In one sentence, what is your product/service?  

URX creates links that work everywhere.

What problem(s) does it solve?

Content inside mobile apps is hidden from the rest of the web.  On the web, you can easily search for information, link to other relevant sites, and directly navigate to specific pages within a website.  

Unfortunately, these activities are more challenging than they should be in the mobile app ecosystem. We use deep linking technology to help developers route users to the best possible experience on their mobile device.

deep linking to etsy app

What are your immediate goals?

Despite its advantages, deep linking is still in the early stages of adoption by mobile companies.  

We are looking to enable deep linkling broadly throughout the industry to create a more cohesive and relevant mobile experience.

What were the biggest challenges involved in building the tech or your team?

While we’ve had a consistent long term vision, we’ve adapted our product strategy twice as we saw greener pastures in a different direction.  

It’s a really tough thing to move past lots of hard work in an area and change your relationship with early customers. But looking back it was probably the best decision we’ve made so far.

How will the company make money?

Our current offerings are free to use.  We’re working on a platform for developers that utilizes deep linking technology to help connect apps and aim to build a business off that. 

Who is on your team?

We started out as four friends from UCLA, but have since expanded to an engineering-heavy team of 18 that includes machine learning specialists, mathematicians, hackers, and mobile experts.

We’re looking for other passiontate people to join the cause at urx.com/careers.

urx offices

Where would you like to be in one, three and five years?

Deep linking is just the beginning, and we hope that a year from now that 50% of the top apps utilize deep links.  In a three year horizon, we hope we’ve helped thousands of developers connect their content and break down the barriers between native apps and the web.  

Our long term goal is to bring relevance to connected devices – so hopefully our links will be connecting relevant content from wearables to cars to devices in the home as well!

Other than your own, what are your favorite websites / apps / tools?

We’re huge fans of companies who make our lives easier and help us take action quickly on mobile like Instacart, OpenTable, HotelTonight, and Airbnb.

For more on mobile development, see the Econsultancy Mobile Web Design and Development Best Practice Guide.