Tatango
| Founded | October, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bellingham, Washington |
| Key people |
CEO Derek Johnson, CTO Adrian Pike, VP of Marketing, Andrew Dumont |
| Website | tatango.com |
| Alexa rank |
 79,439 (April 2014)[1] |
| Registration | Required |
| Current status | Active |
Tatango is a U.S. mobile group communication service that allows users to send messages to a group of people through SMS and voice messaging. Messages come with an attached advertisement at the end, which allows the service to be free, but adverts can be removed by paying for the service. Tatango has 400,000 members sending five to six million text messages a month.
History
Derek Johnson, the CEO, founded the service originally named NetworkText out of his parent’s basement in October 2007 when at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business.[2] Initially started as a solution for his Fraternity (Delta Upsilon) to communicate with his Fraternity brothers, Tatango has since grown to become one of the industry leaders in the mobile marketing space. Tatango works with a broad spectrum of clients ranging from small to fortune 500 businesses.
Johnson left college and moved to Bellingham, where he had family, friends and business contacts, and founded NetworkText with Matt Pelo, who left the company later that year. In 2008, the company was renamed to Tatango, and offices were found. Tatango moved from being a Limited-liability company to a Corporation late in 2008.
Features
Tatango allows a group leader to set up a free account through the website, then allows the leader to invite contacts to join their group. Once members are in a group, the group leader can message the entire group through Tatango by sending one message from their computer or mobile phone.
Advertisements attached to the bottom of messages allow the service to be free to any member and group leader. In November 2008, Tatango started a service where for a fee a user can send ad-free messages as well as have access to additional features.
Press
TechCrunch,[3]Cnet [4] the Seattle Times [5] and LifeHacker.[6]
Tatango CEO, Derek Johnson has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal in the article What Sneakers Say About Your Soul. Young Workers Rebel Against Standard Business Attire; the Significance of Chuck Taylors.
References
- ↑ "Tatango.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ↑ http://www.facebook.com/thederekjohnson/info
- ↑ Tatango Opens Their Group SMS Service To The Public, TechCrunch, September 5, 2008, Greg Kumparak, http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/05/tatango-opens-their-group-sms-service-to-the-public/
- ↑ Tatango makes sending group voice messages free, Cnet, October 15, 2008, Don Reisinger, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10066712-2.html?tag=mncol
- ↑ Texting simplifies group messages, the Seattle Times, October 15, 2007, Charles Bermant, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003950337_btinterface15.html
- ↑ Tatango Mass-Messages Your Opt-In Friends for Free, LifeHacker, September 7, 2008, Kevin Purdy, http://lifehacker.com/5046148/tatango-mass+messages-your-opt+in-friends-for-free