Catch
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Catch was a San Francisco-based mobile application developer whose main product was a well-reviewed, cross-platform cloud note-taking app often compared to Evernote. It let users capture notes and images from many sources on mobile devices and through the web browser, syncing them in the cloud; shortly before its end it had launched an enterprise collaboration product called Catch Team. Catch was promoted heavily in Apple Store locations, on Apple's website and at Apple events. It officially closed its service on August 30, 2013, telling customers only that the founders intended to take the company 'in a different direction.'
02 / Catch FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors supported by the current evidence
Catch accumulated more than A$350 million in losses over three and a half years while facing intensifying online-retail competition. Wesfarmers closed the site to eliminate continuing losses and concentrate digital capabilities in Kmart.
The retailer accumulated more than A$350 million in losses over three and a half years.
Competition from large online retailers intensified.
Wesfarmers chose to eliminate Catch's losses and move digital capabilities into Kmart.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Catch Team launch
Launched Catch Team, an enterprise collaboration product, expanding beyond the consumer note-taking app.
- Shutdown
Officially closed its service on August 30, 2013, saying the founders would take the company 'in a different direction.'
- Apple acquisition reported
In December 2013, reports revealed Apple had acquired Catch earlier in the year; former employees including the co-founder were found working at Apple on iOS software.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
August 30, 2013: Catch officially closed its service, one month after launching its enterprise product Catch Team; a note on its website and an email to customers said only that the founders intended to take the company 'in a different direction.'
- 02
December 2013: reports from 9to5Mac, confirmed in part by AllThingsD, revealed that Apple had acquired Catch (alongside mapping firm BroadMap) earlier in 2013; Apple gave its standard statement, 'Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.'
- 03
Multiple former Catch employees — including co-founder Andreas Schobel — were reported to be working at Apple on iOS software, suggesting the deal was primarily an acqui-hire; the product itself never returned.