Wrapped Apps Corporation Named as One of Ottawa’s Startups to Watch

Mar 04, 2005 - Ottawa Business Journal − It is once again time to take stock of Ottawa's leading startups. The OBJ presents 12 local firms that we have chosen as our Startups to Watch from the recommendations of those in the know.

Staff reporter Scott Taylor and regular contributor Jeff Pappone have looked under the hood to see what makes each company tick and why it stands out among the hundreds of early-stage companies across the city.

The 2005 edition of Startups to Watch comes at a time when ripples of anticipation have begun to sweep the region that a rebirth of the tech sector is at hand. A diverse host of small- to mid-sized companies have been expanding staff and signing up customers, suggesting the next boom will be far more sane and sustainable than the last.

However, that optimism has been tempered with a note of caution. Early-stage seed financing has dwindled, the legacy of the last tech bust that burned so many investors. Experts warn that many promising startups will flounder and die despite a solid business plan and strong market demand for their products.

Only time will tell which ones manage to survive and prosper in this lean and mean environment. In the fall, we will check back with our 12 startups to see how they have fared over the year.

Company: Wrapped Apps Corp.
Founded: 1999
Employees: 10
VC to Date: Bootstrapped

"Anybody who uses a computer will benefit from this. It doesn't require any download of the software application to the computer." - CEO Rob Lewis

Wrapped Apps is sitting on a product believes will change the way the world uses software. After more than four years of effort, the company has developed an advanced enabling technology solution that allows organizations to access and deliver applications as a service, a process known in the industry as "software as services" (SaS).

What this means to the layperson is that consumers can rent software applications on the Internet rather than purchase them outright from a store. This allows the software to be accessed from any computer in the world instead of just the one to which the license for is attached.

The benefit to the consumer is access from anywhere and a lower price. They pay, quite simply, for what they use. And, as upgrades are made to that software, the consumer will benefit the moment it occurs.
For software companies, more product can be distributed to more people at a cheaper price. One-time purchase revenue is exchanged for consistent cash flow.

Wrapped Apps first entered the market to enable applications to be delivered on-demand as a service over the Web, but significantly expanded in 2003 by adding desktop productivity and enterprise-class applications to its enabling technology.

Mr. Lewis said many software companies are hopping on the bandwagon. "They have to, it's in their best interests."

Mr. Lewis, who has been an adviser and director of Wrapped Apps since 1999, brings 25 years of experience in the financial services, legal and retail sectors. In addition to 20 years of experience in computer sales and consulting, he has been writing, teaching and consulting to the legal profession since 1987. His most recent full-time position was as managing partner of Lewis Langevin LLP, one of Ottawa's leading law firms.

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