During summer 2011, stuck at home because of 50°C outside (oh yes, I've been living in Marrakech since late 2009), I start coding a small Mac app to prototype iPhone apps. Something I'll call TapDesigner. Prototyping on the Mac is fine, but if we could test the prototype on an iPhone it'd be even better. I ask my buddy Hervé Piedvache to build a server side to push and store assets, manage accounts, etc. On my end, I build TapPlayer, an iPhone app that lets you live-test the prototype designed on the Mac. We quickly hit December and I don't know why but I book a booth at Macworld January 2012 in San Francisco and bring along another friend to help with demos. The thing goes over pretty well and we get plenty of booth visitors.
We have plenty of fans, but no one is willing to pay. So we do what every startup does: we pivot. Instead of just doing app prototypes, we'll build complete apps. Everyone wants their own app anyway, so they'll pay. I get back to work and spend my days and nights coding for a year — which brings us to Macworld January 2013. In the photo, that's not Hervé (who has a real job) but Xavier Destombes, a WebObjects developer (lol). The app and service concept is well-received, but when we announce the $999 price, no one is willing to pay. We even had someone tell me that an app cost 99 cents on the App Store and that he didn't understand why he should pay $999 to get his own app!
All of this not being enough to discourage me, I keep developing TapPublisher through late 2014. I try to make it a WordPress for mobile apps; I add new features and modules (YouTube, WordPress, Weather, Catalog). But at some point, you have to face the facts — no one wants to pay for an app built with a builder; well, some do, but not enough to make a viable market. By the way, every other player that launched in this space at the time has either shut down or survives by doing custom contracting work. So we re-pivot.
Early 2015, we develop a mobile eCommerce solution. Of course, we don't start from scratch — we leverage our mobile app creation platform. Instead of making a general-purpose platform like Prestashop or WooCommerce for the web, we build a solution for restaurants and local shops. A Deliveroo or UberEats, but dedicated to one specific shop or chain. This time, we land paying customers and start generating revenue, but it stays difficult. Mobile marketing is hard, and getting customers to download an app is hard for a small business. Our customers ask for websites; alright, we'll build them websites. In 2016, we release our website creation platform for restaurants, and since then I spend my time between adding features (loyalty cards, reservations, Zelty POS integration) and sales.
What now?
For now, I don't know. The rest of the story remains to be written, and there's no shortage of ideas and challenges. If you have an interesting project, don't hesitate to get in touch.