The Maritime Superapp

Maritime, as we know it today, has undergone a massive transformation, propelled by digitisation efforts of corporations around the globe. Despite this, many digital innovation-led improvements are centred and designed around solutions for urban and well-connected environments. With over 50 million individuals working in remote work environments across different maritime sectors, the lack of focus in this space is concerning. This disparity highlights an oversight in the digital evaluation of the maritime industry - which led to the birth of FrontM and their mission to be the go-to maritime app platform to connect, inform, and care for remote teams. 

Similar to how we have convenient access to millions of apps at our fingertips via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, FrontM is building the largest and most comprehensive go-to maritime app platform that builds and consolidates digital solutions for maritime businesses to empower their remote operations and frontline workforce. With a focus on Healthcare, Wellbeing, Engagement, and Connectivity, FrontM ensures a holistic approach to crew welfare, promoting crew wellbeing and health. Beyond individual well-being, FrontM's overarching goal is to foster safer and more efficient maritime operations, mitigating risks such as negligence, human errors, and medical concerns that could lead to costly escalations, diversions, or repatriations.

Fig. 1. Front’s App Platform’s Homepage. Users are able to access various apps conveniently in one place and have a quick view of all app activity (including updates, calls, chats, and appointments) on FrontM’s platform.

The Founding Story

Winding back the clock to 2011, the paths of Kiran Venkatesh, Co-founder and CEO of FrontM, and Guillermo Acilu, Co-founder and CTO converged in the bustling city of London as both of them were navigating the digital transformation landscape as independent consultants at Inmarsat, a prominent satellite connectivity company. While initially brought together by cross-team meetings, their friendship blossomed as they discovered a shared passion for problem-solving and a drive to innovate.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, their connection ran deep, rooted in shared values and a mutual entrepreneurial spirit. They anticipated that connectivity would be a commoditised product in the future, allowing new solutions to thrive and transform the business landscape. This realisation, coupled with inspiration from disruptive platforms, fueled their enthusiasm and determination to create an app platform business that could bridge this gap and revolutionise satellite connectivity. 

Fig. 2. FrontM’s Founding Team. From left to right: Kiran Venkatesh (Co-founder and CEO), and Guillermo Acilu (Co-founder and CTO).

Leveraging Kiran's innovative business acumen and Guillermo's ability to crystallise these ideas into tangible prototypes, the duo quickly generated early models serving as catalysts for further brainstorming, stakeholder engagement, and iterative refinement of concepts. Empowered by their collaborative synergy, Kiran and Guillermo made a bold decision, leaving behind their consulting careers to bootstrap FrontM. 

Early Beginnings

FrontM's journey began with Kiran and Guillermo exploring various use cases, seeking to address underlying challenges faced by different target groups. Drawing from their experiences as consultants at Inmarsat, they recognised a common issue: the prevalence of outdated, costly, and fragmented legacy systems dominating the market. They also observed a significant gap in prioritising worker well-being, particularly in industries like maritime where operational efficiency took precedence. Focused on bridging this gap, they honed in on two primary end-user personas: remote workers such as maritime crew, and remote guests like aeroplane passengers. This strategic focus laid the groundwork for FrontM's development and evolution into a pioneering maritime app platform.

Armed with early prototypes, the team seized the opportunity to pitch at the prestigious Pitch @ Palace event in the UK. Their compelling pitch caught the attention of influential industry leaders, including Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia marking a pivotal moment in FrontM’s trajectory. AirAsia extended a collaboration opportunity to implement FrontM's Software Development Kit (SDK)* for their moving maps application as they were impressed by FrontM’s vision to enhance in-flight experiences using onboard Wi-Fi.

Simultaneously, FrontM secured an innovation grant from Innovate UK to explore the impact of digitalisation on the global fishing industry using mapping tools over low-bandwidth satellite connectivity. These diverse use cases, from enhancing guest experiences inflight to improving crew connectivity for fishing vessel operations, provided FrontM with a rich spectrum of opportunities to map out in their business model canvas.

Their forward-thinking perspective and innovative approach garnered invaluable support from key thought leaders including former Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce and ex-President of Inmarsat Maritime Ronald Spithout, renowned for their expertise in connectivity and digitalisation.

Growth and Evolution

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe in 2019, FrontM found themselves at a crossroads, compelled to recalibrate their trajectory away from the aviation sector and refocus their energies on the maritime industry. This strategic pivot wasn't without its hurdles; it demanded relentless persuasion and perseverance to sway investors towards supporting their revamped go-to-market strategy. 

The founding team braved this new challenge by utilising a multi-stakeholder approach, working with satellite solution providers, system integrations and solution providers to expedite their go-to-market process. The all-encompassing approach also enabled them to tactically target both social (e.g., a need for multiple services) and technical challenges (i.e., low bandwidth in vessels) that may arise upon solely focusing on a single industry, optimising their client acquisition process. 

One key example was becoming a certified solution provider for Inmarsat validated FrontM's technological prowess and empowered them to forge deeper connections within the maritime ecosystem. With their suite of developer tools, they embarked on a mission to revolutionise crew communication and collaboration, bridging the gap between ship and shore in ways previously unimaginable. 

Today, FrontM ensures that Satellite Connectivity providers offer reliable connections for specific needs like healthcare, guaranteeing connectivity regardless of bandwidth limitations. As the satellite communications industry continues maturing with Starlink and other entrants, FrontM provides essential downstream platform solutions, completing the connectivity loop and unlocking digitalisation opportunities.

Fig. 3. FrontM’s CONNECT Plan. A flexible, composable, baseline subscription plan that allows users to access a whole range of Connect tools including but not limited to messaging, fleet communication, international calling, e-wallet and app marketplace.

Their journey saw the inception of the Maritime Superapp platform, a testament to their unwavering dedication to empowering frontline workers with cutting-edge technology. Through strategic partnerships with industry heavyweights like Columbia Shipmanagement, Thuraya - the UAE-based Satellite Communications Company, Pivotel - the Maritime Satellite Service Provider and the like, FrontM cemented its position in maritime digitalisation, shaping the future of connectivity, productivity, and welfare for remote workers at sea.

Looking Ahead

Having grown to a team of 50+ strong engineers developing FrontM’s technology and app marketplace, and benefitting almost 1,000 customer vessels, the team has exciting plans to continue integrating impactful maritime apps into its Maritime Superapp platform with a near-term focus on crew well-being, healthcare and wider human capital management areas. 

Both Kiran and Guillermo have enjoyed navigating the complex and challenging journey, and are constantly seeking to grow their team and partner network. If you are keen to learn more about FrontM, the team invites you to get in touch via hello@frontm.com.

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Legend:
*SDK: An SDK, or Software Development Kit, is a set of tools, libraries, and resources provided by a platform or system to streamline app development for developers, encompassing compilers, debuggers, and documentation.