Viral Tweet Propels Rork App Builders to $2.8M Seed Round Led by Andreessen Horowitz

Levan Kvirkvelia and Daniel Dhawan, the founders of Rork, have experienced a remarkable journey that could easily be mistaken for a Hollywood script. They were on the brink of financial ruin, with life savings depleted and each carrying $15,000 in credit card debt. Kvirkvelia resorted to sleeping on a mattress at a friend's apartment while Dhawan was in San Francisco trying to secure funding and attending Founders Inc. Despite their previous success with hit mobile apps as teenagers, they had struggled financially with their latest venture, a predecessor to Rork that catered to non-technical users. On February 12, they finally launched Rork, a mobile app development tool designed to let people with limited technical skills create apps using simple text prompts. Initially, their tweet about the product garnered some attention, but it wasn't until February 24 that a viral moment changed their fate. Matt Shumer, the co-founder CEO of OthersideAI, posted on X (formerly Twitter) comparing Rork favorably to a competing product, Bolt. Shumer's tweet included a video demonstration of Rork, praising its simplicity and potential to revolutionize app development. The post went viral, reaching over a million views. Within 15 minutes, Austen Allred invested $100,000. By the end of the day, they had secured $350,000 from additional investors like Founders Inc. and Hustle Fund’s Elizabeth Yin. This influx of funds came just in time, as the founders were nearly out of money and had been personally financing the AI needed to run the app. Rork's meteoric rise continued, and within two months of the viral tweet, the founders achieved a $550,000 annual recurring revenue (ARR) with paying users. Their journey from near bankruptcy to success was further solidified when Andrew Chen, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), offered them a $2.8 million seed round through the firm’s Speedrun program. Speedrun is a 12-week mentorship program for early-stage startups, providing extensive resources including credits from AWS, Google Cloud, OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia, Stripe, and Deel, along with up to $1 million in investment. Kvirkvelia and Dhawan’s pivot to focus on mobile app development was strategic. They recognized the unique challenge of building native mobile apps, which is significantly more complex than web development. Their decision to position Rork as a mobile counterpart to Lovable, a web development tool for non-technical users, proved to be a winning move. When Bolt, another rival, launched a mobile app coding product, Rork decided to launch simultaneously, ensuring they wouldn’t be left behind in the market. Chen, recognizing the founders' technical expertise and vision, was quick to offer support. "Daniel and Levan are highly technical polymaths who deeply understand mobile development and distribution, which has allowed them to build a fantastic platform quickly," Chen stated. "They’re exactly the type of founders we’re excited to back with a16z Speedrun." The rapid success of Rork has been a testament to the founders' resilience and the power of social media in today's tech ecosystem. Industry insiders praise the app for its user-friendly interface and the founders for their ability to pivot effectively and capitalize on market gaps. The company's trajectory suggests that it is well-positioned to disrupt the mobile app development space, making it easier for non-technical individuals to bring their app ideas to life. With the backing of top-tier investors and a strong user base, Rork is poised for significant growth in the coming years.