Childhood friends Carl Unger and Oskar Larsson have been building apps together since lower secondary school and founded their first company together when they were in upper secondary school. Initially, it was mostly about simpler games, but after a while, they focused on the design segment. In 2016, they founded the company Appostrophe, intending to build a portfolio of good design apps – their most successful from that time were Add Text and Text Art. But in 2021, the duo came across the app Scrl, which they bought for one million dollars (currently about SEK 9.4 million) – and it changed everything. Since Appostrophe further developed the app, it has become one of the world's largest in design, and the company's revenue has grown by 70 percent annually. Last year, the company turned over SEK 188 million and made a loss of SEK 3 million. "Two designers from Chicago created Scrl for their own needs, but they weren't primarily developers or marketers. And those were our existing strengths," says Carl Unger to Breakit. SCRL WILL TURN OVER SEK 300 MILLION THIS YEAR The thing about Scrl is that users can create stylish and consistent content on social media through various templates for stories and so-called carousel posts in the app. The templates are made by the company's designers, but also by the users themselves. "In the beginning, it was mainly professional photographers, a lot of wedding photographers, who used the product to create photo collages. But then we noticed that more types of users were coming in, everything from artists, to hobby photographers, politicians, and large companies," says Carl Unger. "What is exciting about this app is that there is a very strong community of creators around it. These are people who are serious about social media and creating very stylish content who use it, and they are very passionate about the app," adds Oskar Larsson. Appostrophe still has the apps Text Art and Add Text in its portfolio, but since the success of Scrl, they have practically gone all-in on making it grow. The goal is for the company to grow by 70 percent this year as well, and the forecast is that Scrl alone will turn over SEK 300 million during 2025. NO PLANS TO RAISE CAPITAL Carl Unger and Oskar Larsson currently own 50 percent each of Appostrophe, and they have not been in need of raising any external capital. "We have managed to grow quickly and scale so much with our own funds, so we simply haven't had any need for it," says Oskar Larsson. "It's not something we've permanently said no to, but so far, running bootstrapped has worked very well," adds Carl Unger. Furthermore, raising capital takes time and energy, continues Oskar Larsson. The goal is to build the largest and best possible product, and at every stage, as a founder, you have to ask yourself what is best to focus on at that moment, according to him. "Instead, we have focused entirely on improving the product and marketing." HOW THEY DID IT – TIPS, PITFALLS, AND MISTAKES For those eager to also try developing an app that will be a success on the App Store, the Appostrophe duo's best advice is precisely to ensure that the company focuses on the right things. "We value focus very much; it is one of our foremost values in the company," says Carl Unger. He continues: "We have also fallen for 'shiny object syndrome' at some point and wanted to chase what was hottest right then or try something new just because it sounds exciting in the moment. But then we lost the focus we normally have." The best thing to do in such a situation is to scrap the bells and whistles and get back on track. "A couple of times, we have had to shut down projects and make difficult decisions to focus on what our core strength is and where we can deliver something unique," says Oskar Larsson. To maintain that line, Appostrophe often reviews the app and evaluates which functions are in line with the product's goal and removes what is not. "It's better to be the world's best product in a narrower area than to do something half-good for everyone," says Carl Unger. DARE TO GO INTERNATIONAL Focusing on a narrow niche does not necessarily mean the market is small. Something the founders have been surprised by over the years is how large the market for a specific app can be. "At times during this journey, we have asked ourselves if we are starting to saturate the market and if we have reached all users who might be interested in this. But every time we've had that thought, growth has continued, and in retrospect, we've become ten times bigger than we were then," says Oskar Larsson. Here, it is also important to dare to aim big right away, according to the founders. Part of Appostrophe's success is that the company targeted the largest market, the USA, directly. "I think many people make the mistake of thinking too small from the start," says Carl Unger. "We are sitting here in Stockholm developing, but we sell our product in 190 countries. For us, it has been much better to focus on the largest market first and not worry so much about Sweden." BUILD A ROBUST GROWTH ENGINE Another secret behind Scrl's rapid growth is how hard Appostrophe has worked on the distribution of the app, what they call the growth engine. "If you look at what we do beneath the surface, it's not just a good product for users, but we constantly ensure we have a product that grows by itself and is easy to market," says Carl Unger. Here, Appostrophe has a slight advantage, in part. "SCRL is very viral in itself. What users create in the app is shared on social media and reaches hundreds, thousands, or in some cases millions of followers, who in turn become aware of the app." The strategy is both to do paid collaborations with creators and to make the content that users create via the app stand out on social media. This is achieved, among other things, by using templates and "stickers" that contain "subtle references" to the brand. "We work with our community and let creators make videos where they show how they use the app, and then we use that as paid ads on social media," says Carl Unger.
