The lifecycle of Rapid Mobile Media Ltd

Richard M Marshall

about.me/rmmarshall

• Computer Science BSc1979-1983

• Computer Science PhD1983-1986

• Software Engineer1986-1994

• Entrepreneur 1994 onwards

Nokia 7110 WAP Phone – Released late 1999

Wow, people will want to use their phones to place bets and bookies will love the idea of their punters

being able to do that all the time, anywhere!

November 2003

was born to create

Mobile applications that are secure,transactional and work on any phone.

And that’s what we did!

February 2004

Right idea, wrong time

• Nobody knew what a mobile app was - yet!

• Loads of phones could support apps, but all different• Almost all Java ME implementations were buggy• Network operators didn’t configure the phones for data• Data was very expensive without a package• Bookmakers are, surprisingly, completely risk averse• Most of them use just one backend system (OpenBet)• And someone else had just started a mobile client…

The 11th of Guy Kawasaki’s 10 rules for startups.

Mobile Technology: Active Provisioning• Automatic device recognition• Device defect and quirk database• Automated app build for specific handset

• A true engineering solution to anindustry problem

Users: Betfair and its Punters• Smart traders• Brand new API• A fresh and different approach

• Ready to try anything and we users weredelighted - £20m bets processed year one

Launched February 2005 still available at mobile.betfair.com

Apps and appsand apps!

But our advertising products, Ad360 and Ad2Txt, didn’t do so well.

• Too early, advanced and powerful• Wrong assumptions in the business model• Most players in the space have >$50m invested• Still very early market phases• Even Apple can’t get iAds working properly! Photo credit: Orin Zebest

December 2010

Final chapter:Investors want to realisethe value in the company

Acquired to form a core mobile deliveryteam for betting and gaming apps by:

Photo credit: Stretchdog

It was a lot of fun, with some mad adventures!

Lessons learnt• Technology is easy, people are difficult• Technology is adopted very slowly• Everything takes longer than you expect,

even taking that into account• Take investment when things are going well• Experience helps – get advice at all stages• Startups are fun!

And on to new adventures…

richardmmarshall@gmail.com