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Usetrace – from Aalto Start-Up Center to 500 Startups

We had the opportunity to speak to our alumnus Usetrace and see how they are doing

The company was founded in 2012 when Eero Heino and co-founder Arto Vuori grew tired of laborious test programming slowing down digital product development. Today the startup counts over 60 companies in eight countries as customers, including a major Finnish digital learning solution provider, Sanoma Pro. Usetrace left Aalto start-Up Center in the end of July, 2014.

What they do is simple: Usetrace offers an artificial software tester which tirelessly tests that your web app user interface works as expected. Using Usetrace, you can automate cloud computers to test your website as in How to create accounts, order products and post comments. Cloud computers then automatically repeat these traces, testing your site the way your customers would use it—with real major browsers. Traces run periodically on your site, and every time you update the code. This makes Real continuous deployment possible. You can dive into each trace and see how your site is working in different browsers.

In July 2016 it became the second Finnish startup to join renowned US accelerator program ‘500 Startups’. The program equips them with great mentors right where they are investing: in online growth and digital marketing. Previously, 500 Startups has coached some of the coolest cloud startups, like Intercom and Twilio, that have become incredibly successful.

Usetrace is clearly a success story we are proud of. They achieved break-even point in November 2016. For the past 6 months they have shown an impressive product revenue growth rate of 11.5% month over month. The central focus of their growth strategy is doing lean experiments. They validate success by monitoring Key performance indicators like monthly recurring revenue, signup-to-paid-conversion-rate, the number of new paying customers etc. Arto Vuori, CTO Usetrace says “We’re proud to hear from our customers how they love that Usetrace’s AI has removed laborious programming from software testing automation, letting them focus on work that requires more creativity, while Usetrace’s cloud computers do all the boring job for them.” Here is a short video where Arto talks about the Finnish startup scene and how their journey has been like in terms of product development and learnings.

Usetrace is currently hiring growth hackers who have coding skills and are interested in developer tools. Please contact Arto Vuori, arto@usetrace.com for more information.

www.usetrace.com

Story and  video by Richa Asthana. Richa is an intern at Aalto Start-Up Center for summer 2017.