained.
The company has been busy this past holiday season, quietly sitting behind the release of seven newsworthy mobile apps (see below for a roundup). “Mobile is a growth sector, and we are definitely keeping pace,” Raiz stated. “We have several others in the works that will be released in the next couple of weeks.”
What Sets Raizlabs Apart
Raiz shared the company’s strategy as a development shop, building apps both in-house as well as for clients. He cites the company’s dozen of in-house apps (one of which has over 2 million downloads) as allowing the firm to continually be at the forefront of mobile innovation and expertise.
“Our own portfolio of apps is really for technology inspiration,” Raiz said. These apps help them explore different aspects of the ever-changing and feature-rich iOS and Android platforms. “We used SketchPadHD as an exploration into iPad technology, our WhiteBoard app for Bluetooth integration, and WordPopper has been our foray into gaming.”
But this hands-on, in-house experimentation is not all that contributes to and keeps Raizlabs’ as a front-runner in mobile. Pushing Raiz on details around their business model — in terms of how revenues from in-house apps balance with client revenues — revealed another core side of why their services are in so much demand: strategy.
Raiz explained at length to me the nuances of mobile app success – from volatility and hit-or-miss in the iTunes store and pricing, to how a client approaches mobile as part of their entire business. “Even when an app hits top categories [in the iTunes store] it can fluctuate a lot. Even if an app becomes #1 in music, since the app store strives for newness, it can be short-lived,” Raiz explained. “There are some exceptions of course – the Angry Birds of the world – but those are the things that essentially have become the Tetris’ of our generation.”
On the Shift in Companies’ Approach to Mobile
When working with clients, Raiz focuses on how local (read: mobile) can fit into a business. “’What are the scenarios that mobile is a better experience and more compelling than on the web?’ is where we start with clients,” explained Raiz.
Their Benjamin Moore app is a prime example of this, allowing contractors out in the field painting to have access to a breadth of information. “They’re not in front of their computer, but need to have questions answered like ‘what’s the right color for this?’ and ‘what are the spec sheets?’” Raiz shared.
Raiz went on to dive into the shift he is seeing with larger enterprise companies in their approach to mobile. “It used to be they did everything on the web without mobile consideration,” said Raiz. “And now we’re seeing and helping companies understand what the lifecycle of their customers are: what’s on mobile vs. what’s on the web, and where do they converge. Not to mention helping them understand which platforms to choose – when should you build on the iPhone and Android versus a web app.”
For larger companies, Raiz shared another, more recent shift he is seeing. “Companies are not just thinking about their customers, but thinking about their approach to mobile with employees,” Raiz shared. “It used to be that companies just handed out Blackberries with ‘Here’s your email on the go,’ but now companies are figuring out they can do a lot more.”
Recent Raizlabs Releases
Interested in seeing some of Raizlabs’ work in action? Throughout our conversation, Raiz continued to make mention that the companies are the “real heroes” behind the apps — but we know the importance of the firm’s expertise in bringing these apps to fruition and making them a success (hence the story title!). Greg Raiz was kind enough to send over these 7 apps that the firm helped release since December:
Utest | iPad / iPhone app | Utest helps developers crowd source their testing and scenarios. We’re excited to help Utest take their platform mobile.
Brainshark | iPad / iPhone app | This is an business oriented presentation platform. It’s used by thousands of large companies and helps them share presentations and sales material.
SolidWorks World 2011 | iPhone app | This application was for the annual SolidWorks World conference. It provides venue, schedule, speaker and exhibitor information.
Smart TV – NYC Penn. Station app | Not currently available, as it was for a specific holiday event. This was an geo-fencing based application that would detect you as you entered into Penn Station and present you with a personalized story explaining the Smart TV product on interactive screens in the station.
MayorMaker | iPhone app | This application uses geo-fencing technology to allow you to auto-checkin to venues using FourSquare.
SurveyOnTheSpot.com | iPhone app | Allows restaurants to survey customers in an interactive way rather than asking customers to take a survey at home.
Benjamin Moore – Color Capture | iPhone app | Allows you to take a photo and sample the colors to find just the right paint color.
