In a world where the Internet and technology rule almost every aspect of our daily lives, marketing and advertising online is a must. However, this is not an easy task. Advertising can often be very expensive and sometimes fruitless. With Tappx (@Tappx_com) the game has changed.
Last month, they broke even and successfully started a new phase for their company. But what is Tappx and how are they going to transform online advertising? We sat down with Daniel Reina, the CEO of Tappx who revealed all.
1. What need does the tech world have for a company like Tappx?
Owing to all the apps and advertising on the web, acquiring visibility and increasing downloads has become more and more difficult for app developers if he or she does not dispose of a generous budget for marketing and advertising. There are more than 3 million apps in the web competing individually to be seen. Tappx solves this problem by creating a community in which all of its users help each other increase and promote each others’ apps.
Before we launched our app, we experimented by cross-promoting with other apps and received positive results. Hence we then decided to create Tappx to help hundreds of thousands of developers around the world!
Tappx works very simply – you promote other apps to receive Tappx credits and in exchange for these credits other members of the Tappx community promote your app. You can interchange advertising with apps on the first level such as Trivia Crack (Etermax), Soccer Runner (U-Play Online), or FMF2015 (From The Bench) and other great apps.
2. Take us back to the launch of your app, your early user base and your company growth?
What surprised us the most was the gratitude we received from Tappx’s users and how much they helped spread the word in blogs and forums. Also, when we were still in beta phase our users gave us all types of advice and volunteered as beta testers. When you launch a product and you see positive responses from your clients it gives you the motivation to keep working hard to improve.
In little more than a year we’ve had 3,300 registered users from 115 different countries and we are managing approximately 50 million ‘prints’ per month, therefore we’ve had great growth results and every month the results are greater than the previous.
3. How has your business model pivoted from its original model to what it is now?
We really haven’t pivoted much from the original model. When you integrate an app on Tappx, for 100 prints of publicity that you show, 85 will be promoted and advertised in other apps in the community. Also, 15 users will show publicity of marketers that will pay us for it and this way we make a profit.
4. What’s the most crucial thing Wayra has contributed during your months in the incubator?
Many things. Just being one of the very few teams selected by Wayra adds value and reputation to our company. After all the help from Wayra’s team, its network of contacts, mentors, the Talentum program, the possibilities of commerce with Telefónica, the offices, the events and without a doubt the money (haha), we’ve been able to advance Tappx’s growth.
5. After the break-even, what plans do you have for the company?
To keep growing with a rapid pace! In the short term, we want to incorporate international talent in the Tappx team. At the same time we are talking to various investors to close a funding round that will allow us to accelerate our growth. If we find an investor that will double as a travel partner, we will do a round and if not, we will continue to do what we’re doing now doing now – bootstrapping. In fact, at the moment we have only obtained 80,000€ of private financing and that has been enough to reach break-even.
