Midwestern app maker Bluebridge lands $1 million to expand apps-as-subscription model
Summary
“We’ve done it as quickly as 13 days.” For that fee, ranging from $4,200 to $20,000 annually, the client organization gets the ability to choose app functions from a menu of options, a downloadable and branded app that is handled through review and placement in the Apple or Google stores, a do-it-yourself mobile management service with updating content, unlimited push notifications and analytics, unlimited support, and strategic advice. Oh, yes, and there’s also one possible app iteration per quarter, a version for iPad and Android tablets, and what Jaramillo describes as “proactive optimization” by Bluebridge. The new seed funding was led by Aprimo founder Bill Godfrey and Tim Kopp, former CMO of ExactTarget, with the participation of other individual investors. The money will be “invested into our product and client experience team,” Jaramillo told us, as his company simultaneously tries to shrink the sign-on-to-App-Store timeline even further while expanding its scope to include iPhone 6 and and perhaps such other app platforms as smart cars. Instead, Bluebridge has created a roster of functions that clients can largely mix and match, with colors and logo added for branding.