From Krakow’s accelerator under the wings of the Asian dragon

The history of Shapespark, a startup accelerated in KPT ScaleUP, proves that even niche products can gain global recognition.

The beginnings of Shapespark date back to 2015. That was when Jan Wróbel and Wojciech Matyjewicz, university friends, recognized the potential of WebGL technology used to present 3D content directly in a web browser. The gentlemen decided that this technology would significantly impact the 3D visualization industry. WebGL solved the problem of 3D content distribution because it relieved users from the need to download and install additional software on their computer or phone. In the opinion of Shapespark’s future founders, this was to pave the way for the popularization of interactive 3D architectural visualizations, allowing users to look into every corner of a space.

Until then, interactive visualizations were the domain of non-web solutions and were most often limited to one specific operating system. The duo of Wróbel and Matyjewicz decided to create a product meant to allow for the creation of interactive architectural visualizations operating directly in all popular web browsers, both desktop and mobile.

The second motivation for founding the startup was the development of VR technology. Virtual reality inherently requires interactive visualizations, so it was rightly assumed that it would become an additional engine accelerating the adoption of such solutions. From the very beginning, work was also underway to ensure that visualizations generated in Shapespark would work in VR as well.

Multitasking for the sake of specialization

When the company started its operations, its founders performed all functions related to product development, sales, marketing, and customer support. Being software engineers by education and profession, and having no startup background, they had to learn practically everything on the go. It was not without a laborious search for the right solutions.

The situation was not improved by the fact that Shapespark is a specialized software program that solves many difficulties in fields such as 3D graphics, computational geometry, and 3D content compression. Creating and selling the first version of the product took about two years. This was significantly longer than in the case of a typical MVP. During this time, the startup relied solely on its own funding. For its founders, this required significant reserves of faith in the chosen direction and perseverance in reaching the goal.

Fortunately – it paid off.

The turning point

Participation in the KPT ScaleUP accelerator provided great support for the startup. Thanks to it, they managed to secure both valuable business know-how and funds. The latter were used mainly for marketing. It was during the acceleration phase that the decision to change the product sales model was made and implemented. Monthly subscriptions joined traditional perpetual licenses. This was a crucial move, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for new customers. Currently, about 70% of product sales revenue comes from subscription fees.

In 2018, Shapespark’s potential was noticed by the Chinese group Glodon – an Asian leader in the software industry for design and construction. Glodon purchased 100% of the company’s shares and then expanded its products, utilizing the visualization techniques developed by Shapespark’s engineers.

Currently, products made by Shapespark are used by users in 50 countries worldwide. These are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises: interior, office, exhibition stand, and furniture designers, studios specializing in architectural visualization, as well as companies creating virtual events, exhibitions, or showrooms.

In their own way

During product development, strong emphasis is placed in Shapespark primarily on the quality of the obtained visualizations and the ease of use of the software. This is noticeable to product users. Many of them emphasize that Shapespark is easier to use than tools from the competition.

Messrs. Wróbel and Matyjewicz consider finding an unoccupied niche in the crowded architectural visualization product market as their success. In 2015, the potential market for online interactive visualizations was small. Time showed that both their intuitions and the subsequent decisions regarding the choice of development path turned out to be correct. With each passing month, the number of companies looking for solutions of this type is growing.

The next step in Shapespark’s development is working on software for creating visualizations and virtual tours of architectural projects that are yet to be built. The company started its operations targeting mainly the interior design industry. Initially, most of the startup’s clients came from this sector. Increasingly, however, Shapespark software is used by developers to showcase future properties or entire housing estates, to design large office spaces and configure office furniture, to design trade fair stands, and to create virtual events, showrooms, exhibitions, and museum tours.

Today, the Shapespark team consists of five people with complementary specializations. They are all aware that, despite their successes so far, they still have a long way to go to earn the title of market leader. However, they have all the prerequisites and tools to reach for this title.

You can read more about Shapespark here.