The startup ecosystem is a rapidly growing business and investment concept. Not only does it promote entrepreneurial spirit, but it also helps innovators to bring new ideas to life that could change our daily life or our response to daily life events. A startup acquisition is one of the milestones that every startup looks forward to coming across.
The importance of startups and entrepreneurial culture can be understood by an event ‘Diversity at White House Demo Day’ hosted by the President of the United States which was emphasized on the women role and overall progress of the startup ecosystem. [more details]
Last year, a number of startups were acquired by the industry giants. The acquisition of a startup means valuing, accepting, and honoring the talent. It’s a deal where the startup gets accepted and applauded by the industry’s top players. We have seen lots of top companies were acquired such as Nokia, WhatsApp, Viber, Vine, Instagram, which shows that how much important a brand’s acquisition is. It could be an ultimate goal of many startup owners who want to take their startup projects at the top and look to sell it out for a large sum of money.
5 Startup Acquisitions to Keep an Eye on:
Take a look at five startups who were acquired by the top industry giants in the tech and mobile industry:
1. Runstastic
Acquired by: Adidas
Acquisition Amount: $240M
Runtastic offers products and services that focus on the fitness and health data and connecting to the like-minded people. Runtastic was founded on October 10, 2009, with the mission to become a top health and fitness analysis services company. The concept of Runtastic is that it uses its tools and services to record health and fitness data to motivate people to stay fit and improve their fitness, body shape, and overall health.
2.Merge Healthcare
Acquired by: IBM
Acquisition Amount: $1.0B
Merge Healthcare provides enterprise level image making services for medical research and description to assist the healthcare service providers worldwide. It is also known as images sharing service for patients and physicians worldwide. This acquisition would be one of the biggest and important ones of this year.
3. iPipeline
Acquired by: Thoma Bravo
Acquisition Amount: $104.4M
iPipeline is an on-demand service which provides sales and distribution software for insurance and financial services providers. It shows that software industry has a potential to grow and compete with other online services.
4. Primo Media
Acquired by Adshare
Acquisition Amount: $3.5M
Primo Media works with online content creators and artists to channelize their content through various top levels. This brand emphasizes on shaking hands with the artists and content creators for advertising opportunities. They also hunt for talent and pass it through the right funnel and align them with the right clients that need it.
5. InfiApps
Acquired by: Stride Gaming
Acquisition Amount: $39.2M
InfiApps Ltd. is a mobile game development company which develops iOS games. They are famous for their popular game Slot Bonanza. Now InfiApps has been acquired by a London-based ‘Stride Gaming company’. Stride Gaming is a popular game development company which is focused on online bingo and related gaming activities to online players.
The Lesson
We’ve seen this and we’ll continue to observe that mobile app-based startups are getting a huge attention. Once an app goes viral, it sets a new social networking, communication, or entertainment trend.
The interesting thing is, despite the hurdles and lack of open space, a few mobile app-based startups keep on coming on the market.
We’ve seen Snapchat, Instagram, Periscope, and a few more. They have a few things in common such as:
- Built for Mobile – There is no doubt that mobile technology is an interesting proposition. In today’s apps competition, the startup owners have seen the opportunity of scaling their entrepreneurial ideas into something bigger. So, it must be remembered that a startup must be a mobile-based technology or, at least, should be available on mobile devices with Android, iOS, and Windows Phone apps.
- Built for Communication – The connectivity with friends, family, and social contacts makes it easier for any mobile app to go viral. Once a person invites his friend, not only does he engages the other person, but he also brings in a new user to the platform. His intention could be just a connectivity, in fact, he does connect, plus he introduces the new app to a friend or family.
- Helps People in Some way – This is something that makes people accept any new mobile technology or a mobile app. People would love it only if it helps them somehow. Wouldn’t it possible that a new app doesn’t work for you and you keep on using it?
So, in this case, we have a lesson that a startup founder must consider these three factors before launching the startup in 2016. CitrusBits is a San Francisco-based mobile app development company. They have had a number of chances to build some amazing iOS and Android apps lately. Their App development process helps you get your app-based startup off the ground smoothly.
Are you looking to get a launchpad to make your startup?
A successful startup might not need an initial investment to start off the process. All it takes a brilliant idea to help people solve their problems.
What’s your next big idea?
About Author
Hassaan Khan is a blogger and content creator. He writes his blog on personal branding. He likes traveling, photography, movies, reading, and writing. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
