Media consumption has drastically changed over the years; 73% of 13-18-year-olds watch videos on their smartphones and only 33% watch cable TV, while Millennials stream more online TV than any other generation. Needless to say, if a media company wants to stay relevant then it must be where the audience is. Applicaster’s Zapp App Management Platform enables media companies to create and manage mobile and connected OTT apps from a single platform. Zapp’s quick-to-code, reusable technology reduces the time and cost to launch OTT apps and increases post-launch agility as apps can be reconfigured, not recoded, for use in multiple apps and platforms such as Apple TV, Samsung, LG, Android TV and Amazon Fire TV. Applicaster is used by organizations that include FOX Networks, Conde Naste, and Viacom. Applicaster continues to reiterate on Zapp and launched Zapp’s latest framework, Quick Brick, which eliminates the need to code visual UI elements of OTT apps in multiple languages
AlleyWatch caught up with Cofounder and CEO Jonathan Laor to learn about the inspiration for Applicaster and how it has evolved. The company has raised total funding of $67M since its founding in 2011.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
$11M. The funding round was led by Viola Growth, with participation from 83 North, Pitango, Saban Ventures, Planven Investments, and La Maison. This was the second tranche of our growth round and was on the back of the momentum in the market. Series C.
Tell us about the product or service that Applicaster offers.
The Zapp App Management Platform shrinks the time it takes to make, manage, and iterate multi-platform OTT apps, (the apps created by broadcasters and streaming platforms).
To grow audiences, and revenue, networks need to reach users on the devices and platforms they already use. Under other models of app management, this requires re-coding the same app to be accessible on multiple platforms using multiple codebases, driving up costs, and wasting time.
Zapp shrinks time and costs because its unique architecture allows developers to add features and functionality as quick-to-code, reusable plugins that can be customized and configured by other members of the team for use in multiple apps and even multiple platforms.
Zapp can be used with or without internal development resources using features inherent to the platform or pre-integrated in the Zapp Marketplace. Zapp’s frameworks turbo-power in-house development by 5x for Roku and 2-3x for mobile, AppleTV, Samsung, LG, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV apps.
Our people surround the tech – we’re SaaS with friendly faces. Every customer has a Customer Success team to guide them through the app process and connect them with teams to provide additional technical solutions as needed.
How is Applicaster different?
We love content. I come from consulting and my cofounder from a gaming background. Media companies had an amazing opportunity with huge audiences that faced disruption and had similar pains – which were perfect for a SaaS solution such as Applicaster.
What market does Applicaster target and how big is it?
Applicaster started out over a decade ago making custom apps. We built Zapp because WE needed the flexibility, scalability, and agility to power our apps, and that just wasn’t available anywhere else. We scale developers’ work and scale “development work” to non-developers so media brands can control their timelines, encourage iteration, make changes on their timelines, and reduce TTM (time to market) and TCO (total cost of ownership).
We are built for change. We were among the first to architect apps in the cloud and weld the various clouds and tech stacks of customers together for their apps. Our approach helps customers connect with the audiences who love them, on a proliferating number of devices and platforms. We had no idea how prescient our platform approach was. Now as disruption is coming at an ever-increasing pace, our team structure and platform approach are helping us respond to the needs of media companies and enabling them to respond to the changes in viewing behavior and grow their offering to reach new audiences.
What’s your business model?
Applicaster targets media companies, operators, publishers, sports leagues and teams, and right holders launching direct-to-consumer platforms. Our technology stands out even more in cases in which the customer has multiple apps that are similar, not identical, and even in-house/commissioned development teams.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
COVID has changed viewer habits around the world on a dime, and media brands have come to us realizing they need to launch on multiple platforms quickly to take advantage of the sudden change in viewing habits. We have one new customer who is launching a full TV app presence, and Applicaster will help them launch on multiple TV platforms in the same amount of time as it would take other development models to launch on one.
What was the funding process like?
We are fortunate to be backed by some of the best funds in the industry. Our job is to deliver the goods and we continue to do so.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
If delivering the goods was not a challenge, everyone would be doing this. It’s not for everyone.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our market is one of the unique ones that COVID 19 has actually propelled. People are at home, spending more time and money on streaming services than on restaurants or other types of recreation and entertainment.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We continue to develop our technology that has brought us to the forefront of multiplatform development. Additional partnerships with leading online video platforms (OVPs) and platforms are being announced.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh
injection of capital in the bank?
Look at your operational margin (not gross margin) and work very hard to improve it quickly. Cut all activities that are not essential to growth. It’s the same advice I would give to a company that has received a fresh injection of capital – ourselves included.
Look at your operational margin (not gross margin) and work very hard to improve it quickly. Cut all activities that are not essential to growth. It’s the same advice I would give to a company that has received a fresh injection of capital – ourselves included.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Our new QuickBrick engine has put us at the forefront of multi-platform development. Developing Roku apps has shifted from a challenge (brightscript is not trivial) to one of our strongest suits. Additional partnerships with leading OVPs are being announced, and this is terrific because we now offer a true meaningful advantage to launching apps and reduce overall Devops cost and time. It’s just great to see Applicaster recognized so widely.
What’s your favorite outdoor dining restaurant in NYC
Uncle Boon’s Sister for the food (not as great as the original, but close enough), Baby Brasa for the atmosphere, and Miss Ada in Brooklyn for a winning combo.
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