Member Spotlight: Meteor
Founded by Matt DeBergalis, Nick Martin, and Geoff Schmidt, Meteor is an open-source JavaScript platform for building top-quality web apps in a fraction of the time – whether you’re an expert developer or just getting started. Having launched an early version of Meteor to much developer fanfare, they quickly outgrew their space at Heavybit and have recently settled into their new offices in SoMa. We sit down with the team and ask a few questions from the members.
What inspired you to build Meteor? (Yaron Sadka – Iron.io)
At YC, Meteor co-founder Geoff and I saw a significant shift in the capabilities and requirements of newer, more modern looking web apps. These apps were richer and more useful and were fundamentally changing how software was being written. Always a very static experience where a click on a link or button made something happen, the modern experience is more dynamic.
Today when you are on Twitter and a new comment appears on Facebook, you are notified immediately and the update “slides” onto your Twitter screen. Modern apps are smarter and behave differently — rich interfaces are more dynamic and engaging. Meteor was born out of the emerging need to write software for these newer apps, — and do so in a fraction of the time of other technologies. – Matt
Your launch on HN was phenomenal. Did you expect this and what was the aftermath? (Paul Biggar – CircleCI)
It was pretty cool to see Meteor “blow up” on HackerNews. We expected to make some noise at YC but this went far beyond that. It validated that Meteor was the correct approach and developers wanted it. We heard from all over the globe –– developers, big tech execs, and open source guys. It proved that Meteor could be an impactful technology business. – Geoff
What is Meteor’s Mission? (Fred Stevens-Smith – Rainforest)
The world needs more software developers, and it is getting progressively harder to keep up with the demand. At Meteor, we are committed to creating a way for more people – any people, not just the software developers — to create an app. The Meteor team came out of ACTBlue, where we provided grassroots donors access to powerful fundraising tools. At Meteor, we hope to democratize web app development by empowering anyone, anywhere to create apps. – Nick
Learn more about Meteor
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