Snapvine

Snapvine was a Seattle-based startup founded in 2005 by Joe Heitzeberg, who also served as the company's CEO. The company specialized in providing voice-over-IP (VoIP) features tailored for social networking platforms. Snapvine developed a software widget that allowed users to add a voice player to their profiles on sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Bebo, enabling them to send and receive voice messages without disclosing their phone numbers.

The company demonstrated significant traction early on, securing a $2 million funding round in 2006 from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and First Round Capital. This was followed by a larger $10 million investment in 2007 from Bridgescale Partners. By September 2007, Snapvine's product had achieved five million downloads and its voice player was being used 22 million times daily across 200 social networks. The platform's popularity was boosted by its adoption by celebrities such as 50 Cent and Enrique Iglesias on their Myspace pages. Snapvine's business model was based on advertising revenue, generated from both banner ads and voice ads that users would listen to before sending their own recordings.

In June 2008, Snapvine was acquired by Whitepages for approximately $20 million. The acquisition aimed to integrate Snapvine's voice technology into Whitepages' online directory, allowing users to create voice mail accounts linked to their profiles as a privacy measure. Following the acquisition, the majority of Snapvine's 25 employees, including CEO Joe Heitzeberg who became a vice president, were expected to join Whitepages. Snapvine officially ceased its operations on March 31, 2010.

Keywords: Snapvine, Joe Heitzeberg, voice-over-IP, VoIP, social network widget, voice messaging, Myspace voice player, Whitepages acquisition, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, First Round Capital, Bridgescale Partners, social media tools, online voice recording, voice ads, Seattle startup