Ondrej Holzman Getting started as a mobile application developer in the Czech basin may not be easy. However, if you have a clear vision, determination and talent from the start, iPhone app development can become a full-time hobby. The proof is the Prague studio Cleevio, which now operates far beyond our borders. "Our vision is very different from most companies here in the Czech Republic. We want to do something very interesting and be the best at it," says Lukáš Stibor, Cleevia's executive director.
Czech users may know the development company founded in 2009 mainly thanks to the Spendee and Taasky applications, but Cleevio is not only about them. It is significantly active in the American market and is looking for ways for further success. App development is not just about one brilliant idea. The founder of Cleevia, Lukáš Stibor, compares the creation of mobile applications to the filming of television series. "First he shoots the pilot, and only if he likes it, he shoots the whole series. Even in applications, it's a big gamble," he explains.
Application development as a test of luck
With its development team, Cleevio follows the American startup scene, especially in Silicon Valley, where it is also active. Cleevio offers its developers and experience to people who have an interesting idea but cannot implement it themselves. "We're trying different things because we can hit the jackpot," Stibor alludes to the possibility of more participation in projects than just providing his developers, and especially the recent success of the Yo app, which was only a very stupid communication tool, but it came at the right time and she reaped success.
However, this is definitely not the only activity of Cleevi, otherwise the studio would not be nearly as successful. "It's stupid to focus the entire company on one thing, it's like going to a casino to play roulette and bet on one number the whole time," says Stibor. That is why Cleevio also has other areas of interest. In addition to the already mentioned activity in Silicon Valley, Czech developers also focus on longer-term projects, which is demonstrated in the Czech Republic by the streaming service YouRadio. Although this is a custom-made application, the Cleevia signature is clearly visible in it.
Spendee 2.0
Cleevio professes a clean and modern design, which are attributes that can also be found in the development studio's own work - the applications Spendee and Taasky, which have experienced huge successes. Both earned massive support from Apple, Spendee topped the list of financial apps in the US App Store, and Taasky appeared in every Starbucks in the US and Canada. "These are the first swallows," Stibor suggests, indicating that Cleevio is definitely not going to stop there.
For ten months now, the developers at Cleevia have been hard at work on a major update for Spendee, the money manager. "I don't think anyone has mastered this category yet," thinks Stibor, according to whom the leader in financial applications is not yet as defined in the App Store as it is in other industries.
The new version of Spendee should bring fundamental changes and from a simple financial manager to create a more demanding application, although still maintaining maximum simplicity in control and the interface itself. “We're calling it Spendee 2.0 because now it's a simple money management app. We've been working on a new version for about ten months, which has a complete redesign, new features from iOS 8 and we're planning a lot more," says Stibor, who plans to score again with the new version.
In addition to expected functions such as smart notifications, support for Touch ID and widgets, which was brought by iOS 8, Speende will also offer a new sales model. On all platforms, i.e. iOS and Android, Spendee will be free and the app can be used as before. If you pay extra for the Pro version, it will be possible to share your accounts with friends or use the interesting travel wallet function, when Spendee switches to "travel mode" and creates a special account in a certain currency and immediately offers its conversion. When traveling abroad, you will have immediate control over your expenses, whether you pay in euros, pounds or anything else.
Mobile first, desktop is dead
Interestingly, Cleevio develops exclusively for mobile devices. At the same time, some competing solutions, whether in the field of task books or financial managers, give users the opportunity to connect the mobile application with the desktop one, which brings more convenience. But Cleevio is clear in this regard. “We think desktops are dead. We strongly believe in mobile-first," Stibor explains the philosophy of his company. Although she tried creating an application for Mac with Taasky, it did not convince her in the further development of desktop applications.
"We learned a lot from it," he recalls of the experience of developing Stibor, but now mobile devices are essential for Cleevio as the center of everything. Because of this, Cleevio is always on the lookout for skilled and ambitious mobile app developers to join its growing team. "Our goal is to do interesting things with an impact around the world, and we're looking for people to help us do that."
The connection with the desktop will be in Spendee 2.0, for example, in the form of clear reports sent to e-mail, but the main thing for Cleevio is to focus on mobile. "Platforms like glasses or watches are much more interesting for us, and we focus primarily on what we can do. We want to be the best in mobile phones, we want to make lifestyle things with perfect design," says the head of Cleevia, which has collaborated on projects with giants such as Nestle, McDonald's and Coca-Cola. Spendee 2.0, due out in the coming months, will show if the successful campaign continues.
Is the desktop dead? But where :)
"Our vision is very different from most companies here in the Czech Republic. We want to do something very interesting and be the best at it,"
of course, most companies "here in the Czech Republic" (and anywhere, for that matter) believe in producing the least interesting and worst possible things. These hackneyed phrases have long been anti-advertising, and I'm quite surprised that Jablíčkář gives them space.
PR is needed. after all, this is what the website lives on.