Lawrence software developers create a hit with iPhone grocery app / LJWorld.com

Archive for Friday, January 30, 2009

Jason Boehle, left, and Brian Killen display their brainchild: Grocery IQ, a popular application for Apple iPhones that helps people maintain grocery lists electronically. The pair, who formed Free State Labs LLC, sold the application to Coupons Inc., a leading digital coupon provider in California.

By Mike Belt

January 30, 2009

Two Lawrence computer software makers made a name for themselves after creating a grocery list application for Apple iPhones.

Jason Boehle and Brian Killen recently sold their Grocery IQ application to Coupons Inc., a leading digital coupon provider in Mountain View, Calif. Boehle now works from his home full time for the firm.

“It was kind of fun to sell to a company that is growing and wanted Jason to work for them,” Killen said.

The duo’s application has been available for iPhone users in the iTunes app store since September. It has been the number one most popular application in the store’s lifestyle category for some time. Among all applications it has risen as high as seventh in download popularity.

“We just wanted to do it for fun,” Killen said. “Everybody wants to make a lot of money and be a big success, but I don’t think we ever really dreamed it would be successful.”

Last spring, Killen and Boehle worked for a software firm in Overland Park and commuted together. They bounced ideas off of each other. They formed their own company, Free State Labs LLC, to design software in their spare time.

“We had a list of 20 applications we were thinking about,” Boehle said.

The grocery list idea was born out of an unfortunate accident. Killen’s wife, Lori, tripped and severely broke her leg. She used to prepare detailed grocery lists for her husband to take to the store with him. She not only listed items she also wrote box color descriptions and store-specific row locations. After her injury she didn’t feel like writing such detailed lists, Killen said.

“I was always calling home and asking what size of trash bags to get,” Killen said. “We thought a grocery list app was a good idea but we thought a lot of people would do it.”

Killen and Boehle acquired a data base of 150,000 grocery items from a company and then worked to prepare it for their own program. Data base required considerable work to prepare for downloading to an iPhone. Boehle worked on it with a laptop computer while Killen drove them to work. They also got help on the project from high school and college software students. When finished, someone could make a list of items on the iPhone with lots of product details, including brands, flavors and sizes.

“There was a lot to the process of developing the whole thing and we wanted to make it as simple to use as possible,” Boehle said.

The grocery application was submitted to Apple in September and could be downloaded for $4.99. Apple allowed application makers to get 70 percent of the proceeds. It was downloaded about 100 times a day for the first couple of weeks.

“We were thrilled,” Killen said.

In October, Free State’s program was featured as the application store’s “pick of the week” on Apple.com. Downloads increased to as many as 3,000 a day. To keep the business volume high, Boehle and Killen began lowering prices. They also decided to sell the application process because they didn’t have time to continue to refine their product and add new features.

Late this month the sale was made to Coupons Inc. Because of contractual agreements the pair can’t say how much they made from the deal.

“The price was maybe five times more than what we ever dreamed,” Killen said.

Killen and Boehle will continue to develop new products through Free State Labs.

Discussion

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30 January 2009
at 5:15 p.m.

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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Congrats fellas.I put our regular items into a separate quicken account on my home computer back in the 90's.I could then put several things into a group to print each week, and then pick out more things to add to it, just assigning the number I wanted to the column that you would normally put the dollar amount of a check.Since I have good recall, I could put the items on what store 'row' they were stocked on, and print the list in that order. My husband preferred shopping to babysitting, so he could just walk in the door with my printed list, walk right down each aisle, grab stuff and be out in no time. The page was large enough to read easily.Yes, it took a bit of time to do it, but it paid off quickly in time and happiness.
30 January 2009
at 7:52 p.m.

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Boeing (Anonymous) says…

Awesome. Haven't tried the app, but I may look into it.Quick question though…his wife broke her leg and no longer felt like writing lists…huh?
30 January 2009
at 9:43 p.m.

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Pywacket (Anonymous) says…

Boeing~ Yeah—I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found that a little odd. With the mention of the wife breaking her leg, I expected it to say that she could no longer do the shopping and that he wrote the program to help her do a quick list.Good work, whatever the genesis of it.
31 January 2009
at 8:18 a.m.

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TacoBob (Anonymous) says…

Congrats to these gentlemen, inspiring story.Is it just me, or is this a poorly written paragraph:”Killen and Boehle acquired a data base of 150,000 grocery items from a company and then worked to prepare it for their own program. Data base required considerable work to prepare for downloading to an iPhone. Boehle worked on it with a laptop computer while Killen drove them to work. They also got help on the project from high school and college software students. When finished, someone could make a list of items on the iPhone with lots of product details, including brands, flavors and sizes.”For one thing, it is 'database' not 'data base'.
31 January 2009
at 8:38 a.m.

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jimjones (Anonymous) says…

Multi,I'm sure your extra effort is what makes you a happily married woman today……or it could be part of a validation that you you are compulsively addicted to computers.
31 January 2009
at 9:35 a.m.

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TJ_in_Lawrence (Anonymous) says…

Good for you guys! Also thanks for using some young talent in your project. I know Evan and he was thrilled to be helping! Good job!
31 January 2009
at 9:42 a.m.

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redmoonrising (Anonymous) says…

I always keep a running grocery list on my computer. As I know the store well, I just add items as I would find them in the store. As I shop for myself only, I don't need specifics. But I do remember trying to do lists for my husband. If I wasn't specific as to brand, flavor, size etc., who knows what would end up in the pantry? Great idea, guys! Who knows, you might even save a few marriages.

31 January 2009
at 10:19 a.m.

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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Actually jim, back then we had no internet, and I did it on a work computer, the business was owned my my husband.And I may not be married, but I am certainly happily divorced!lol.Thanks for asking.
31 January 2009
at 11:03 a.m.

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SoupBone (Anonymous) says…

Great story…congratulations on your success, gentlemen!
31 January 2009
at 11:16 a.m.

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jayhawklawrence (Anonymous) says…

Very inspiring story. Great job!Maybe we could get our own little Silicon Valley going here in Lawrence.I wish I knew more about the software tools they were using.
31 January 2009
at 11:45 a.m.

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Parrysmom (Anonymous) says…

I use this application and it's pretty awesome. I'm glad to learn it was developed by locals. In my opinion it's the best grocery application Iphone has to offer. Congratulations guys!
31 January 2009
at 11:45 a.m.

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freighttrain221 (Anonymous) says…

Remember the good old days when your parents would send you to the store with money and a note that said “Please sell my son two packs of Lucky Strikes.” There's nothing like the sight of an eight year old kid hopping on his Schwinn Stingray with packs of cigarettes in his hand.
31 January 2009
at 11:55 a.m.

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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

“Remember the good old days when your parents would send you to the store with money and a note that said “Please sell my son two packs of Lucky Strikes.””Yep— except in my case it was Winston's, and I could just charge it (back in the day of small neighborhood/small town groceries.) But by the time I was 11 or 12, my dad had quit the cigs.
31 January 2009
at 11:56 a.m.

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Gootsie (Anonymous) says…

I purchased it as soon as I saw it was from Lawrencians. I'm very proud, as you should be! My husband is the crack grocery-shopper, but this will make it easier for me - he doesn't need the help! Too bad you didn't have him, Red.Multi, you are so organized. Are you feeling OK? :)Freighttrain, when I was young, I'd just ride my Schwinn Stingray to the store and buy 35 cent cigarettes and a pack of 5 cent gum and just charge it. I didn't smoke Lucky Strikes though…that would have completed your fantasy, huh. The bike was pink, if that helps??? And I still have it!
31 January 2009
at 12:42 p.m.

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frwent (Anonymous) says…

Gads, what a waste! ” She used to prepare detailed grocery lists for her husband to take to the store with him. She not only listed items she also wrote box color descriptions and store-specific row locations.”For us stupid men who couldn't find our butts with both hands in broad daylight.I am sorry, but I find this sort of complication of daily living just a bit much. I write what we need on a pad of paper, fold it up and put it in my pocket. When I stop at the grocery store after work, I take it out and read it. I decide which brand on the shelf is best or least expensive. Store brands are usually just as good as brand names. But I do not sit at a computer, making lists, cataloging brands, stressing about pennies and coupons and mapping out aisles. Aisles are marked, even at the “new and greater” Dillon'd on 23ed. Gads!!This sounds completely stupid and taking more time than taking my list to the store, buying the stuff, and coming home. What in the hell has happened to common sense in today's over-electronified world?

31 January 2009
at 1:03 p.m.

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Momofallboys (Anonymous) says…

Awesome app and 2 great guys! :D
31 January 2009
at 7:44 p.m.

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sarahsmilehawk (Anonymous) says…

Isn't that Brian Killen on the right? I think the photo's captioned wrong…
31 January 2009
at 8:13 p.m.

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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Hey frwent,You're blending the article and my comment. If my husband had been as capable as you are, I wouldn't have had to do all that. Using a simple list, he came back bitching and complaining because he couldn't find the stuff, brought home half the list, and part of that was incorrect.I made do with what he brought, but then I still had to go back to the store. (Did I not mention he would also gripe about the trip for 2-3 days afterwards?) The list was tailored for 'his' needs. I typically know what I need without a list.Don't dog me for creative easy solutions that worked.If I had to take the kids to the store, it consisted of a child in a wheelchair in front, then me, then the grocery cart I had to pull behind me with two other kids riding in it. We took up about 9-10' of length, trying to go down narrow aisles and turn corners. It was a nightmare.Be glad I found a solution. And yes, I applaud those capable men out there!!I've got one working for me now that makes my jaw drop in comparison.I only posted to let people know they could do a list on their own if they got creative.
31 January 2009
at 8:45 p.m.

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Momofallboys (Anonymous) says…

Yes, Brian is on the RIGHT and Jason is on the LEFT :P
31 January 2009
at 9:17 p.m.

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was_freashpowder2 (Alexander Neighbors) says…

gee… telling you what to buy then google maps tells you what store its in and how far it is from you…..Make the App for the G1
31 January 2009
at 9:36 p.m.

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frwent (Anonymous) says…

Multi, did it ever occur to you that your hubby simply did not want to go grocery shopping? You know, like the kid who was made to wash and dry the dishes (back when you washed dishes by hand and dried them with a dish towel) and who would drop and break dishes just to get out of doing this chore that many kids did not like???
31 January 2009
at 10:30 p.m.

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Pywacket (Anonymous) says…

The problem, frwent, might have been that the hubby didn't realize that his WIFE might not have wanted to do the grocery shopping every time, or might have had other things to do.Where is it written that the woman has to be the hunter gatherer every week of her life? You're probably right—that was probably his passive-aggressive way of getting out of it. Do a bad enough job and she will just sigh and do it herself after awhile. Whereas, in a working partnership, each person is realistic enough and fair-minded enough to know that it's more fair to share the undesirable or tedious jobs, from grocery shopping to baby-butt diapering, rather than sabotaging things by purposely screwing up to force the other to take over.Anyone stuck with a passive-aggressive partner would do well to become happily divorced! ;-)