Former Amazon Web Services veteran Rob Frederick found success right off the bat with his first mobile-focused startup, Gripwire. Now, he’s looking to do it again with a new Gripwire spin-out called Sirqul.
Launching today, Seattle-based Sirqul calls itself a mobile EaaS (Engagement as a Service) company that helps catalyze the app development process for brands, agencies and developers.
Sirqul — pronounced “circle” — offers free access to its rapid deployment platform, which includes 44 plug-and-play app modules and 14 branded starter kit themes that are compatible with several game engines and multiple platforms. It makes money on paid upgrades to development and APIs.
Fredrick describes Sirqul as a beefed up Backend-as-a-Service that offers patent-pending social, mobile, location and analytics solutions.
“We incorporate the basics of BaaS — user management, business logic, push notifications, analytics — and then add engagement modules and themes to enhance the app experience,” he said.
Gripwire, meanwhile, will still run an app development studio and act as a professional app development services arm of Sirqul.
“Gripwire remains extremely profitable and is excited to be part of Sirqul’s growing app developer community,” Frederick said.
Frederick managed Amazon’s first mobile offerings in 1999, Amazon Anywhere, which led to the launch of Amazon Web Services in 2002. He will act as Sirqul’s CTO and is joined by CEO Jim Harkins, another Amazon vet, and COO David Liu.
