Gone are days when I’ve been using Adobe packages for vector graphics and photo editing, just because there were no other alternatives. Today I find it easier and a way faster to use intuitive apps on my 6-inch Nexus smartphone rather than their sophisticated predecessors with steep learning curve. What is amazing how startup companies with just a handful of people working remotely out of coffee bars squeeze out software giant out of the market.
Few words about Vectr: it’s a free and very intuitive vector graphics editor app for web and desktop. Vectr has a low learning curve making graphic design accessible to anyone. We’ve been recently featured by both Mac and Chrome app stores. Vectr is going to remain free forever by the way, no strings attached here – we are launching a marketplace soon and will pay bills this way. CEO’s name is Nick Budden. The team is located in Taipei, Taiwan. 9 people now. And we all work remotely meeting up in one of the coffee places.
Interview with Nick Budden, CEO of Vectr
1. Why do you launch a business?
We launched Vectr to make graphic design software accessible to anyone. The current design tools are overcomplicated and overpriced, making design something complex for the general audience. We’re aiming to change that – that’s why we built Vectr to be very intuitive and cross-platform.
2. Where did your idea come from?
I used to be a self-taught freelance designer and developer. I know the struggle learning how to use creative softwares, and I felt there’s a niche over there solving that problem.
3. What is your elevator pitch?
Vectr makes graphic design simple and accessible to everyone. It is a free and cross-platform vector graphics editor for web and desktop. Vectr has a very low learning curve, anyone can learn how to use it in literally a couple of minutes.
4. How is your proposition different from competitors?
Most of our competitors are going to make the product paid at a certain point. Vectr is going to remain free forever though. We are also completely cross-platform: Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook – you can use Vectr truly everywhere. And we have an amazing community and customer support: we truly care about our users and their feedback.
5. Why will you succeed? What are your biggest successes so far?
Vectr has been recently featured by both Mac and Chrome app stores. That has helped a lot reaching new audiences of users.
6. How will you make money?
We’re going to launch designs marketplace soon and a PRO account sometime in 2018. So we’re going to pay bills taking a small fee out of all transactions and then monetize on the advanced SaaS offering.
7. Have you received funding? If so, how much and from whom?
We’re proudly backed by Resolute Ventures, Interaction Ventures, Hedgewood Capital, iNovia Capital, and angel investors Michael Lints, and Guillermo Rauch.
8. Who are the current users of Vectr?
The current users of Vectr come from all sorts of backgrounds: software developers, web designers, bloggers, marketers. Mostly those are the people that need to create some graphic design projects but are not professional designers – Vectr makes it easy and simple for them.
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