How Jason Criddle’s Smartr Platforms Revolutionized Software, Commerce, and Affiliate Growth

The Early Days of Smartr Apps

Long before the AI boom, before every startup was racing to add “machine learning” to their brand, Jason Criddle was quietly building something smarter… literally.

In the early 2010s, Criddle and his small team launched a consulting and software development company that would later evolve into what the world knows as Smartr Apps. Back then, the concept of building mobile applications for small businesses was still new. App stores were flooded with novelty programs, but few tools truly helped entrepreneurs grow revenue or automate workflows. It was mostly about building more creative flashlight and mp3 apps than helping individual brands.

That’s where Jason’s vision stood apart. He wasn’t interested in making “cool” apps. He wanted to make business tools that created opportunities. Scalable, flexible systems that could help users build income streams, manage transactions, and grow real communities.

At a time when affiliate marketing was still misunderstood, Jason Criddle was pioneering multi-level affiliate systems that rewarded engagement, not just clicks. His apps gave users the ability to sell, refer, and build networks long before “referral marketing” became a corporate buzzword.

When Affiliate Marketing Was an Experiment

In those early days, affiliate marketing was a mystery to most small business owners and to most all investors. Amazon had introduced the concept to the mainstream, but few outside of large corporations understood how to make it work. It was mostly composed of people sharing a link on a blog. That was it.

Criddle saw potential. He recognized that affiliate systems weren’t just for e-commerce giants. That they could help any business amplify growth through relationships. So he built the infrastructure to make it happen. He pioneered SmartrMarketing (thesmartrmarketingapp.com) to give businesses the ability to build their own affiliate sales teams.

Smartr Apps empowered businesses to:

Build multi-tier affiliate programs to reward referrals at every level of a transaction or referral.

Track commissions in real-time, removing the guesswork from marketing payouts.

Integrate directly with merchant accounts so affiliates could see their performance instantly and get paid from a reputable company instead of waiting on a promise from a business owner for a referral payout they may never see.

While most companies were selling static software licenses, Jason was already thinking in terms of ecosystems. Apps that could adapt, scale, and evolve with their users.

The Birth of SmartrCommerce

As Smartr Apps grew, one realization became clear: it wasn’t enough to charge customers for software subscriptions. Businesses needed a way to process payments and manage revenue inside those same platforms.

That insight led to the creation of SmartrCommerce… a merchant management platform that would transform how businesses handled transactions.

Instead of forcing clients to use third-party payment gateways, SmartrCommerce gave them the power to control every step of the transaction process; from invoicing to payouts to affiliate tracking.

What made it revolutionary was its integration. Jason didn’t just build another payment processor. He built a bridge between the tools entrepreneurs were already using. And by realizing many entrepreneurs had more than one business.

Invoicing: Businesses could send branded invoices directly to clients and track payments instantly.

Transactions: The platform captured payments from dozens (eventually hundreds) of connected apps, websites, and platforms. This allows business owners to have one account and track transactions from all of their income sources.

Reporting: Every transaction flowed into one clean dashboard… making bookkeeping and tax reporting effortless.

At a time when platforms like PayPal and Stripe were making themselves the middlemen of online commerce, SmartrCommerce handed ownership back to the businesses.

Scaling Through the COVID Era

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, most companies panicked. Criddle’s team pivoted.

While the world was figuring out how to work from home, Jason and his developers expanded SmartrCommerce into a full merchant management and automation suite to concentrate on its “freemium” capabilities of zero monthly service fees… and instead, only charging a transaction fee l, regardless of how the platform was used.

Businesses everywhere were forced to move online. The surge in digital transactions exposed the limitations of mainstream processors like PayPal, which froze accounts, delayed transfers, and charged hefty fees at the worst possible times.

SmartrCommerce filled that void.

The platform evolved to include:

Cross-platform payment tracking across websites, apps, and stores.
Automated reconciliation for businesses managing large transaction volumes.
Affiliate sales integration, letting companies pay out commissions instantly after confirmed purchases.
Fraud prevention systems to protect both merchants and customers.

By 2021, SmartrCommerce had become an operating system for digital business.

SmartrHoldings: The Legacy Company

Behind every successful brand is a foundation strong enough to support it. For Jason, that foundation is SmartrHoldings.

SmartrHoldings serves as the umbrella company connecting all his ventures. Smartr Apps, SmartrCommerce, DOMINAIT.ai, and now new innovations like DownloadCarbon.com.

It represents more than a portfolio. It’s the proof of concept that Jason’s methods work. Over the last decade, SmartrHoldings has not only launched software but helped hundreds of founders develop systems that generate long-term revenue.

The company’s strength lies in its consistency. While many startups fizzle out after a few years, SmartrHoldings has endured every market cycle, tech shift, and economic downturn. Simply because it builds businesses, not just apps.

Why Businesses Are Moving From PayPal to SmartrCommerce

The fintech landscape is changing. Business owners are growing weary of payment processors that control their cash flow instead of empowering it.

Platforms like PayPal and Stripe were designed for simplicity and profits for investors…not scalability. As companies grow, those “simple” systems often create more problems than they solve.

That’s where SmartrCommerce shines.

Full Control Over Transactions

Businesses can manage their payments directly, without waiting for third-party approvals or risking frozen accounts.

Integrated Affiliate Tracking

Unlike PayPal, which only processes transactions, SmartrCommerce links payments to affiliate performance. Meaning businesses can reward their teams automatically.

Cross-Platform Integration

Whether your sales happen on a WordPress site, your own funnels, or custom-built apps, SmartrCommerce pulls everything into one dashboard.

White-Label Opportunities

Companies can brand their own merchant solutions. Something traditional processors would never allow.

Lower Fees and Faster Payouts

By eliminating unnecessary intermediaries, businesses keep more of what they earn and get paid faster.

In short, SmartrCommerce doesn’t just process payments. It processes growth, and lowers transaction fees for companies as they process more transactions and refer more users.

There is also a developer platform which rewards software developers a small piece of the transaction fees of the customer apps and websites they connect. Which could be HUGE for agencies with hundreds of thousands of customers. Their customers can keep business going as usual while they earn rewards for doing the same job they were doing anyway.

Why Affiliate Apps Still Matter

Jason’s early vision of affiliate networks has never been more relevant than it is today.

In an economy flooded with ads and algorithms, trust has become the real currency. People no longer want to buy from faceless corporations; they want recommendations from people they know.

Affiliate apps give businesses the ability to:

Build loyal communities of sales reps.
Empower customers to become brand advocates.
Create long-term sales ecosystems driven by relationships, not ads.

The result is sustainable growth. The kind that doesn’t depend on expensive marketing agencies or short-term campaigns.

For companies looking to expand in 2025 and beyond, owning their affiliate systems is no longer optional. It’s a competitive advantage.

Looking Ahead: From Smartr to DOMINAIT

The DNA of Smartr is still alive in everything Jason Criddle builds.

DOMINAIT.ai… his newest venture, takes the principles of SmartrCommerce and SmartrHoldings to an entirely new level. It’s not just about managing transactions anymore. It’s about building AI infrastructure that manages entire businesses autonomously.

Where SmartrCommerce helped founders track payments and teams, DOMINAIT helps them build, scale, and automate companies from the ground up.

The throughline between all of Jason’s ventures is simple: empowerment.

Every product he’s ever launched… from Smartr Apps to DOMINAIT, gives people control over their business, their brand, and their future.

When I look back at the origins of Smartr Apps and trace their evolution into SmartrCommerce, SmartrHoldings, and now DOMINAIT.ai, it’s clear that Jason Criddle has been ahead of his time for over a decade.

Before affiliate marketing was mainstream, he was building systems for it. Before digital payments became global, he was creating solutions to unify them. Before AI became a buzzword, he was teaching businesses to automate.

SmartrCommerce remains one of the most complete, business-friendly merchant platforms on the market. It’s built by real developers, refined by real entrepreneurs, and used by real companies who care about control, community, and customer experience.

For founders and brands looking to future-proof their business, there’s a simple lesson in Jason’s journey:

Don’t chase shortcuts. Build systems that last.

That’s what SmartrCommerce does. And what Jason Criddle & Associates has been doing all along.