Created by three Madison locals, CapSquare is a city-centric app company that uses mapping technology to connect people to local events, businesses and organizations in the Madison community.
One day, after discussing apps that were in the news, coworkers Patrick Olson and Ryan Matthes started meeting regularly after their job to develop an app as a fun side project. Eventually, Matthes invited his friend Vyshak Nagappala, who has grounding in Android and iOS programming, to join. Together they combined their strong IT foundations and love for the Madison area to develop CapSquare.
“As we were brainstorming app ideas, the love of all things local kept bringing us back to wanting to create apps that benefited Madison and the surrounding area,” Olson said. “So with that local theme in mind, we formed a local company with a local name, CapSquare.”
Currently, the company is ready to launch its first app, MarketMapp, to help users navigate and explore the Dane County Farmers’ Market. The free app will offer features such as allowing users to check weekly produce available, discover new and seasonal products and browse vendors by criteria.
CapSquare held a MarketMapp Kickstarter campaign in January to raise awareness and support of MarketMapp. It raised $1,410 from 30 backers to help fund the development of the company’s first app, and it received positive feedback from the community, according to the founders.
“We found the community to be very willing to help us promote the app and the campaign,” Olson said.
He and his colleagues presented their idea at One Million Cups Madison, a networking event hosted by 100 State that offers insight to entrepreneurs, and received feedback on data curation, social aspects and community involvement.
Although the app has not launched yet, Olsen said the interest in MarketMapp among consumers is high. According to survey data collected last summer, 85 percent of market patrons said they would use a free app to explore the Dane County Farmers’ Market.
Capsquare has a number of plans for expanding and creating more community-focused apps after the launch of MarketMapp.
“We feel Madison is a city that is really embracing the tech scene, and our apps will help Madison continue to become more connected through unique smartphone technology and convenient mapping interface,” Olson said. “As CapSquare grows and its app catalog and its user base increases, we plan to expand to effectively manage, develop and perfect (our) apps for the Madison community.”
