AUSTIN, Texas-Appconomy, a local startup app developer, unveiled the company’s first app, barely preceding the start of South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 11. The app is named “Grouped{in}” and is designed to organize an individual’s work and personal life.
The Austin-based company claims that Grouped{in} is the only mobile app that allows group communication across multiple channels, including private in-app group messaging, phone, SMS, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and more.
Version 1.0 is available for free on Apple Inc.’s App Store and version 1.1, which is also free, launched on Friday, March 11. Appconomy eventually plans to make money off the app through sponsored groups, purchases and by offering paid services for businesses. Group texting and calling will be free for a limited time. The company is using SXSW as a launching pad and the features offered allow visiting users and locals to concentrate on happenings in Austin and the ability to communicate with their groups at SXSW.
Users of the version 1.1 Grouped{in} app will be able to keep up through Austin’s local NBC affiliate KXAN, which has news and weather updates from Jim Spencer, film and red carpet updates at SXSW from The CW Austin, and outdoor athletic activity ideas from Austin’s Run-Tex.
“This gives a reason for people at South by (Southwest) to download our app over all the others because we can give them a direct impact while they are in Austin,” said Brian Magierski, co-founder and CEO of Appconomy.
Instead of checking several apps multiple times a day, Grouped{in} works across the channels a person already uses, while also providing private in-app group messaging and allows people from your work or personal life to be grouped according to a person’s liking for easier communication.
“We know that we aren’t the first app in our space (of group messaging), but we also know that we are the only group messaging app on the market that lets you use Facebook and Twitter with your groups in addition to texting, chatting and conference calling,” wrote Brian Magierski, co-founder and CEO of Appconomy, in a publicly released statement. “That’s pretty handy when you are trying to keep tabs on who’s headed where, what’s going on, and where the next party is.”
After launching in November, the company announced toward the end of December that it raised $1.5 million in funding, mostly through True Ventures, located in Palo Alto, Calif., and is planning on the development of several more apps in the future.
Features for Grouped{in} include: a private platform with instantaneous group messaging; real-time alerts on new messages and comments via push notifications; quick communication with any group member or members through multiple channels, including phone, SMS and e-mail; the ability to follow activities of your group members who are friends on Facebook or those you are following on Twitter within each group stream; the ability to toggle on and off channel streams, such as Facebook or Twitter, within each group; customization of settings, including notifications, communication preferences, and channels for each group; the option to invite anyone in your contacts list to join a group; support on any iPhone, iTouch, or iPad running iOS 4.0 or later.
Examples of use for Grouped{in} include school, charity and church groups, neighborhood associations, running clubs, sports teams, work groups, project teams, sales forces, family, friends, conferences, trade shows, weekend getaways, theme park visits, family vacations and any other situation with a group that requires multi-channel communication.
Appconomy is also sponsoring the Mobile Monday party at Fogo da Chao on March 14th at 6 p.m. located at 309 E. 3rd Street and will be on hand at SXSW in booth 1226.
