People once walked around with cell phones in their pocket. Now, smartphone users now carry their phones in their hands, depending on these devices as extensions of themselves. As smartphones have transformed into go-everywhere, do-anything apparati, technology companies have subsequently been forced to ramp up their mobile efforts. On the heels of this movement is Button, a New York-based startup on the cusp of fundamentally changing the way we interact with our phones.
Button was founded in 2014 by CEO Michael Jaconi, Tanner Hackett, Siddhartha Dabral, Stephen Milbank, Chris Maddern and Mike Dudas. Up until that point, the app world had existed in silos—for every action people needed to perform they had to open a different app.
Button solves this problem. The company is working to create the plumbing behind mobile deep linking, connecting apps in order for people to complete multiple actions at the tap of a button. The company imagines a mobile experience where you don’t bounce between apps, but where different apps are merged into “super apps.”
For example, when a person looks for a place to eat using the Foursquare app, they will be prompted to make a dining reservation with OpenTable or order a ride to the destination with Uber directly through the Foursquare app.
So far, Button has partnered with major technology companies including Foursquare, OpenTable, Uber, Airbnb and Ticketmaster. The company plans on continuing to foster partnerships with the top apps leading mobile commerce.
For these apps, Button is an easy sell.
Not only is Button's technology designed to drive engagement and increase monetization for mobile commerce platforms, but the company's product optimizes both experience and conversion.
Button’s Developer Dashboard, its self-service model, allows companies to easily integrate a different app into their own app within a few hours. With senior level engineering, data science and design teams on hand, Button’s staff can also integrate the technology for their clients.
While Button’s business model is B2B, the company’s “buttons” are viewed by billions of people all over the world. To that end, the company is building a product for two audiences, and ultimately simplifying the mobile experience for the end user.
“Over the next five years, we imagine the app world is going to change dramatically and apps will have the ability to work together in contextually relevant ways,” said Stephanie Mardell, Director of Recruiting at Button. “At Button, we are trying to change the way people interact with their mobile devices, and we are approaching that vision by providing a very meaningful experience for the end user.”
