rappidApp™ targets marketing agencies and the technology community. The product appeals to both entrepreneurs and corporations.
To some, this duality could be interpreted as a lack of focus but for rapiddApp, it is their core strength. Hannah Byrne is owner and chief creative officer at rappidApp, and she is neither right-brained nor left-brained. Instead, she is that rare combination: the “whole brained.”
Byrne studied Music, English, and History. She is a self-taught developer who left Corporate America in 2004 to start Smack Dab Studios, an award-winning full-service Web development firm based in Savannah, Ga.
Just as web content management systems like WordPress have simplified website management for the Average Joe, Byrne and her team created rappidApp to bring mobile content management to the masses.
“Web development and design is our primary strength, but our passion is mobile app development,” says Byrne.
Mobile is a good place to put your passion. Mobile networks are available to 90 percent of the world’s population, estimates The International Telecommunication Union. Additionally, the use of mobile apps appears to be eclipsing that of desktop and mobile web consumption.
According to mobile analytics company Flurry Analytics, the daily time spent in mobile apps surpasses desktop and mobile web consumption.
The company used proprietary data and data from comScore and Alexa that included 500 million aggregated, anonymous use sessions per day across more than 85,000 applications to perform their analysis.
But if you’ve ever downloaded an app, and been disappointed by its poor interface or less than impressive content, you are not alone. A study by Localytics found that one in four apps downloaded is tried once, and subsequently discarded. There were 10.9 billion downloads in 2010 and theoretically more than 2 billion of these were tried just once and abandoned or deleted!
Clearly, mobile users expect something more than just a website optimized for a smart phone. rappidApp’s promise is creating apps with intuitive navigation and outstanding graphics. Savannah Magazine’s app (iTunes), powered by rapiddApp, is an example of just how usable a rappidApp-powered app can be.
“Our platform delivers so many features that we are waiting for the industry to catch up, particularly as customers become more demanding of their app and it must be more than, better than, and different from the website.”
Named a Georgia Trend “40 Under 40” in 2010, Byrne says, “Technology is moving so quickly. It never ceases to amaze me. We can walk into a meeting and walk out an hour later to a new technology development.” With a hint of a smile, she continues, “Everyone is clamoring for QR codes right now. Give it 18 months and we’ll remember them fondly, like the 8-track.”
When asked what the future holds, Byrne is like any other entrepreneur with the proverbial 15-hour day. Having bootstrapped so far, Byrne is open to the idea of raising seed money but only if the fit with the investor is right.
The company’s six-month plan includes a forecast of aggressive adoption. “If there’s an investor out there looking for a slam-dunk in mobile technology, they should call us for a demo,” Byrne declares.
“When we demo the product, the prospect usually becomes a client – they make the leap when they see the possibilities – because they understand why they want it and need it,” she continues, giving credit for the intelligent design to developer and Atlanta native Jeff “Huey” Huelsbeck. He is the brains behind-the-scenes at rappidApp.
“We built stuff for clients for years, which prepared us to build our own product,” says Huelsbeck. Going native is part of the appeal of rappidApp. Native is better, according to Byrne and Huelsbeck. “Native apps provide a consistent experience for the user, regardless of smartphone.”
rappidApp™ is currently available for iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod), with the Android release expected in Fall 2011.

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