Featured Startup Pitch: FindIt has created a universal mobile visual search tool for finding anything in the cloud

By Levi Belnap, FindIt co-founder and CEO

Elevator Pitch: FindIt is the company behind the FindIt app for iPhone, a universal search tool that lets users find any file by searching Gmail, Google Drive and Dropbox from a single destination.

Product Overview

FindIt is the future of mobile search. In a nutshell, it acts as a single intuitive visual search tool across Gmail, Google Drive, and Dropbox. Open the app and search by a name or keyword and any combination of person, time or file type to quickly retrieve what you’re looking for.

The app is currently available for free on iPhone, and Android functionality is in development. This YouTube video walks through the features of the app. Functionality for Microsoft Exchange and other platforms is being built out.

Founders’ Story

While working in sales, I was constantly coming and going to meetings, and I often needed to reference a file or email just prior to a meeting or even during it. But I always found it difficult to access the information I wanted on the spot. I knew there had to be a better way, and along with my cofounders Alex Pak and Ben Morrise, I developed FindIt to change the game when it comes to how people search for emails and files on a mobile device. FindIt doesn’t just give you a search box and expect you to do all the work. Instead, it was designed with simple visual filters that allow you to quickly hone in on what you’re looking for.

I have been working on FindIt for almost two years, building the business in tandem with pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School. I graduated in May, and FindIt was accepted out of more than 900 applicants as one of the ten companies to enter the TechStars Chicago 2013 class.

Marketing/Promotion Strategy

We’re always looking for creative ways to get FindIt in front of potential users, which means pretty much anyone with an email address. Being a member of TechStars has opened doors for us. We’ve been working with the team at Walker Sands Communications, and they’ve made introductions that allowed us to be featured in publications like TechCrunch and Mashable. We’ve also experimented with ads on sites like Reddit. But more than anything, we’re focused on building a great product that people love to use and want to share. The most powerful marketing tool you can have is a great product.

How We Differentiate From the Competition

There are plenty of destination file-sharing and cloud storage services out there. With FindIt, we’re taking that concept and saying that’s still okay, but we want to give users one simple way to search across those platforms. You shouldn’t have to remember whether a file is stored in your email, Dropbox or Google Drive, or even the file name itself.

Business Model

FindIt employs a freemium business model. Users will be able to connect Gmail, Dropbox and Google Drive accounts for free. Professionals will pay to connect Microsoft Exchange, Box, Salesforce.com and other business-specific applications.

Market Opportunity

This is a $50 billion market at minimum. The convergence of mobile, the cloud and data-hungry professionals has created a massive opportunity. We create and store information across an increasing number of applications. The amount of data we individually manage will increase by 75 times by the end of this decade alone.

Current Needs

We continue to hear new ways to use FindIt in industries and professions we never considered. We would love to hear how a tool like FindIt would benefit you in your profession and your industry. We are also always excited to hear feedback on the product from our users. Please download the FindIt app here or feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear from you.

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Website: www.getfindit.com