Nibletz Staff
One of the cool things about startups is the collaboration that happens when you put smart people together. In the hardware space, New York-based Quirky is growing. The startup allows wannabe inventors to submit their ideas online. The community votes on which should be developed, and Quirky’s experts build it.
Last month they announced a $30 million investment from GE that also includes opening up GE’s patents to Quirky inventors.
Now, a startup out of Ohio State University is doing the same thing for apps.
Keith Shields and Joshua Tucker are both engineering students at OSU, but they also run Applits. The company has a similar submission/vote/develop model as Quirky, but they also monetize by offering development services to anyone.
Each month, hopeful app creators submit their ideas, which go through a vetting process. Chosen ideas are put up on the site, and voted on during Voting Week. The winning idea goes through business model development, UI and design stages, and final a final development before it’s submitted to the App Store.
The company already has a few apps in the App Store and are seeing traction on their site.
Our Q&A with the Applits team is below. Check them out if you have an idea you love enough to develop, non hipster-style.
What is your startup called?
Applits: An App Idea Competition
What does your company do?
People submit their app ideas to our website, the community votes on those ideas, and we bring them to life.
Who are the founders, and what are their backgrounds?
Keith Shields (CEO) and Joshua Tucker (CFO) are co-founders of Applits and are current engineering students at the Ohio State University. They are both from Marcellus, New York.
What problem do you solve?
We help people who have innovative ideas without the tools to create them see their ideas come to life.
Why now?
With technology constantly growing, we felt that it was crucial to have the public have a voice in deciding what products get created. This is why we created Applits.
What are some of the milestones your startup has already reached?
We have created 7 great apps that are being used by many people and are available for download on iTunes.
What are your next milestones?
To get more awareness forApplits.com and our new #AppForCharity campaign where we will donate December’s winning app’s profits to a charity for one year.
Where can people find out more? Any social media links you want to share?
@ApplitsOfficial @_keithshields @JoshuaRTucker
