Threatened by Instagram, photo app Molome survived thanks to a startup accelerator

Asians are kinda obsessed with taking photos – selfies, foodie pics, anything. Two cities in the Philippines are the two top spots in the world for Instagram selfies. Thailand has 1.5 million Instagram users, and a mall there is the most Instagrammed place in the world.

With all that going on in the background, Thailand-based startup Molome wants its photo-sharing app to take off amongst the region’s photo-addicted populace.

Founded in March 2011, Molome dreamed of being just like Instagram. But the team soon realized the soon-to-be-Facebook-owned app had already won the battle.

Making photos funnier

However, Molome’s founders didn’t give up. Instead, they evolved the app. Molome is now a photo app fused with huge Line-style stickers and a meme generator. Instead of focusing on beautifying photos, the app aims to make photos funnier. Molome has 40,000 daily active users right now who upload over 15,000 photos per day.

According to Molome’s founders, Atthur (Art) Chaiyamanon and Sittiphol (Neoi) Phanvilai, they have startup accelerator Joyful Frog Digital Incubator (JFDI) to thank for the turn-around – and for a big change in their way of thinking. The two JFDI alumni claim the Singapore-based accelerator completely transformed the way they look at business.

(See: Singapore accelerator JFDI raises $2.1 million, will run more bootcamps than ever before)

Timing matters

Molome’s founders tell Tech in Asia that a few years back the word “startup” wasn’t widely used or known in Thailand, so the duo weren’t even aware it was a startup. The two friends only knew they wanted to create a photo-sharing platform. After struggling for a few years, they realized what a startup was. But the tech ecosystem in Thailand wasn’t ready and the company struggled to find the right investors and mentors.

Nonetheless, the duo knew they wanted to go global with the app.

So the founders applied to JFDI. The first interview with the accelerator didn’t go too well. Later on, they learned about AIS startup Commercial Pitch in Bangkok and decided to join the event to hone their pitching skills. That’s where the founder met with JFDI’s Hugh Mason.

In the past, the founders ran the business without a solid strategy. But being in JFDI taught them that business is a science that can be repeated. A company must have goals and KPIs at every step to check if it’s moving in the right direction. Art explains:

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Power and passion

Okay to copy, just need a unique identity