Kyle
Earlier this summer, we reported on a young Florida startup called Feathr that’s looking to replace the traditional business card by sending contact information and other relevant professional information via mobile app. Today we turn to the middle of the country and Des Moines IA, and a new startup called Proferral.
Des Moines app development startup iapps24 has designed Proferral to be a business referral app that also looks to eliminate the business card. They also have baked in premium features that will allow you to make calls and set appointments in a mobile CRM style solution that will execute and keep track of the call and appointment.
Proferral also takes into consideration the context for which business cards and contact information are exchanged. An integrated calendar allows users to set follow-up appointments right away. Other features baked into Proferral include a portal to offer discounts and rewards, a place to publish videos and testimonials, and other tools that help connectors make the most out of the networking experience.
Proferral also offers a rich networking community within the website, Android and iOS apps. Users can join an already existing network or create a new one.
This feature packed app, and thriving app development startup are percolating in Des Moines IA which is a hotbed of new technology startups. We got a chance to interview iapps24. Check out the interview below.
What is iapps24 and Proferral?
iapps24 makes applications for mobile platforms such iOS and Android. We have created many apps, both directly for the stores and for our clients. We are also working on a couple of ideas for mobile games.
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Darryl Jose is an entrepreneur who started as a business analyst and now has a well-established and successful IT staffing agency.
Jay Namboor started his career as a business analyst/project lead, and has worked for major clients such The Principal Financial Group and John Deere as a consultant.
Yas Kuraishi has more than 15 years of IT experience. Yas is an expert in .net and other technologies, and he helps iapps24 out with all the architect design for the apps.
Where are you based?
West Des Moines, Iowa
All our development activities take place at our home office on Vista Drive. We’ve also established an office in India, which is set up to handle customer support for our clients.
What problem does your startup solve?
Our new application, Proferral, closes a major gap in the business-referral process. In the traditional referral process of passing on a business card, it is easy for the card to be lost and the referral might not be acted upon. With Proferral, the contact information of both parties is shared so either one can take the proactive step to close the business. Also, for a nominal fee, businesses can take it to the next level and initiate a call for action from the app to schedule an appointment or request additional information.
What is one challenge that you’ve overcome in the startup process?
The changes in mobile technology are very fast-paced with new products being introduced almost every day. We have adopted a culture in our company where we always strive to stay up-to-date and use the most current technologies to create better apps.
Who are your mentors and role models?
My biggest source of guidance in recent months has come from the people I meet. Everyone in business has one point that can make a ton of difference, and I believe in listening to what they have to say. For example, when I was doing market research for a carpet manufacturer in Virginia, I walked in to an antique shop with wooden floors. The entire store made a screeching noise. When I approached the owner of the store and asked if he would consider a carpet to reduce the noise, his response was that the noise worked well with the concept of the store. Though this is a very simple concept, it made me realize that there are always things that we don’t think of when we first look at an issue, yet it is when you take the time to listen that you truly understand the reasoning. I believe that everyone has a valuable lesson to teach me.
What’s one thing the world doesn’t know about you or your startup?
Our No. 1 goal is to build mobile products that work well by utilizing the latest technologies to enhance both the professional development and social networking capabilities of our clients.
What’s next for Proferral?
We have a lot of exciting ideas to make Proferral a very successful solution that will work for small businesses as a direct source to gain new business by making it easy to get referrals and to help serve their customers. It was with that in mind that we designed this particular solution to be very flexible and add the most value.
Linkage:
Nibletz is the voice of startups “everywhere else” here are more startup interviews from “everywhere else”
