Garrett Gee had the inspiration to create the app Scan after he was given a smartphone for Christmas in 2009. He used his new phone to scan a QR code and thought that there had to be a better for QR codes and web sites to work together. He went back to college and with the help of Krik Ouimet and Ben Turley they founded and launched their first iOS app. They enter a contest at their school (Brigham Young University) and got second place and Gee started meeting with investors while still being a student. After the app was officially launched in January 2011, it reached 1 million downloads in 3 months. By March of 2012, Scan had 10 million downloads from 77 different countries. At the end of 2012, Scan had been downloaded an incredible 25 million times. Scan reported revenue mainly from advertising with an incredible minimum of $1,000 per day. Gee continued to evolve Scan as time went on by making a “Scan-to-gram” function. This allowed users to make QR codes that link to their Instagram profile. In 2013, Gee went on the tv show Shark Tank and was not offered an investment. This ended up being a blessing in disguise because, Snapchat wanted to buy the app. Snapchat bought Scan for $54 million dollars. Snapchat is uses the Scan technology for their famous Snapcode feature. Now Gee is enjoying traveling the world with his family.
Is this just an iOS app or can it be marketed to the android people as well?
I found it very innovative how Gee saw how current technology was inadequately being used and he sought to make better use of it. All of the aspects of his concept were already in place, but were not being implemented optimally. This is a great example of, as an entrepreneur, not being satisfied with something on the market that does the job okay, but striving to create something that does the job the best. Gee found a way to create a better connection between QR codes and websites that has become commonplace int the workings of internet and connectivity today.
That is crazy that no one on Shark Tank wanted to invest in him. What a missed opportunity for them. Good for Gee being bought by Snapchat. The QR feature is super convenient for adding people on the app!