To go along with an upcoming guest-post on Maneesh Sethi’s “Hack The System” blog, here are the details of our application that got us accepted into Startup Chile’s 2013 program:
Public Description (50 words or less)
SimpleCrew is a mobile app that allows street teams to communicate and coordinate using photos. Our app save teams time and energy, making them more effective and more accountable: www.SimpleCrew.com
Industry: Mobile & Wireless
Country: United States
Company URL: www.SimpleCrew.com
Video:
What is the problem you are solving?
In industries including field marketing, property management, construction project management, insurance inspections, and more, photos play a critical role in business
operations.
Photos are used to document work, report progress, maintain accountability, communicate with clients, and more.
Taking and organizing photos is a mess of point & shoot cameras, photo uploads/downloads, email attachments, and desktop folders.
There are time delays, while managers wait for cameras to get back to the office.
There are syncing issues, with no easy way to make sure everyone has access to the same folders.
What is your product or service?
Today, using SimpleCrew, teams can now upload photos via our iPhone and Android apps directly to the team’s database hosted securely in the cloud.
It happens instantly, so team members don’t have to worry about sending emails or uploading photos later.
And every photo includes time and location info, so teams can see organized campaign summaries with timelines and maps showing exactly when and where each photo was submitted from.
How far are you from having an MVP (minimum viable product)? MVP is done
What phase of development is your company in? Functional Product with Users
Are you incorporated? Yes
Who will you be selling your product or services to?
We’re focusing first on real estate investors and grassroots marketing teams. Our main sales channels are direct marketing, event sponsorships (real estate investor conventions), email marketing, and content marketing.
- 2.2mm real estate investors in the US.
- 150,000 property/real estate managers in US
- 195,000 construction managers in US
- 47,000 event promoters in US
- 32,000 advertising/marketing agencies in US
We launched a public beta on September 17, and have gotten an enthusiastic response from both industries.
Who are your competitors and how are they different?
Currently there are indirect competitors doing similar things for other industries, or focusing on different aspects of field team management.
HD Trade Services is using mobile photos for import/export businesses. Not our core target: http://www.hdtradeservices.com/
Electionear uses mobile apps to manage political canvassing campaigns. Not our core business: http://www.organizer.com/
Servicebridge offers mobile apps for companies managing field teams like
plumbers/electricians/limousines, etc: http://www.servicebridge.com/
Instagram and Facebook Groups offer mobile photos and private groups. Not built for businesses.
Currently, there aren’t direct competitors in our market, due to the relatively new opportunity of proliferated smart phones cameras.
How does your company make money? Monthly subscription fees: www.simplecrew.com/pricing
Have you already raised any capital? Yes – <$50,000
If so, who are your investors? John Campbell, CTO of Yabla.com: www.linkedin.com/pub/john-campbell/5/b28/a5b
Do you have any adivsory board members or mentors? Yes.
Why are you applying to Startup Chile?
We are scrappy, but still need to supplement our small amount of funding with minimal freelance work. The 40k grant will give
us the freelance-free 6 month runway to bootstrap to “Ramen profitability”.
Additionally, co-founder Mike McCabe, has strong ties to Chile through the exchange program at UC San Diego with Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In 2009, he spent 4 incredible weeks traveling Chile with 12 Chilean friends he met at UCSD, including Felipe del Sol Fernandez of AdMetricks, a current SUP company.
He had a true insider experience and has had the desire to return ever since.
How will you contribute to the Chilean entrepreneurial environment?
Mike and Alan have an extensive network of over 200 start-up peers, mentors and professionals from Yelp, Techstars Seattle, 2 Techstars for a Day events, and persistent networking. We know the importance of a warm introduction and plan to leverage our network in anyway possible to help out our fellow SUP cohorts.
We’ve already been mentors to a 1st time tech entrepreneur. We are more excited than he to have Blur It app under review in apple’s app store. Being mentors is something we are very much looking forward to.
When possible, we will hire local Chileans before outsourcing.
What communities do you belong to and how do you contribute to them?
Alan:
Red Bull North America – former brand manager, now connect with leads.
Headstash.com – founded jam band/electronic music community.
Yelp.com – former sales. Maintains relationships with managers and directors in NYC.
Mike :
Founder’s co-op http://www.founderscoop.com/ and TechStars Seattle: Mike was a 2011 TS Hackstar in the shared workspace between Techstars Seattle and Founder’s
co-op. He still remains active in google groups email chain for both TS and FC and attends the yearly Techstars networking reunion.
PistonAgency, San Diego: Current freelance work for international companies such as Oakley, Mitsubishi, and Yakult.
What is your Action Plan for the 6 months in Chile?
Month 1
Direct Marketing/Sales
Month 2
Paid Marketing, continued direct marketing
Month 3
Continued paid, continued SEO, continued direct marketing.
Month 4
Continued paid , continued SEO, continued direct marketing
Month 5
Continued paid, continued SEO, continued direct marketing
Month 6
Continued paid, continued SEO, continued direct marketing:
Your personal details: About the Founder
Name: Alan VanToai
University: University of Maryland
Degree and Area of Study: Business, Marketing
Brief Bio
Co-Founder of SimpleCrew.
Formerly Co-Founder of Headstash.com – an online magazine for the jam and electronic music communities.
Former Account Executive at Yelp.com – supported local business with Yelp Advertising packages.
Former Regional Brand Manager at Red Bull North America – manage regional and local marketing campaigns for Red Bull in DC and Baltimore.
Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.
Team: Letter of Recommendation Highlights
“Alan VanToai and Mike McCabe – the founders of SimpleCrew – impressed me from the beginning. They combined the dedication and energy often seen in young entrepreneurs, with the focus and talent usually reserved for the older, more experienced
professionals.”
How long have you been working full time on this project?
6-12 months
How many people are working full time on this company?
2
Why are you and your team members the perfect team to lead this project?
Mike and I are the quintessential hacker/hustler duo. Mike is a talented full-stack developer with a knack for creating software that solves real world problems.
I’m a business hustler who knows the market and can sell to it.
Team Member Information
(1) Team Member Name: Michael James McCabe
(1) University: University of California, San Diego & University of Delaware
(1) Degree and Area of Study: M.S. Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics (UCSD) & Honors B.S. Electrical Engineering (UD)
(1) Brief Bio
PistonAgency, Jan 2012 – present: Freelance development for international companies such as Mitsubishi, Oakley and Yakult.
app.parisunderbelly.com, Feb 2012 – Partnered with parisunderbelly.com and ideanerd.com to build a tour guide platform with our first tours from Paris. We are
currently in apple app store.
Techstars Seattle Hackstar, 2011 – Worked closely with GoChime.com and built a phonegap mobile app for remitly.com.
Northstar Internet Inc, 2009-2011 – northstarwebdesign.com –
freelance web development
