Phunware's founder and CEO, Alan Knitowski, wants to go big. In many ways, his mobile everything company already has.
The startup, founded in 2009, has created apps and platforms to help companies capture audience, develop interaction and log data at some of the world's largest events, including the Olympics and the Super Bowl.
The company's probably best known for creating mobile experiences for big media companies and events. But it also supports a wide variety of retail activity, including the mobile experiences for more than 300 malls and several major airports. And 90 percent of its revenue comes from subscriptions for licensing software and transactions. Only a small fraction comes from developing apps.
Now, Phunware is putting even more emphasis on ongoing services by using the deep analytics available through its mobile networks to help brands and advertisers better target promotions to users' phones at the right moments. The real-time data subscription service is, in many ways, the culumination of all the data and device mapping Phunware has done in the past seven years.
"We created a Phunware ID for every connected device we find touching the network anywhere in the world, indoors or out," Knitowski told me inside Phunware's offices in a nondescript office building near MoPac and Anderson Boulevard in north Austin.
He said they now have more than 650 million monthly active users.
"When you think about that, if we were a social network, which we're not, we would be fifth in the world," he said. "It would be Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp -- all owned by the same company -- QQ out of Asia, Phunware and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. Then you would start dropping off considerably to things like Pokemon Go, then you'd have LinkedIn and Twitter... and even Snapchat is actually like 4x smaller than Phunware's reach on a monthly basis."
So, yeah, Phunware might even be shooting beyond the moon. And that's OK. It's the type of lofty growth expections many Austin tech leaders root for in a town known for early exits.
It has traction to show its on its way, including four consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies.
"Within three years, Phunware will reach more connected devices than Facebook," Knitowski said.
Who doesn't want to work for a company that's trying to conquer the world?
And this 'take on the world of mobile' attitude is what makes Phunware's culture unique. Yeah, they have adjustable desks, a pingpong table, a popcorn machine and a couple gongs. But Knitowski told me what draws people to the company is a willingness to handle huge accounts with millions of users and do so without being overwhelmed.
The company's offices have concrete floors accented by rugs with a blue design that contrasts with the industrial feel. The company has 200 employees total and has raised $67 million since it launched. It could afford delicious downtown views, but Knitowski, a former Army Captain, favors a leaner feel that focuses on the work at hand more than an envious office set up.
"I jokingly said it felt like a killhouse when I came in here after we first got it," he said. The cement was pocked with small craters that Knitowski said made it feel like it had been through a battle. But it's been beautified, and its conference rooms are named after bars and streets in Austin.
Phunware designers made posters that represent big customers and major events and designed wall paper for a few smaller walls. But the office doesn't have a lot of other art or spray paint designs you might see in other startups their size.
"It's kinda humble stuff," he said.
And it works, for now. Growth might drive another office move.
"As long as we can hold off, we will," he said. "You can lose that small feel when you start going nuts with it."
Knitowski said most visiting customers appreciate the office isn't too basic, nor over the top.
"I've been around this for way too long," he said. "So I'm wildly on the opposite side of things, trying to be effecient."
