The Mobile-First Company, a French startup on a mission to build a suite of B2B Apps to helps business globally finally use simple solutions, launched with €3.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Emblem, and joined by angel investors including Xavier Niel (Kima Ventures), Thibaud Elzière (eFounders), Jean-Baptiste Hironde (MWM) and Rodolphe Ardant (Spendesk).
Founded in 2023, the company develops a suite of mobile applications tailored for SMBs to accelerate business on mobile devices —a preferred and underserved tool for many employees.
The Mobile-First Company was founded by mobile veterans CEO Jérémy Goillot, previously Head of Growth at Spendesk (French unicorn), and CTO Ignacio Siel Brunet, formerly the VP of Engineering at Latam scale-up Pomelo. Goillot helped the European spend management software company scale to 5,000 customers globally, and has since advised more than 50 startups and created an investment fund, Kara.Ventures, dedicated to African startups. Siel scaled the engineering team at fintech infrastructure leader Pomelo from zero to 200 engineers across six countries; he previously managed teams at NaranjaX, with earlier mobile engineering stints at MercadoLibre and Cornershop by Uber.
“Our goal is ambitious: to replace outdated spreadsheets and processes with mobile-first solutions that are simple, modern and accessible to every business, anywhere,” said CEO Jérémy Goillot. “We firmly believe that smartphones are the future of software interfaces, and we’re committed to enable businesses across the globe to harness that power.”
The average smartphone user checks their device 150 times daily, with 50% of user sessions lasting less than three minutes. With the guiding principle of “One problem, One App”, The Mobile-First Company will develop consumer-grade applications that bridge the gap between consumer simplicity and business efficiency, enabling users to perform critical business actions swiftly—often in less than three minutes.
From updating a CRM to sending quick quotes, tracking expenses to managing inventory with a snapshot, or ensuring a nurse checks her equipment before visits, The Mobile-First Company’s apps will empower businesses to act rapidly and effectively anywhere on any mobile device at an affordable price point.
“The Mobile-First Company is targeting a strategic gap in the market for robust, user-friendly mobile software that supports SMBs anywhere in the world,” added Antoine Moyroud, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “The future of business software is global, as SMBs everywhere need powerful mobile-first tools to fuel growth. Jeremy and Ignacio have a proven track record of creating incredibly valuable mobile products that merge business efficiency with consumer simplicity and are the right team to tackle this opportunity.”
The Mobile-First Company targets an underserved market segment: SMBs grappling with the absence of user-friendly and cost-effective ERP solutions. With 65% of the global workforce categorized as “non-desk workers,” especially prevalent in sectors like retail, professional services, and logistics, the demand for streamlined mobile solutions is palpable.The United States, home to over 33 million SMBs and nearly half of the private-sector workforce, stands as the epicenter of their target market. Furthermore, the projected surge in micro-SMEs across emerging markets, driven by economic growth and burgeoning middle-class populations, underscores the ripe potential for The Mobile-First Company’s global expansion.
Additional pre-seed investors include leaders from AppTweak, Pennylane, Spendesk, PhotoRoom, Lemlist, BlaBlaCar, Homa Games, Mojo-App, Melio Payments and Apple.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2024/03/paris-based-the-mobile-first-company-launches-with-e3-5-million-pre-seed-to-develop-mobile-apps-for-smbs/
