Startropica
A Pittsburgh startup with a funny name is engaging customers from brands across multiple touch points. SongWhale specializes in taking customer engagement to a new level using the web, text, pay and direct solutions.
The unique company offers multiple products to drive engagement and even a pay product of their own called PayWhale which offers the ability to text a payment. Paying via text is very popular in emerging countries but no one in the US has really embraced the technology. It’s actually one of the easiest ways to pay.
While interactive engagement may not seem sexy some of the things SongWhale is doing are. Not only that but the story about how Songwhale came about is one of the most interesting ones we’ve heard.
Songwhale’s four core business areas, Web, Text, Pay and Direct can be summarized like this:
Web: Songwhale can get a companies brand or message through the web on any screen; smartphone, tablet, or computer all optimized for each size.
Text: Songwhale offers engaging SMS campaigns including games, and interactives.
Pay: Songwhale’s Paywhale product offers a text payment solution that is possibly the easiest form of mobile commerce and one wildly adopted in emerging countries.
Direct: Songwhale offers direct branding and engagement campaigns that encompass web, text and pay solutions.
We got a chance to interview Songwhale. Check out the interview below:
What is Songwhale?
Songwhale is an interactive media company that enables brands/companies to reach consumers across multiple touch points. Our core business is Web, Text, Pay & Direct solutions. We design, engineer and connect for every device.
In layman’s terms, how does it work?
Pull out your phone and send a text message. If you are not sending a text message to your parents, we are on the other end providing the types of interactive text message services you are experiencing.
Your text message (the one that was not to your parents) could be your vote in round of “predictive gaming” at a hockey game, or a contest to win a man-cave-makeover. You could be purchasing a product on TV using our Paywhale text payment platform. There are a lot of options!
Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?
Songwhale’s origins stem from the founders love of music. CEO Ty Morse was a family friend of CTO Jon Greenlee. The two are separated by 7 years, and attended the same high school in Wisconsin. In class one day Ty came across some musical projects the Jon had participated in as a student 7 years prior. This was a rock opera for a class project based on “Beowulf.” Ty contacted Jon to ask about working on the project and Jon joined in. The following year, one of Ty’s college professors found out about the Beowulf rock opera and asked him to a do a class/school rock opera project on Mary Brice Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” Ty called Jon to join in again and this led to a series of businesses that ultimately produced Songwhale.
Where are you based?
Songwhale established its global headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA, and maintains other offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
What’s the startup scene/culture like where you’re based?
Pittsburgh has much of what Songwhale needs, a vehemently pro-technology environment emerging from the rubble of the city’s industrial past. This is a great community for our business. There are many large companies – UPMC, PNC, Highmark, Bayer, Consol Energy – for brands to test-market since it’s a microcosm of what’s going on in the U.S. There is also the huge sports vertical, three fantastic pro teams that are all implementing new technologies. Lastly, some of the largest franchisees of Fortune 500 companies are located in southwestern Pennsylvania.
How did you come up with the idea for Songwhale?
Songwhale started with the idea of putting music content on the smartphone for free using the new wireless technologies that were sprouting in smartphones. Songwhale’s first event was at a ZibraZibra concert on July 7, 2007. Jon built the technology to give away music as part of the show. The concert (held at the legendary First Avenue nightclub) was sold out at 1500 people, and 50% of the audience participated in the promotion. Ty and Jon realized that working together on this software had become a common passion. This began a journey that led to Songwhale.
How did you come up with the name?
I could tell you, but then I’d have to kiss you. I’m not busy this evening.
What problem does Songwhale solve?
Songwhale’s technology solution uses text messaging to consumers with a brand. Our technology allows companies and brands to reach their consumers in a more effective way than traditional methods.
Text messaging is the foundation of any mobile program; therefore, it has turned out to be a key area of focus for Songwhale. We do things other SMS companies cannot do.
What’s your secret sauce?
1/3 ketchup, 1/3 mayo, and 1/3 driving return on investment! Instead of concentrating on selling “sexy” products or features, we offer useful mobile services with clear metrics that help our clients tune their traditional and television marketing campaigns.
The encouraging environment at Songwhale allows everyone to participate and push his or her own ideas. Each day begins with a standup meeting to keep everyone updated with current and upcoming projects. Like most agile software development houses, we understand that frequent collaboration and feedback is essential to success.
What’s one dilemma you’ve encountered in the startup process?
Marketing vs. engineering! It’s a common problem. For example, Checkoutwhale, our Direct Response software platform, is custom software placed in the middle of a rapidly changing industry. This platform is used by television marketers who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a week in an industry where the lifecycle of products is unpredictable.
We have had to create software processes to service this unpredictable product lifecycle in order to guarantee our clients the fastest go-live time in the industry, while still delivering our client new platform features at a satisfying rate. Testing, testing, testing, and communication, communication, communication. With those axioms, we focus on shared benefit, where we can create features for one client, that will benefit the other users of the platform. Being truthful and up front with client expectations has been essential to solving this dilemma successfully.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome in the startup process?
One challenge we’ve overcome is another common problem for young startups. In the beginning we just tried to do it all — we were willing to take on any challenge that came our way. Songwhale has gradually distilled our product lines, dumping unprofitable business and adding profitable business. The wisdom to say yes or no comes only with time. Saying no can end opportunity so you need to know when to say no. Saying yes can be the death of digging 1000 unpaid ditches, so you need to know when to say yes. This essential skill, which deals heavily with relationships and emotions, as well as engineering and product management, is far more complex than a sentence on when to say yes or no. When to say yes and when to say no is essential to any startup; this skill is exactly “a minute to learn a lifetime to master”.
Who are some of your mentors and business role models?
My hardworking staff and Dr. Who (Pertwee)
What’s next for Songwhale?
The next big move for Songwhale is expanding our text2buy and text2donate platform, Paywhale. We are rolling this out as we speak–look for the whale tail on TV products you can purchase with a single text message.
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