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What does it take for an app to become a billion dollar company? What are the dynamics of the global app ecosystem? In today’s technologically advanced society, there exists a huge market for apps that simplify our lives. How does one build a successful app business?
Mr. Ken Gullicksen and Mr. Troy Malone, Senior Executives at Evernote Corporation addressed the above questions and discussed the start-up journey of Evernote in an interactive session organised by the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Cell at IIM Bangalore on 21st August 2014. Evernote Corporation develops a collection of apps designed for note taking that make it easy for users to stay organised and productive.
The session revolved around the key challenges faced by a start up in the initial years including growth and funding. The guest speakers highlighted the importance of a start-up investing in building a strong product rather than investing in marketing the product. Evernote’s unique marketing through word of mouth, phenomenal growth trends over the last 6 years and current position formed a major part of the discussion. The focus was on analysing the value of the app to the consumer, revenue model of a ‘freemium’ app, consumer retention and valuation of the company.

The speakers went on to discuss several stories associated with Evernote’s logo, the company’s first investor and why the company decided to launch a customised product for executives. They also mentioned the role of luck in any start-up by giving their own example. The unconventional aspects of Evernote such as the high average age of users and the lack of having a niche target group made interesting points of discussion.
The audience, which consisted largely of budding entrepreneurs at IIM Bangalore, discussed topics such as how Evernote tackled its competition, its expansions strategies and how it would approach the Indian market which is Evernote’s next growth opportunity. The hour long session was highly interactive and inspirational and lent an insight into the world of tech-entrepreneurship.
About Evernote

Evernote Corporation is one of the fastest growing internet companies from the Silicon Valley today. The Evernote app was first launched in 2008 is now valued at over 1 billion US dollars with more than 100 million users worldwide.

About Speakers

Mr. Ken Gullicksen is the Chief Strategy Officer heading Evernote Business, the company’s SMB and team-focused service. He is also responsible for investor relations, corporate development and the global sales and support teams. Mr. Troy Malone is the General Sales Manager, Asia Pacific Region at Evernote and is responsible for growing the user base in nine different countries and organizing the company infrastructure in South East Asia, South Korea and India.

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