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NOTTINGHAM, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, June 9, 2017 / EINPresswire.com / — UK-based AppInstitute has made strides into further establishing themselves as the preeminent DIY App Builder solution. With the recently concluded Appsme acquisition AppInstitute will almost double their current global customer base whilst also increasing their international bias. AppInstitute is working closely with the Appsme team to ensure each and every app is migrated seamlessly onto their powerful App Builder platform offering tons of additional features to every existing Appsme customer. These features include AppInstitute’s newly launched AppSmart product that will now provide Appsme customers with the opportunity to further strengthen their relationship with their customers. Appsme was a recognised industry leader in high scale mobile application platforms. Over the past 6 years they have delivered over 200,000 apps to app stores and worked closely with leading handset manufacturers globally. AppInstitute CEO and Founder, Ian Naylor, said:
“This acquisition shows our intent to establish AppInstitute as the global market leader in the low-code mobile app building space. Over the last five years, we’ve worked incredibly hard to build out some awesome tech. With this acquisition, we’re able to bolster 1,000’s of businesses in one fell swoop, which is personally extremely gratifying and proves the scalability of our business. Our easy to use App Builder platform enables businesses to leverage the power of mobile marketing to improve business growth and efficiency by driving Transactions, encouraging Loyalty and streamlining Communications, we call that the TLC affect. I’m excited to see this diverse range of small and medium sized businesses come on board and start to take advantage of our enhanced TLC mobile app toolset as well as our best of breed app marketing solutions and strategies.”
Appsme CEO, Nick Barnett, said:
“We are delighted that AppInstitute has chosen to acquire Appsme's customers. AppInstitute has a great product and will bring a number of new features to Appsme’s existing feature list. Personally, I feel there will emerge a handful of global leaders in the SME app-building space, and this acquisition helps cement AppInstitute’s place as number one. ”
About AppInstitute
Founded in 2011 AppInstitute is a 24 person, young, innovative, SaaS (Software as a Service) business based in the UK out of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter. Boasting tens of thousands of customers from all over the globe using their DIY App Builder platform to create mobile apps. AppInstitute is at the forefront of the smartphone app platform industry with partners and customers including PayPal, John Lewis, L’Oréal and Nissan. Dubbed the 'Wordpress for mobile apps', AppInstitute's cloud-based service aims to revolutionise the app market by providing a SaaS platform that allows SMEs and individuals with little to no prior technical knowledge to create their own app with ease. Nabeena Mali

UK tech firm AppInstitute announces acquisition of Appsme

Thu, 08 Jun 2017
By Catherine Deshayes
AppInstitute, a Nottingham-based software as a service company, has completed the acquisition of counterpart Appsme in a deal that will almost double its global customer base. The company was founded in 2011 and has a high-profile customer base including PayPal, John Lewis, L'Oréal and Nissan. Online mobile app builder Appsme was founded in 2014 and has so far delivered more than 200,000 apps to app stores and small businesses, as well as working closely with leading handset manufacturers globally. Appsme chief executive Nick Barnett was happy with the move, saying he was "delighted that AppInstitute has chosen to acquire Appsme's customers. "AppInstitute has a great product and will bring a number of new features to Appsme’s existing feature list. Personally, I feel there will emerge a handful of global leaders in the SME app-building space, and this acquisition helps cement AppInstitute’s place as number one." AppInstitute chief executive and founder, Ian Naylor, added: "This acquisition shows our intent to establish AppInstitute as the global market leader in the low-code mobile app building space. "With this acquisition, we’re able to bolster thousands of businesses in one fell swoop, which is personally extremely gratifying and validates the scalability of our business." Find technology businesses for sale here
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Appsme acquired in deal that will double global customer base

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UK-based tech firm AppInstitute makes strides into establishing themselves as the preeminent DIY App Builder solution with their recent Appsme acquisition. NOTTINGHAM, NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, June 7, 2017 / EINPresswire.com / — UK-based AppInstitute has made strides into further establishing themselves as the preeminent DIY App Builder solution. With the recently concluded Appsme acquisition AppInstitute will almost double their current global customer base whilst also increasing their international bias. AppInstitute is working closely with the Appsme team to ensure each and every app is migrated seamlessly onto their powerful App Builder platform offering tons of additional features to every existing Appsme customer. These features include AppInstitute’s newly launched AppSmart product that will now provide Appsme customers the opportunity to further strengthen their relationship with their customers. Appsme, an Accel Partners portfolio company and a recognised industry leader in high scale mobile application platforms. Over the past 6 years, they have delivered over 200,000 apps to app stores and worked closely with leading handset manufacturers globally. AppInstitute CEO and Founder, Ian Naylor, said:
“This acquisition shows our intent to establish AppInstitute as the global market leader in the low-code mobile app building space. With this acquisition, we’re able to bolster 1,000’s of businesses in one fell swoop, which is personally extremely gratifying and validates the scalability of our business. Our easy to use App Builder platform enables businesses to leverage the power of mobile marketing to improve business growth and efficiency by driving Transactions, encouraging Loyalty and streamlining Communications, we call this the TLC effect. I’m excited to see this diverse range of small and medium sized businesses come on board and start to take advantage of our enhanced TLC mobile app toolset, as well as our best of breed app marketing solutions and strategies.”
Appsme CEO, Nick Barnett, said:
“We are delighted that AppInstitute has chosen to acquire Appsme's customers. AppInstitute has a great product and will bring a number of new features to Appsme’s existing feature list. Personally, I feel there will emerge a handful of global leaders in the SME app-building space, and this acquisition helps cement AppInstitute’s place as number one.”
About AppInstitute:
Founded in 2011 AppInstitute is a 24 person, young, innovative, SaaS (Software as a Service) business based in the UK out of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter. Boasting tens of thousands of customers from all over the globe using their DIY App Builder platform to create mobile apps. AppInstitute is at the forefront of the smartphone app platform industry with partners and customers including PayPal, John Lewis, L’Oréal and Nissan. Dubbed the 'Wordpress for mobile apps', AppInstitute's cloud-based service aims to revolutionise the app market by providing a SaaS platform that allows SMEs and individuals with little to no prior technical knowledge to create their own app with ease. Nabeena Mali

Facebook investor Accel agrees to sell Appsme to UK tech firm AppInstitute

by Roland Moore-Colyer
16 Jun 2015
Appsme was founded by Nick Barnett (pictured) and David Mannl in February 2014 and provides an online mobile app builder to help small businesses create applications. The company is based in serviced offices in south west London and currently employs 12 people. Its aim is to help smaller firms engage with customers, encourage loyalty and ultimately increase revenue in a cost-effective way. V3 shone the Startup Spotlight on Barnett to find out more about his business. Why did you choose to set up Appsme? The apps market, to us, feels very much like the websites market about 10 to 15 years ago. People didn't know how to build a website and were put off by how difficult and expensive it was. We saw that big businesses and brands, like Starbucks and Pizza Express, were taking advantage of mobile apps to boost revenues and increase customer loyalty, but felt that independent SMEs were prevented from doing so because of cost and complexity barriers. We knew that, if we could remove these barriers, we could help independent companies compete on a more level playing field. Tell us how you got Appsme off the ground
We were lucky as we already had a mobile apps business, Mippin, which worked closely with news and media publishers to build their apps. Appsme started as a small project within Mippin, and has rapidly grown to be the focus of the whole business. What technology do you use with Appsme? For the apps we use XCode, Java, Cordova, HTML5. For our websites we mostly use Java and JavaScript. We also make use of cloud platforms. We use Parse to enable push notifications in apps and we use FastSpring/Saasy as a subscription payments platform. For analytics, we mostly use Google Analytics. What level of funding have you received so far? Again, we were lucky here as Mippin received funding from Accel Partners, one of the largest tech investors in the world. What challenges have you encountered? Lots. Some have been technical, like getting location-based messaging working flawlessly in the apps, and getting iBeacons to work on Android as well as they do on iOS. We met some commercial challenges as well, like helping SMEs understand the value an app can bring to their business and how some of our customers are generating a tenfold return on their investment. What's been the biggest highlight of Appsme so far? Working closely with business owners and seeing them ‘get it'. A switch can get flicked when their app goes live. They see it being downloaded and used by their customers and they see customers coming back more often and spending more with them. It's great to see. What do you and your staff do to relax or have fun after a busy day? Frequent trips to one of the many good local pubs. Plus we have regular team days, recently the old classic of bowling at Brooklyn Bowl but also go-karting and park sports days. What did you do before starting Appsme? I used to work in telecoms and was at O2 for about five years in its corporate development team, which basically means I worked with the teams to make the business better and did a bit of buying, and looking at selling, parts of the business. Prior to O2 I was with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. What are your favourite and worst things about running your own startup? I love being able to move fast. We can think of an idea in the morning and be testing it in the afternoon. Worst things? Other than the obvious battle for hiring good talent and how much time it takes, I hate the admin overhead and I'm always up for outsourcing as much of it as possible. If you could emulate the success of another startup, which would it be? Wix.com. What they have done with websites, making them the world's largest website builder with over 40 million customers, we want to do with apps. Tech hero? Henry Ford. Smart or casual? Both. There's a time and a place. But for work and the office, it's a pretty casual environment. Coffee shop of choice? The Fallow Deer in Teddington, also an Appsme customer. Beverage of choice?

V3 Startup Spotlight: Online mobile app builder Appsme - IT News from V3.co.uk

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NEWS ANALYSIS: What does the technology industry make of Apple’s expansion? Fans of mobile payments were rejoicing last night when it was announced that Apple Pay would finally be coming to the UK next month. From July, users will be able to make purchases, use vouchers, and complete contactless transactions using just their Apple device, offering a quick and easy way to get around. But what does the technology industry think of the news? TechWeekEurope asked, and they answered…
Mark Barnett, President of MasterCard UK & Ireland
“Apple Pay, combined with MasterCard’s digital payments technology, gives consumers a simple, convenient and secure way to shop. MasterCard was first in the world to offer contactless and mobile payment solutions, and Britons have rapidly adopted tap and pay behaviour. In the UK, we make more than 10 contactless payments every second, and on Transport for London alone , commuters tap to pay over one million times a day. With this clear shift in payment preference so strongly embedded, we are excited that MasterCard cardholders will soon be able to make payments from some of their Apple devices, knowing that every purchase is secure and offers all the same guarantees and benefits they’ve come to expect from using their MasterCard.”
Anthony Duffy, director of retail banking in UK & Ireland at Fujitsu
“Apple Pay’s announcement that it will land in the UK this summer is exciting and to be welcomed. It is likely to act as a major stimulus in the development of electronic wallets in Britain. It will also provide Apple with a head start over rivals Android Pay and Samsung Pay, neither of which have announced plans yet to enter the UK market. Those who are already familiar with using contactless payments will soon find that using an electronic wallet via their mobile phone is a simple and logical next step. Indeed, the growth in contactless payments is already growing and looks set to accelerate further, driven by three key developments – increased consumer comfort in using non-traditional payment options; a continued shift to internet shopping; and the appearance of new, additional payment options such as Apple Pay. However, others may be concerned by perceived security issues. For this reason, the industry will look to continue its twin approaches of deploying state-of-the art security and communicating its risk mitigation approaches to both current and prospective users. Apple Pay has elected to deploy finger print technology on its mobile phones, while, at Fujitsu, we believe that iris recognition technologies offer the ultimate form of protection”. Dennis Jones, CEO, Judo Payments
“Apple Pay coming to the UK is the next step to not just a cashless, but also cardless society which I believe is just years away. Apple starting with 250,000 locations in the UK shows Apple’s commitment to a larger launch than in the US. And for us in the UK’s capital we can say goodbye to the Oyster card with Apple Pay’s seamless process coming to TFL from July. Not only that but Apple Pay is coming to social in the form of immediate payment using Pinterest pins – this area seems rife for expansion in the coming months/years.”
Jeremy Nicholds, executive director of mobile at Visa Europe
“Contactless payments are already widely embraced by millions of Visa cardholders across the country every day, so adding the simplicity and convenience of Apple Pay will catapult mobile payments into the mainstream. If people leave the house with one item, it’s their mobile phone – we’ve worked alongside Apple and the various banks involved to give customers a really seamless and exciting new payment experience through Apple Pay, so they have new ways to use their favourite Visa cards on the go and when shopping in the apps they love.”
Dave Hobday, UK Managing Director of Worldpay
“For Worldpay, the roll out of Apple Pay in the UK is an exciting step in the evolution of contactless payments and heralds the future of retail. Apple Pay is essential for swiftly bringing secure and private mobile payments at scale to the High Street, providing shoppers with yet another quick and easy alternative to cash. Retailers who fail to adopt this new technology will quickly lose out to their savvier rivals.”
Geoff Blaber, vice president, Americas at CCS Insight
“Apple Pay is a clear example of where numbers count. Apple’s scale gives it an inherent advantage over rivals and it’s one of the few apps that really does unlock new potential when it is always available on your wrist. The company has done well to win support from London’s transportation system, as Apple Pay launches in UK, it offers a large installed base of users immediate benefit on a daily basis”
Nick Barnett, CEO of Appsme
“The fundamental benefit of services like Apple Pay is convenience, not only for the customer but for business owners with a high store footfall or regular lunchtime rush. Assuming the purchase is of low value (the limit for contactless payment is £20), the need to dig out a card or carry out a time consuming transaction is completely removed. A few minutes of saved time for each payment can make day-to-day business management duties that bit easier to get through. While businesses must initially invest to replace or upgrade their payment system or PDQ machine in store, there are tangible benefits in getting ahead of the game and making the customer experience easier. For customers, the prospect of paying for their daily coffee or a haircut on their phone is new, but not alien. Even so, retailers should prepare for questions from customers who aren’t aware of the system’s security measures. Card numbers aren’t stored on the device or by Apple, but are instead assigned a unique number which is encrypted and stored securely within the iPhone or Apple Watch. If a phone is lost or stolen, payments can be suspended remotely. We expect larger players and chains to sign up to Apple Pay relatively quickly, but it remains to be seen whether independent stores will bite the bullet immediately. Until results and positive customer feedback roll in from larger brands, and independents feel they can fully weigh up the benefits, uptake may be a slow burn.”
Spiros Theodossiou, VP of product strategy, Skrill
“The payments industry has a lot to thank Apple for – not the least for making a lot of people familiar and comfortable with online payments and digital wallets. While Apple Pay has seen slower than anticipated adoption in the US, much of this is due to the far smaller base of places where Apple Pay can be used (contactless terminals) there. The good news for Apple is that the UK has embraced contactless payment methods with 58m contactless cards issued and a 330.8 percent rise in contactless payments in 2014, according to the UK Cards Association. As consumers do more on their mobile phones, they demand more connected and immediate experiences. This is what is driving the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung to tackle the payments space. Such brands help build credibility among those consumers previously cautious of adopting mobile payments. This is good news for the digital payments industry as a whole and will only accelerate the migration away from cash to more convenient payment methods such as digital wallets from providers like Skrill. This is just one of multiple disrupting technologies that will impact banking and payments. Whether its mobile devices allowing instant access, or NFC being integrated into phones and wearables, or Facebook offering payments through messenger, payments is set-up for a revolution in the coming years. There is no doubt the relationship consumer have with banks, card schemes, phone manufacturers and technology companies will continue to change.”
Lee Perkins, managing director, Sage UK
“The world of business has learnt a huge amount from the consumer payments landscape. Pioneers like Apple Pay have accelerated the pace for the payments sector and agile businesses will soon follow suit. 2015 is set to be a milestone year for the future of payments as businesses, like consumers, seek more secure, transparent, automated payments processes to give greater accuracy, efficiency and control of their money.”

Will Apple Pay Find Success In The UK?

Acquired

Refresh Mobile, dba Appsme, is an easy-to-use website that enables anyone to build a mobile app for their business in a simple three-step process. The app will work on iPhones, Android phones, and all other phones.

Date	Round	Amount	Investors	Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model.	Revenue	Sources
6/7/2017	Acquired		AppInstitute	$XXM	0 FY undefined	2
6/17/2015	Seed VC		Subscribe to see more	$XXM	0 FY undefined	10

Date	6/7/2017	6/17/2015
Round	Acquired	Seed VC
Amount
Investors	AppInstitute	Subscribe to see more
Valuation	$XXM	$XXM
Revenue	0 FY undefined	0 FY undefined
Sources	2	10

First funding	Last Funding	Investor	Rounds	Board Seats	Type	Location
6/7/2017	6/7/2017	AppInstitute	1 Acquired		Corporation	United Kingdom
00/00/0000	00/00/0000	Accel	Subscribe to see more		Venture Capital	California

First funding	6/7/2017	00/00/0000
Last Funding	6/7/2017	00/00/0000
Investor	AppInstitute	Accel
Rounds	1 Acquired	Subscribe to see more
Board Seats
Type	Corporation	Venture Capital
Location	United Kingdom	California

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