PocketSights

What PocketSights does

PocketSights, operating under the brand name STQRY, is a cloud-based mobile platform that enables communities, universities, museums, nature parks, tourism destinations, and other organizations to create authentic, self-guided mobile tours and interactive digital experiences. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Ithaca, New York, the company offers an integrated five-product suite: STQRY Apps (no-code mobile tour and guide app builder), STQRY Kiosk (on-site digital labels and interactives), STQRY Fleet (hardware-plus-software shared device content distribution), STQRY Marketplace (a two-sided platform for creating, publishing, and monetizing guided tours), and STQRY Collect (digitization and online publishing of collections). The platform is designed for non-technical users, allowing organizations to update tour content without app developer involvement.

The business operates a freemium, product-led growth model with free self-serve onboarding at builder.stqry.com and a demo-based enterprise sales motion for larger institutions. Revenue is generated from tiered platform subscriptions, marketplace commissions on creator-monetized tours, and hardware sales through STQRY Fleet. The customer base is vertically diversified across culture and heritage sites (Yale University, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Walt Disney Family Museum, Auckland Museum, Museums Victoria, Museum of Pop Culture, Revs Institute), government and public institutions (U.S. Forest Service, St. Louis Public Library), tourism attractions, hotels, destination marketing organizations, tour operators, and even aerospace (Virgin Galactic), with operating geographies spanning the USA, New Zealand, and Australia. The company acquired SideGuide on 2016-01-16 to bolster tour capabilities, and is led by co-founder Allen Ward, who serves as Project Manager and Sales/Customer Service lead. The operating organization is small (1-10 employees), suggesting a high-leverage PLG and partner-driven service model.

Name

PocketSights

Website

https://pocketsights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PocketSights (dba STQRY) provides a cloud-based platform that lets museums, universities, nature parks, and tourism destinations build self-guided mobile tours, kiosks, and digital collections without coding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription/Tiered Plans: STQRY offers a freemium model with 'Getting started is free and easy' implying a free tier with premium paid tiers for advanced features. The platform likely generates revenue through subscription plans with tiered pricing for different organization sizes and feature access.
2. Marketplace Commission: STQRY Marketplace enables digital content creators to publish and monetize their guided tours, potentially taking a commission on transactions.
3. Hardware Sales (STQRY Fleet): STQRY Fleet combines on-site hardware with the platform for shared devices, suggesting hardware sales or leasing as a revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

PocketSights (operating as STQRY) provides a cloud-based mobile platform that enables organizations to create, publish, and distribute self-guided mobile tour and visitor experience apps without requiring app development skills. The product suite includes STQRY Apps for mobile tour guides, STQRY Kiosk for on-site digital interactives, STQRY Fleet for shared-device hardware deployments, STQRY Marketplace for monetizing tour content, and STQRY Collect for digitizing and publishing collections online.

Product overview

STQRY is a multi-platform product suite offering digital solutions for destinations with stories to share. The platform consists of five interconnected products: STQRY Apps (mobile guide and tour apps), STQRY Kiosk (digital labels and interactives for on-site use), STQRY Fleet (hardware with platform integration for shared devices), STQRY Marketplace (creation, publishing, and monetization of guided tours), and STQRY Collect (digitization and online publishing of collections). Together, these products enable museums, universities, nature trails, historic sites, and other destinations to engage visitors through self-guided tours and interactive digital experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STQRY Apps: Mobile guide and tour app creation platform
• STQRY Kiosk
• STQRY Fleet
• STQRY Collect
• STQRY Marketplace

Products and services

• STQRY Apps A mobile guide and tour app creation platform that empowers organizations such as museums, universities, and tourism attractions to create beautiful, easy-to-use mobile guide and tour apps without app development skills.
• STQRY Kiosk Provides digital labels and engaging interactives for on-site visitor education at cultural and heritage sites, museums, and attractions.
• STQRY Fleet Combines on-site hardware with the STQRY platform to download content to shared devices, enabling organizations to deploy tour experiences on managed device fleets.
• STQRY Marketplace Enables digital content creators and tour operators to create, publish, and monetize guided tours in a single seamless platform, serving as a distribution channel for tour content.
• STQRY Collect Allows organizations such as museums and heritage institutions to digitize, store, and publish their collections online for visitor access.

Quantifiable outcome

• Dramatically improved tour offerings with far fewer resources (Georgia O'Keeffe Museum)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Smartify: Smartify provides a mobile app that delivers self-guided museum and gallery experiences through object recognition and audio guides. It directly competes with STQRY's mobile tour app product for cultural heritage customers.
• VoiceMap: VoiceMap is a platform for creating and distributing self-guided audio walking tours via mobile app, targeting cities, tour operators, and content creators. It overlaps directly with STQRY Marketplace and tour-app offerings.
• GuideID: GuideID offers multilingual mobile audio guides and digital tour platforms for attractions, museums, and tourism operators. It is comparable to STQRY in both product functionality and target customer profile.
• TourSphere: TourSphere provides self-guided mobile tour apps for visitor attractions, historic sites, and outdoor destinations. It is a direct competitor to STQRY in the self-guided mobile tour space, particularly for nature and heritage sites.
• Cuseum: Cuseum provides digital engagement and mobile experience tools for museums and cultural organizations, including interactive guides and visitor apps. It competes with STQRY for cultural-heritage digital experience budgets.
• izi.TRAVEL: izi.TRAVEL offers a mobile platform for self-guided audio tours used by museums, cities, and tourism boards worldwide. It is highly comparable to STQRY in target verticals (museums, tourism) and freemium mobile tour model.
• OnCell: OnCell builds mobile apps and audio tour platforms for cultural institutions, parks, and tourism destinations. It serves museums, trails, and historic sites — the same primary verticals as STQRY.

Regional players

• Strayboots: Strayboots creates self-guided scavenger hunt and team-building mobile experiences for cities and corporate clients, primarily in North America. It overlaps with STQRY's location-based, self-guided experience model in a regional, B2B-events format.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Connects: Bloomberg Connects is a free cultural app from Bloomberg Philanthropies aggregating museum, gallery, and city guides globally. While not a paid SaaS, it competes for institutional mindshare and digital visitor engagement at scale across STQRY's customer base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pocketsights
• Facebookfacebook.com/pocketsights
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pocketsights-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PocketSights