High school graduates, Christopher Fitzgerald and Nicholas Van Landschoot are making waves in the tech industry with their startup, APIGen, a company that specializes in creating efficient application programming interfaces (APIs).
Backed by a $500,000 investment from Denver-based firm, Varana Capital, the ambitious young entrepreneurs are working to simplify and streamline API development, primarily for small and medium-sized tech companies.
Fueled by their own hardships during high school entrepreneurial projects, Fitzgerald and Van Landschoot’s vision is to make a significant impact in how tech firms operate, aiming to increase overall productivity.
Still in its early stages, APIGen has been welcomed with open arms in the tech community, attracting interest from potential investors and other firms. The founders are hopeful to launch their platform by the end of this year.
APIGen’s primary aim is to create an accessible portal for businesses to craft custom APIs using simple language inputs, bridging the gap between frontend processes and backend systems. The founders envision the platform to not only accomplish basic tasks, but to manage intricate functionalities, effectively revolutionising the method of API development.
Furthermore, Fitzgerald and Van Landschoot anticipate potential applications for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as creating APIs to guide drones on specific routes or utilizing facial recognition to improve building safety.
High school grads foster API innovation
They’re also exploring applications in sectors like agriculture, whereby APIs can automate farming practices, all the while ensuring secure data transfer given the vulnerability of IoT devices.
The inception of APIGen sprouted from the co-founders’ recognition of the complexity and time involved in building APIs for a chatbot project. Realizing potential for automation, they set forth on the creation of an automatic API generator. Upon successful implementation of APIGen within their workflow, they noticed a drastic improvement in productivity and efficiency and so, decided to extend this tool to the wider tech community.
Garnering early success with a positive reception from tech programmers, APIGen scored an early funding from Varana Capital. With plans of Fitzgerald joining Penn State and Van Landschoot considering moving closer to the university, the founders are evidently dedicated to nurturing APIGen, challenging the status quo and encouraging upcoming entrepreneurs to take the leap and innovate.
