Tony Spiro developed websites for years in Uptown Dallas and kept running into the same problems. The projects took too long, he couldn’t meet deadlines and he was losing money.

Like any good entrepreneur, he decided to do something about it. 

“You know there’s a better way. So instead of hitting the wall again you decide to go around or make a window.”
TONY SPIRO

“You find something that you’re hitting a wall with,” Spiro said. “You know there’s a better way. So instead of hitting the wall again you decide to go around or make a window. Whatever it is that makes your job easier, I think the spirit of the entrepreneur is innovation.”

He started developing his own content management system in private beta form and tested it with thousands of web developers.

With his CMS, the website starts with API (application programming interface) first, which is language agnostic and compatible with multiple platforms and screen sizes.

Then, in May, he officially founded Cosmic JS and launched his product in August. That’s when he got his first paying client.

Now, he’s got corporations such as Pizza Hut, Apple, and Adult Swim using his platform to build websites.

The company’s growing 250 percent month-over-month for the last three months with more than 1,000 users signed up.

“Content management is mission critical,” Spiro said. “You build a website or application, you need to trust the provider. We’re seeing a lot of adoption and a lot of trust put in the company. We need to scale it and take it to the next level.”

“Content management is mission critical.”
TONY SPIRO

So far, Cosmic JS is self-funded with no investors lined up. They’re looking to grow the platform now but don’t intend to seek investment funding.

Customers can use Cosmic JS for free for basic website building but for more advanced products, they’ll need to pay for it, which is how the company makes money.

Carson Gibbons joined the company over the summer as it grew and is now a co-founder. Spiro and Gibbons met when they worked at the boutique digital agency in Uptown and kept running into the same problems.

“We’re saving development teams a lot of time, money, infrastructure, steps within the process,” Gibbons said.

Gibbons described what makes Cosmic JS different from other CMS systems.

“WordPress is a slab, it’s a foundation and it’s expensive to add on or take away,” Gibbons said. “What Cosmic JS does, as an API first CMS, is it just laid a global slab in the cloud. Developers can go straight to building walls and putting in the chimney. Once they’ve created those different objects, they can repurpose it and utilize as a micro siloed piece of the application moving forward.”

Or, as Spiro put it, “It will solve all our problems and everyone else’s problems.”

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