Marxent Labs

Marxent Labs
Industry Software
Founded Kettering, Ohio (2010)
Founder Beck Besecker
Barry Besecker
Number of locations
 2
Key people
 Beck Besecker, chief executive officer
Barry Besecker, chief technology officer
Services Augmented reality applications for retail, loyalty programs, events and campaigns
Number of employees
 35
Website www.marxentlabs.com

Marxent Labs is an American company that develops iOS and Android augmented reality applications and games for retail, marketing campaigns, and loyalty programs. Their clients include Heineken, Speedway, and Moosejaw apparel.[1]

Company overview

Marxent Labs is a developer of augmented reality applications with offices located in Kettering, Ohio and St. Petersburg, Florida.[2] The company was founded by brothers Beck and Barry Besecker in 2011.[3] Beck serves as the company's chief executive officer and, as of June 2012, serves on the board of directors for inStream, an omni-channel marketing services company.[4] Barry is chief technology officer for Marxent.[2]

History

In June 2011 Beck and Barry Besecker founded Marxent Labs with $700,000 in venture funding from Detroit Venture Partners.[5] In November of that year, Marxent launched the Moosejaw X-ray app.[6] In October 2012, the Speedway Gas Prices and Speedy Rewards app was launched, and the Ballard Designs Ballard+ catalog app became available that December.[1][7] In February 2013, Marxent secured an additional $400,000 from Stage 1 Ventures.[8] As of May 2014 the total capital raised by Marxent was $2.8 million.[9]

Products and services

Marxent designs augmented reality mobile applications in addition to offering proprietary SaaS applications.

Proprietary applications

In late 2011 Marxent launched the ShopWith.it application. The app was designed to allow customers to share and discuss their shopping experiences on social media via retailer's websites, as well as by scanning barcodes or taking photos of products.[3][5] ShopWith.it was retired in 2012.[10] Marxent also created VisualCommerce, an app that allows customers to use their iOS device to create an augmented reality shopping experience. Users can access additional information about a product, or add an item to a virtual shopping cart, by pointing their device's camera at an image of the product. VisualCommerce also provides retailers with analytics on customer shopping behavior.[11]Marxent created the first app to make use of VisualCommerce in conjunction with Ballad Designs, called Ballard+.[7] Ballard+ was originally integrated with the Ballard Designs' winter 2012 catalog.[12]

Applications developed for clients

Marxent has also developed a number of products for B2B marketing and for use on consumer mobile devices.[8]

In November 2011, Marxent released the Moosejaw X-Ray App. By holding a mobile device over the Moosejaw apparel catalog, users are able to see images of a clothing model in their underwear.[6] In the first five weeks it was available, the app received 1 million impressions on Twitter, was downloaded by 75,000 users, and its demonstration video was viewed 160,000 times.[13] Marxent's app contributed to a 37% increase in sales as compared to the same period the previous year and a 62% increase in Black Friday sales.[6][8]

Marxent partnered with Speedway to develop a digital application for their rewards program called the Speedway Gas Prices & Speedway Rewards app.[1] Between October and December 2013, the app was downloaded by approximately 100,000 customers.[11] In July 2013, Marxent added an augmented reality game called Cool Stacks to the app. The game recognizes when a mobile device's camera is pointed at a Speedway branded cup, causing virtual ice cubes to appear on the devices screen that users can stack by moving the cup. According to Marxent, this is the first time that a game has been integrated directly into a retail loyalty app.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dave Larsen (23 December 2012). "Speedway, local tech firm partner for mobile app". Dayton Daily. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Company Overview of Marxent Labs LLC". businessweek.com. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "MARXENT LABS RECEIVES FUNDING FROM DETROIT VENTURES PARTNERS". FinSMEs.com. FinSMEs. 1 December 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "inStream Appoints New Board Member". Close-Up Media. COMTEX. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Alex Mahadevan (7 April 2012). "One on One". Business Observer. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lauren Indvik (13 December 2011). "Augmented X-Ray App Boosts Retailer's Sales by 37%". Mashable.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Dave Larsen (22 December 2012). "Marxent launches “tap-to-buy” catalog app". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Dave Larsen (14 October 2012). "Local Company Creates Augmented Reality Apps ; Dayton-Area Startup Raised $1.4M in Capital. - Brand Blends Marketing and Entertaining". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Margie Manning (15 May 2014). "Real dollars flow to augmented reality firm Marxent Labs". Tampa Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Marxent Labs (2 December 2011). "ShopWith.It Socializes The Holiday Gift Search". marxentlabs.com. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chantal Tode (2 January 2013). "Augmented reality augments shopping via print catalogs". Mobile Commerce Daily. Napean LLC. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  12. ↑ Sarah Schmid (10 January 2013). "Marxent Labs’ App Transforms Print Catalogs Into eCommerce Experience". xconomy. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  13. ↑ Jan Belezina (13 December 2011). "Augmented reality app lets you see through catalog models' clothing". gizmag.com. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  14. ↑ Dave Larsen (16 July 2013). "Firm Makes Speedway Game ; Application Created by Kettering Company Gets 100,000 Downloads". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 6 May 2014.

External links