Using Google Cloud Platform & Twilio SendGrid to keep up with success

Screen Time is an app with over 100,000 daily active users that allows parents to set device time limits and monitor usage so their kids can enjoy childhood on and offline. Since its founding in 2014, over 1 million parents have downloaded Screen Time.

Steve Vangasse is the Founder of Screen Time Labs, and first developed the app to help his own children manage their time responsibly. Originally started as a side project, Screen Time rapidly proved its potential and gained adoption by other parents.

Challenge

In an effort to meet the demands of a quickly growing business while still working his day job, Steve considered a number of cloud-based partners. He was looking for a solution that would be easy to set up, reliable, and scalable.

Screen Time Labs turned to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) based on its:

• Robust free plan to learn, test, and build
• Reliability with architecture built for the long haul
• Proven ability to scale

“GCP takes away the worry of scaling your infrastructure. You simply deploy your service and GCP takes care of scale,” says Steve.

At first, Screen Time Labs sent email through Google App Engine, which Google Cloud Platform customers can leverage to send a limited amount of email. As Screen Time grew, they needed a powerful email tool to continue sending user communications.

Solution

Based on a recommendation from GCP support, Steve and his team turned to Twilio SendGrid to ensure the scale of its email infrastructure. SendGrid promised:

• Simple integration to start sending in minutes
• Easy-to-manage volume upgrades

“With SendGrid, I have confidence that email is always up, always delivered. If you hit a quota, you’re not cut off,” says Steve.

• Robust analytics

“It’s interesting to see how click-through rate changes for each of our audiences as we make changes to UI/UX,” Steve says. “You wouldn’t get analytics like this if you spun up your own service.”

Result

By sending email that customers value and using powerful analytics to test and improve its campaigns, Screen Time achieves strong delivery and engagement rates:

Bottom Line

Twilio SendGrid and GCP are a perfect match for Screen Time Labs because they are:

• Scalable: With high-performance, global infrastructure, they will meet your needs today and in the future
• Reliable: You’ll have confidence that email is sent and delivered every time with the proven infrastructure
• Easy to integrate: It’s simple and quick to set up Twilio SendGrid and GCP so that you can get back to building products people love