User:Serenapolverino/sandbox

AppsBuilder is an Italian self-service app creator that allows users with no coding skills to build native applications and HTML5 Web apps in the cloud, deliver them to 7 different operating systems and distribute them on the major application stores.

The project was kicked off in April 2010 by the two computer engineers Daniele Pelleri and Luigi Giglio, who opened their first office in Milan, Italy, later followed by a branch office in Catania.

In October 2012, AppsBuilder was granted a €1.5 million funding by the venture capital funds Vertis Venture and Zernike Meta Ventures, which contributed to the company’s staff acquisition and brand internationalization.

Overview
AppsBuilder is a crossplatform tool to create, edit and distribute mobile apps compatible with all the major devices currently available on the mobile market: iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone and tablet, Windows Phone 7.5 and 8 and BlackBerry 10.

Its services are mainly addressed to privates and SME aiming at reaching out to their audience on the go and provide their services and products in a mobile-optimized way.

The platform relies on a cloud-based system that guarantees the lowest latency time and high bandwidth. Moreover, unlike it typically happens with native apps, it is possible to update applications’ content and layout anytime and see the changes in real time, with no need to resubmit the app to the stores.

Moreover, the analytics panel allows users to monitor in real time their application’s rates and trends and sort statistics by type of device or date, to constantly monitor the application’s performance and make sense of the areas that need improvement.

The company provides two ways of distributing mobile applications: users can either carry on the whole store submission process by themselves or have AppsBuilder handle the process for them, upon the activation of a developer account on the desired store. The platform offers also several additional marketing tools to monetize mobile applications, such as QR code generators, geolocalized couponing, in-app subscriptions and the opportunity to join mobile advertising networks – such as iAD and inMobi – to integrate banners into applications and get new revenue streams.

For web marketing agencies, webmasters and enterprises, AppsBuilder has developed a white label content management system (CMS), which allows users to create multiple log-in accounts to manage their clients’ applications. Apart from all the features available on the platform, the white label CMS also allows users to fully customize their dashboard layout, for example uploading their company logo, choosing brand colours and remove AppsBuilder brand from the address bar so that every step of the app development process is associated with the user’s own brand.

History
The project was kicked off in April 2010, when the two computer engineers Luigi Giglio and Daniele Pelleri acknowledged the mobile as the major technology shift of modern times and decided to develop a do-it-yourself app platform to create, edit and promote mobile apps with no programming skills at all.

Driven by a sincere passion for programming languages and the mobile industry, Daniele and Luigi soon realized that the success of the product could not depend only on full-time programming, but that it was necessary to start looking for financial injections and business coaching for the project to really take off. After drafting a basic business plan and using the contacts found on the Internet, they managed to fix several appointments with venture capital firms and business angels to illustrate their project’s potential.

It was through one of these appointments that they stumbled into Massimiliano Magrini (Annapurna Ventures CEO) and Mario Mariani (The Net Value CEO), two Italian venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who made their expertise and skills available to provide the digital startup with the funds and the mentoring needed to penetrate the market and face competition.

Thanks to their support and mentoring, AppsBuilder managed to consolidate its brand on the market and further implement the platform with functionalities aimed at turning mobile apps into customer relationship management tools for enterprises and professionals, which gained the company a new round of investments.

In October 2012, AppsBuilder was granted a €1.5 million funding by the venture capital funds Vertis Venture and Zernike Meta Ventures, which contributed to the company’s staff acquisition and brand internazionalization.

Events
As a successful case history in the digital startup field, AppsBuilder gets often invited to forums, conferences and events about innovation technologies and digital media, such as:
 * Wake up Italy! (Boston, 9-11 November 2012), a European Student Club conference at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management organized by NOVA – the Italian MBA Association.
 * TechCrunch Italy (Rome, 27 September 2012), a TechCrunch event co-organized with the leading digital media group Populis to showcase the most disruptive Italian startups.
 * Vedrò (Dro, 26-29 August 2012), VIII Edition of the yearly conference of innovation and entrepreneurship in Italy organized by the homonymous think-net in collaboration with Telecom Italia.
 * Social Media Week (Milan, 19-23 September 2011), the yearly worldwide event exploring the social, cultural and economic impact of social media on daily life and business.