Android Startups

Notable is a next-generation collaborative note-taking platform launched by Amal Sarva, an experienced founder and investor. The Chrome extension launched ~90 days before this interview achieved 15,000 free users, driven primarily by a LifeHacker feature obtained through strategic Twitter outreach to productivity journalists. The company raised $1M in seed funding from angels and early-stage investors including Bloomberg Beta and 500 Startups.

MyTime is a two-sided marketplace and SaaS platform connecting consumers with local service businesses. The company operates a marketplace that takes a 40% commission on new customer acquisitions, plus MyTime Scheduler, online booking software designed to help businesses acquire, book, and retain customers. The platform serves over 2.5 million nearby businesses with approximately 1 million monthly visitors.

John Lee Dumas built Entrepreneur on Fire, a daily podcast interviewing successful entrepreneurs, which generates over $300,000 annually with over 1 billion unique monthly listens. Recognizing a gap in helping his audience actually accomplish their goals (not just be inspired), he created the Freedom Journal, a physical goal-setting workbook priced at $35 with a $6.50 production cost, launching via Kickstarter with a partnership to donate $25,000 per funding level to pencils of promise charity.

12 Labs, co-founded by Ashu Dubey, is a data science-powered weight loss application called Applays that has achieved over 500,000 downloads with approximately 75,000 monthly active users as of early 2016. The company raised approximately $1 million in a priced round led by Salesforce founder Mark Benioff in 2014, focusing on solving the engagement problem that plagues most health apps. While the free app generates no direct revenue, 12 Labs monetizes through an engagement platform for wearables that powers Applays and has shown a 7x improvement in user retention.

AstroPrint is an IoT platform for the 3D printing industry, often called the "Android of 3D printing." Founded in 2013 and pivoted in 2014, the company makes 3D printers easy to operate and connects them to a cloud-based app store ecosystem. With $150,000 in 2015 revenue and $400,000 raised, they're pursuing a B2B licensing model targeting printer manufacturers and major brands, projecting $500,000 in 2016 revenue.

Simplify Inc. is a HIPAA-compliant SaaS platform founded by orthodontist Ryan and tech M&A veteran Zach Hungate that helps healthcare providers communicate securely and improve patient experience. Accepted into Angelpad in 2015 after both founders gave up six-figure salaries, they've raised approximately $3.5M and grown to serve over 1,000 healthcare provider offices with 98% annual retention and customers paying between $150-$200 per month.

Mobstack is a Bangalore-based SaaS platform founded in 2010 that pivoted in 2015 to focus on Beaconstack, a proximity-based marketing and analytics solution using Bluetooth beacon technology. The company has grown to $25k MRR with 100+ customers and 10,000+ beacons deployed globally, including a major deployment with Google at 117 Indian train stations. They've raised $3.5M in capital from Accel Partners, Cisco, and angels, and are on track to hit $500k ARR by end of 2017.

Thunkable is a Y Combinator-backed no-code mobile app builder founded by MIT/Google engineer Arun Saigel in early 2016. The platform enables non-technical users to build mobile apps without coding, competing in a crowded space with a focus on underserved SMBs and individuals. Having raised $3.3M and built a team of 10 in San Francisco with millions of platform users, the company was preparing to monetize through a paywall charging users for premium features like analytics, in-app purchases, and app store deployment.

BizVersity is a mobile-first video learning platform founded by Dale Beaumont that provides business training to entrepreneurs and small business owners. After 18 months of free access to build the user base, Dale launched monetization at $14/month and acquired 160 paying subscribers generating $2,200 MRR in the first month. The platform is designed to remove friction from content consumption with features like offline downloads, audio mode, and gamification, targeting both individual users and B2B enterprise customers including franchise groups.

DID is a SaaS platform founded in 2017 by Gil Perry and co-founders Eliran Kuta and Sela Brondheim that started in privacy/face recognition protection before pivoting to an AI face platform for creating synthetic videos for media and entertainment. The company has raised $24 million, serves dozens of enterprise customers with ACVs exceeding $100,000, and recently launched with MyHeritage which generated 80 million API calls in two months. With a team of 24 (14 engineers) and strong inbound demand from PR success, DID is positioned to scale further and raise another round of funding.

Ticketing Hub is a cloud-based reservation and ticketing software for tours and activities, founded by Carl Peel after a decade-long journey building related businesses. Currently serving 250 customers including major brands like Secret Food Tours and Immersive Game Box, the company has grown from $15,000 MRR a year ago to $50,000 MRR today while remaining 100% bootstrapped and profitable. Carl attributes early pandemic survival to learning SEO and signing the largest UK zoo, and now plans to reach $1-1.5M ARR before considering raising capital.

BuildArray is an enterprise forms and automation platform positioning itself as an advanced alternative to Typeform, designed for operational paperwork, audits, compliance, and field-based data collection. Launched 7 years ago as LaunchCloud serving field marketing companies, the company pivoted 3.5 years ago to focus on enterprise operations and risk management, raising a $1.3M seed round in 2020 at a $7M cap. Growing from $10K/month at funding time to $50K/month today (130% YoY growth), BuildArray serves 80 customers averaging $1K/month with their largest customer paying $250K+ annually.

App Attentive, founded in 2011 by Robi Ganguli and three co-founders, provides a SaaS platform enabling mobile app developers to communicate with users, gather feedback, and conduct customer research. After a two-year gestation period of part-time work following an inspiring conversation in 2008, the team built an MVP in 30 days and spent a grueling year acquiring their first two paying customers through manual outreach and content marketing before pivoting upmarket to enterprise clients like Yahoo, Overstock, and Urban Spoon, eventually reaching over $100k MRR.

Alasant is a white-label community app platform for master plan residential developments, founded in 2017 after a major Southern California developer approached April LeMond and her co-founder Mike to build a mobile app. Starting with Rancho Mission Viejo, the app achieved 90% adoption within 90 days, and they pivoted from a one-off project to a scalable product. Today, with $2M ARR, 82 communities, 200K+ active users, 100% renewal rates, and a bootstrapped business model, Alasant has built a sustainable, highly-focused vertical SaaS business by deeply embedding in the master plan community industry.