Boise tech luminary wins $5.5 million investment for a startup policing copycat apps

Faisal Shah, who was part of the founder team that built and sold one of Boise’s most successful tech startups, is back at it again with a company called AppDetex.

Launched in 2012, AppDetex closed on a $5.5 million investment on Monday from Salt Lake City venture-capital firm Epic Ventures.

“It’s important to us to grow the business into another company that Boise can be proud of,” Shah said.

AppDetex allows subscribers to search through thousands of apps for sale on app stores and find copycats. An app, Freemark, helps brand holders uncover other apps that resemble their brands or designs before they publish.

Shah and fellow Boisean James Hepworth cofounded MarkMonitor in 1999, which offers copyright protection services for major companies seeking to identify and snuff out online brand infringement. The company sold to Thomas Reuters in 2012 for an estimated $400 million.

Shah and Hepworth created First to File, a MarkMonitor spinoff, and sold it in 2013 for an undisclosed price. Hepoworth is still the chief technology officer.

Shah cofounded AppDetex with Chris Bura, who was CEO of AllDomains, a Bay Area company that MarkMonitor bought in 2003. Bura, who still lives in California, is chief information officer.

AppDetex now has about 40 employees, most working in a second-story office Downtown above the Amsterdam Lounge at 609 W. Main Street. The staff works on AppDetex’s technology and provides brand protection and management, including enforcement actions against offending competitors.

The Epic Ventures money will allow AppDetex to bolster its sales and marketing staff, to hire developers to strengthen existing products, and to push into new markets, Shah said. He plans to expand into domain name management and registration.

Shah said AppDetex raised $2 million in 2015, mostly from mostly Idaho investors.

Shah was inducted into the Idaho Technology Council’s Hall of Fame in 2016. He has been involved in Boise entrepreneurial groups that hatched plans for and funded B-Launched, a startup competition, and Trailhead, Boise’s startup accelerator at the corner of Eighth and Myrtle streets.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Boise tech luminary wins $5.5 million investment for a startup policing copycat apps."