West Virginia SaaS Factory Launches 8 New Software Startups in 8 Weeks
West Virginia SaaS Factory Launches Eight New Software Startups in Eight Weeks
The SaaS Factory and Vantage Ventures pioneer a game-changing initiative to revolutionize the software industry in West Virginia
The SaaS Factory, in collaboration with Vantage Ventures, has unveiled several new software-based startups created during the first quarter of this year. The SaaS Factory helped eight entrepreneurs launch eight software-based startups in just eight weeks. This initiative demonstrates a radical new way for West Virginia to outpace the longstanding Silicon Valley software startup model by taking advantage of newly available low-code tools.
The SaaS applications produced include several AI-powered B2B applications. Jim Matuga of InnerAction Media launched the StoryMaker MVP, an advanced application that uses OpenAI’s API for marketing teams to create and manage product campaigns. Matuga is already putting StoryMaker to use as a competitive differentiator within his own marketing firm and has begun engaging with prospective investors. Dina Colada launched an AI-powered social wine and food pairing application, while Ross Justice created a B2B SaaS for rental property managers.
| With Gartner predicting that 70% of applications will be developed using low-code by 2025, the $600 billion software industry is in the midst of massive disruption. |
The disruption is magnified by rapid trends toward AI-powered software development. For the first time in decades, the Silicon Valley startup model is seriously threatened by highly viable alternatives. This presents new opportunities for West Virginia entrepreneurs to participate that never existed before.
Cary Landis, SaaS Factory leader, believes the playing field is being leveled for the masses of entrepreneurs outside of major technology hubs. A student at WVU has a chance at launching the next Facebook. West Virginia is on the forefront of a major movement with the SaaS Factory. “We demonstrated on a microscale the feasibility of building one SaaS startup per week,” says Landis. He envisions dozens of new SaaS startups per year in West Virginia, while serving as a hub for thousands of startups nationally and internationally.
The SaaS Factory is actively inviting new collaborations with businesses, SaaS investors, and academia. The SaaS Factory is powered by the SaaS Maker low-code platform, and currently integrates with OpenAI on AWS cloud infrastructure. To learn more about this groundbreaking project, visit saasfactory.org or contact Cary Landis at cary.landis@saasfactory.org.
