Like most startups, we started Cloudron to scratch our own itch. We met at Nokia in early 2012 and discovered that we shared similar thoughts on privacy. We had both been running our own private servers for many years and preferred to store data on our servers when possible. As such, an immediate requirement we had was a file syncer that worked securely across devices. The first prototype of our project was completed at NodeConf 2013 under a yellow tent at Walker Creek Ranch (and thus the codename 'yellowtent').

At about the same time, in 2013, Google Reader was shut down. We realized that data is just one part of the problem. What we needed was a mechanism where apps could be run easily on our servers, without the hassle of setting them up or taking care of the backups, updates, authentication and storage settings that each app requires in its own way.

With this in mind, we set out to create a system where developers can write apps that can be easily deployed on private servers. The end result is Cloudron, a solution that allows anyone to create private clouds instantly. The concept of a server is abstracted away and the focus is on the apps.