This article appeared in the May issue of CRN as part of the main feature "Stop shutting down startups"
Appenate was born 18 months ago in Brisbane with the idea to replace paper forms. This has grown into a mobile app development platform for the enterprise. Appenate has since pivoted to a channel model, says co-founder Paul du Bois.
The startup now has customers in nine countries including Australia and New Zealand, Britain, the US and is exploring opportunities in Guatemala and Germany.
“We’re letting [channel partners] open a new line,” du Bois says. “A UK customer was a VoIP and Google Apps reseller and they could, through us, launch mobility services as part of their offering. Companies are building nice revenue streams on our platform.”
Helping du Bois is River City Labs in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. The co-working community’s general manager, Peta Ellis , says it provides startups with more than a desk.
“Technology people generally aren’t the most sociable so we create opportunities for social activity,” Ellis says. “Events get people to take off their headphones.”
Du Bois says the ability to work with other startups is important. An apparent contradiction – that in an era of broadband and ubiquitous mobile technologies, physical co-location is supremely important – has been identified in studies from Sydney to Haifa and San Jose.
“And having a space you can come to every day and treat as your office and have a designated desk is very important,” du Bois says. “I was working in a home office originally and it makes you realise your startup is real, not a side project.”
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