His startup provides a vital service to Google and BMW. Here’s what he has to say.

Roy Solomon, co-founder of Applause

Applause is a global titan in the digital experience space. It’s raised a total of US$115 million in funding; counts brands like Google, Amazon, and BMW as clients; and works with a community of over 250,000 software testers to constantly improve its product.

The startup’s strength lies in helping developers understand how their apps might be perceived by real users. It takes the focus away from laboratory settings and plugs them into the real world, allowing companies to uncover bugs and improve design based on user feedback.

Applause may now have the financial muscle to attract some of the best and brightest in the world. But its origins were far more modest – co-founders Roy Solomon and Doron Reuveni started up in a small apartment, bootstrapping until they were able to convince investors to take a bet on them.

Roy explains the creative spark behind the idea came after “frustration with the status quo.” He’s a former product executive, responsible for quality assurance but wasn’t convinced that existing systems were improving the likelihood of a seamless digital experience.

“I came up with a crowdsourced model to see how the digital product is experienced by customers and test it with them,” he adds. “I realized how valuable other companies would find it to have assurance that their apps and websites would be successful in the hands of real users, not just in a testing lab.”

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Focusing on users

In the early days, the startup concentrated mostly on customer development. Roy and team were attentive to what early users had to say about the product, a judicious approach that helped them reap significant rewards. Customer feedback was incorporated into the model early on with pivots as and when necessary.

“Listening to our customers is why we have grown at the rate since we launched in 2008 and why the world’s biggest brands work with us now,” affirms Roy.

Things got slightly easier for Applause after it managed to lock in a seed round. Roy hints the team was full of great salespeople; they managed to get 20 companies to commit to using the platform even before it was totally ready.

The founders used this momentum to convince investors of their grand vision to shake up several verticals. Another defining moment in their journey was after they snared Google, impressed them with their work, and never looked back.

“Digital experiences are the gateway to brands. If someone has a bad digital experience, they’re off to your competitor – often with no switching cost at all,” says Roy. “We’re helping companies understand how those experiences play out and how your users will actually engage with them.”

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