Peak Systems has been around for more than a decade, building Web sites and mobile applications for a number of companies and organizations (including the original touchscreen kiosk ordering system for Pepsi Center in Denver and the Warren Miller Entertainment Web site). But the company is making waves with its very own app, called Diptic.
The 99 cent app — which Macworld dubbed “a simple, elegant way to use pictures to tell your story” — allows users to combine and edit multiple photos and then add text and special borders.
The photo collages can then be shared via email, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr or Posterous. We caught with the Diptic creators for the latest installment of Startup Spotlight.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “Diptic is a mobile app that lets you combine multiple photos to a create a photo collage.”
Inspiration hit us when: “We wanted to put two photos together and realized there weren’t any mobile apps on the market that let us easily do that.”
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “Diptic was created by Peak Systems, a well-established and self-funded company.”
Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “Our ability to listen to customer feedback and filter through comments to select the most impactful features to implement.”
The smartest move we’ve made so far: “We released Diptic as a true version one and have since released many updates to enhance the app. One of our smartest updates was adding the ability to directly export finished Diptics to Instagram.”
The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “We modified the design to improve the user experience, but it inadvertently hid our in-app purchase and made the feature less apparent to users.”
Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “Bezos. We’d like to get his feedback and strategize with him to better monetize Diptic.”
Our world domination strategy starts when: “Our goal isn’t world domination – it’s to create a fun mobile app that people can use to tell stories with their photos.”
Rivals should fear us because: “We’re here to stay, and we’re going to keep improving and delivering value to our customers.”
We are truly unique because: “We have a larger perspective on user experience and can create products that deliver meaningful user experiences.”
The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Fighting off copycat apps.”
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: “Launch with a true version one. Keep it simple and try to do one thing really well.”
