Mike Jirout (MBA ’10) thought his brother Jan was on to something when he created an app for their “big, Italian family” to use on their biennial reunion cruise, so they teamed up to launch Ship Mate. “He was learning to program for iOS while I was learning to build businesses at UCLA Anderson,” Mike says. “We figured that our combined skill sets as both a tech and business guy gave us a decent shot at success and decided to go for it.”
From that humble start in 2009, the brothers found that people loved their idea. A lot. They managed to hit No. 2 out of 40,000 total apps in the iTunes “paid” Travel Apps category. Later, they were switched to the much-larger pool of “free” apps, and currently sit at No. 90 overall. With numbers large enough to impress bigger cruise-industry players, the Jirout brothers sold their app to Cruiseline this November and are staying on at the company. “The sale was ideal in that it included not only cash, but also the opportunity to continue building Ship Mate,” Mike says. “Cruiseline recognized the value behind the Ship Mate brand and the loyal community we've built. With this new partnership, we now have significantly more resources to build the brand under the Cruiseline umbrella.”
Mike says his UCLA Anderson experience helped him develop the roadmap for Ship Mate, as well as discover “the ‘why’ behind our strategy, which made the ‘what’ and ‘how’ easier.” But it was the Anderson community that paid dividends when Mike was in the start-up jungle. “The Anderson network has been one of the most significant benefits I've realized from the program. It literally took less than an hour to get a response from the CEO of Princess Cruise Line because of my affiliation with Anderson,” he says. “I've also had numerous alumni reach out to me offering to help simply out of a passion and loyalty to the community.”
The larger UCLA campus and its ties to Los Angeles’ start-up scene also gave the brothers a leg up. “My affiliation with Anderson also qualified me to apply to the Startup UCLA program,” Mike says. “I highly recommend this program to anyone with an early-stage venture. The experience includes mentorship, cash, free startup services and office space.”
For more on Ship Mate, head to their website.
Thanks for the love! And, thanks to the Anderson community for the help along the way.
Posted by: Mike Jirout | 12/14/2013 at 12:10 PM