Washington, D.C. (January 2, 2013) – Today, the Application Developers Alliance welcomed twelve thriving startups as corporate members. Mentorship-driven startup accelerator TechStars has joined, along with Animoca, CoFoundersLab, Find Your Lobster, Grafighters, HugeFan, LearnStreet, PapayaMobile, PlacePlay, Ruckus Media, Uppidy, and Virtual Nerd. TechStars’ Nicole Glaros will serve on the Application Developers Alliance Board of Directors in 2013.
“Considering how many developers and startups there are, and that the app industry is still in its infancy, the formation of the Application Developers Alliance is a critical step to ensuring best practices and representation for this rapidly accelerating industry. TechStars works with dozens of top-notch mobile-oriented startups, and I’m pleased to bring that insight to helping the Alliance,” said Nicole Glaros, Managing Director of TechStars.
“Developers continue to become one of the most valuable contributors to the knowledge economy and tech industry in particular. CoFoundersLab wants to empower developers to become stakeholders in new businesses. As demand for a limited number of developers continues to increase, we believe developers are well positioned to demand greater ownership and a seat at the table in forming new businesses. The Application Developers Alliance is the perfect community for CoFoundersLab and its members to help accelerate new tech ventures, and further empower developers worldwide,” said Shahab Kaviani, Co-Founder and CEO of CoFoundersLab.
As Alliance members, the companies will have access to a network of more than 18,000 individual developers and more than 100 companies as well as the recently launched DevsBuild.It, the Alliance’s Resource Center. Members also have the opportunity to participate in events, policy advocacy, and Alliance working groups. Animoca, LearnStreet, Ruckus Media, and Virtual Nerd will serve on the soon-to-be launched Kids and Education Working Group.
“Virtual Nerd is thrilled to be part of the Application Developers Alliance Kids and Education Working Group, where we look forward to spirited dialogue about how we can all work together to improve outcomes for students by leveraging blended learning, mobile apps, and BYOD initiatives,” said Doug Roberts, the company’s Vice President of Educational Partnerships.
“Our mission is to support and serve the dynamic application development industry. Helping ideas become apps and innovators become entrepreneurs is the core of the industry and of our initiatives,” said Jon Potter, Alliance President. “The app market gives innovators a unique opportunity to successfully build a product and a business with the right tools. A growing number of startups are finding the support they need as members of the Alliance and through our Resource Center, DevsBuild.It.”
The new members joining today are:
Animoca
Animoca is a leading developer and publisher of mobile games and edutainment apps for global audiences. A subsidiary of Outblaze Ventures, the company has released more than 300 apps across multiple platforms, with more than 115 million total downloads since its launch in January 2011.
CoFoundersLab
CoFoundersLab’s mission is to help entrepreneurs with one of the hardest, yet most critical, pieces to starting a new business: finding the right co-founder(s) and helping co-founders build lasting business relationships. CoFoundersLab does the matchmaking process via two services: an online matching platform at CoFoundersLab.com and in-person, quarterly events throughout more than 20 cities around the world.
Find Your Lobster
Find Your Lobster is NYC’s mobile, organic alternative to dating sites. The company leverages existing social graphs to replace complicated matching algorithms with the opinions of trusted friends. The goal at Find Your Lobster is to mimic the way relationships start in real life. Find Your Lobster will be releasing an iOS app in January.
Grafighters
Grafighters is a gaming platform that brings your drawings to life. Using a combination of image recognition technologies and innovative animation techniques, Grafighters is bringing an unprecedented level of customization into the gaming industry. The first Grafighters game, a fighting RPG, will be launching on iOS in early 2013.
HugeFan
HugeFan is an online platform where performers and celebrities offer incredible in-person experiences with their biggest fans.
LearnStreet
LearnStreet is changing the way people learn how to code. For everyone from complete beginners with no programming background to developers interested in picking up a new coding language, LearnStreet provides a free and interactive online platform for learning JavaScript, Python, Ruby and beyond.
PapayaMobile
PapayaMobile has over 80 million users on its mobile social network and 200,000,000 impressions per month on its cross-promotion network AppFlood.
PlacePlay
PlacePlay helps iOS & Android app developers increase revenue with targeted, in-app, advertising and user acquisition services.
Ruckus Media Group
Ruckus Media Group creates interactive applications for mobile devices designed to entertain and educate children. Launched in September 2010, Ruckus delights children with interactive storybooks from the most popular names in entertainment (Hasbro, Crayola, Dino Dan, SeaWorld) as well as best-selling classics (Curious George, Five Little Monkeys) and celebrated authors (David A. Carter, Kathryn Brown, and more). Parents are provided with feedback on their child’s experiences within the applications, including time spent with each book, and reading tips from educators and parents. Since the company’s launch, Ruckus has been recognized with over 30 parenting and app awards, including a Mom’s Choice Gold Award for the #1 iTunes bestselling “My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day,” based on the ever-popular Hasbro toy characters.
Uppidy
Uppidy makes texts portable. Uppidy lets everyone save, search, or share their texts.
TechStars
TechStars is a mentorship-driven seed stage investment program. We run a three month long program in Boston (MA), Boulder (CO), Cloud (San Antonio, TX), New York City (NY), and Seattle (WA) once each year. Hundreds of companies apply and TechStars only takes about ten companies per city. These companies get $18,000 in seed funding. In addition, companies accepted into the program are offered a $100,000 convertible debt note by a group of prominent VCs immediately upon acceptance into TechStars. Funding details here. TechStars founders also get great perks such as free hosting and services, a nice place to work, three months of intensive top-notch mentorship, and the chance to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program. When the program concludes, being a TechStar does not. The supportive network of TechStars alumni, mentors, and investors is unrivaled. The opportunity to pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of the program is provided during our Investor and Demo Day. Historically, TechStars companies go on to average more than $1M raised in outside capital after the program. See the detailed results. For any other questions, see the FAQ.
Virtual Nerd
Virtual Nerd helps teachers close the achievement gap in mathematics by providing highly engaging, interactive, video tutorial playlists combined with a robust teacher toolkit to help measure and manage student progress. Virtual Nerd is different because the company has designed its video content and software for teachers and students with diverse learning needs and partners closely with educators and schools to customize its curriculum for their needs.
About the Application Developers Alliance
The Application Developers Alliance is an industry association dedicated to meeting the unique needs of application developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Alliance members include more than 18,000 individual application developers and more than 100 companies, investors, and stakeholders in the apps ecosystem.
