Turns out, those in-house projects, which we originally launched as an outlet for our developers to experiment with new technologies, have taken on a life of their own, unexpectedly (and excitedly) generating a $1.4 million turnover and 5.75 million downloads last year alone.
We want to seize this potential and have decided to officially create a new STRV Labs division to focus on bringing to market more innovative, customized apps as well as potentially an incubator, in conjunction with a reality TV show, that would champion female founders and entrepreneurs.
STRV Labs will be helmed by David Semerad, who has handed over his CEO duties to Lubo Smid, our COO for the last six years.
“Over the last few years, we have managed to build a very successful design and development shop, valued by clients for the quality of our work. I feel it is time to use what we have learned to create our own portfolio of successful apps,” David explains. “The change in leadership has been a long-planned step. My priorities are to invent and establish a new vision as well as to help Lubo take STRV to the next exciting level. We both believe that this move will help the company grow further.”
Lubo adds that STRV has big plans for the US market in 2018. “I am looking forward to continuing David’s personal approach to client relations and intend to grow our US project portfolio in the coming months, working with a good cross-section of the tech community,” Lubo says. “We plan to focus on three distinct client segments, including innovative projects for technology giants like Microsoft, fast-growing companies like Tinder, ClassDojo and LegalZoom and promising startup projects like Boosted Boards, Awayco and Pura Scents.”
While STRV’s client roster increased by 25 percent in 2017, the big surprise was our portfolio of in-house projects, which preformed much better than expected. We are hoping to take advantage of this momentum and scale STRV Labs into a multi-million-dollar subsidiary over the next couple of years.
David is looking to beat growth expectations for 2018 with the launch of two new STRV Labs projects. He and his team intend to jump on the red-hot blockchain technology craze, while another potential project is an incubator designed to encourage more women to enter the tech field. The efforts of those participating in the incubator, with the goal of landing VC funding for their startup, would be chronicled through a reality TV show called “The Female Founder.”
Episodes would follow five participants through the project pitch and development processes, with an opportunity to win VC funding. David is currently looking for a production partner. He is in talks with a number of Hollywood producers.
STRV’s in-house project portfolio includes a trio of dating apps geared toward the LGBT community, Surge, Grizzly and Zoe, as well as two games, ColorMe and Dot 2 Dot.
