Russell , SendMe, Inc.1

San Francisco - CA United States

The big idea: In 25 words or less, please tell us how this Fast 50 Nominee is helping to address the planet's problems.

SendMe’s family of destination sites – SendMeMobile.com, SoLow.com and mbuzzy.com – deliver the best and broadest content, entertainment and community to transform consumers’ mobile phones into portable playgrounds.

Please describe how this nominee is using business as a force of positive change. What technology, idea, or strategy is the nominee using -- and what problem, such as global warming, poverty, or pollution, does it address? (suggested length: 100 words)

With traditional CD sales in decline, artists and their studios are looking for new revenue-generating products as well as new ways to connect artists with fans to let them know what new “products” are available from those artists. SendMe is partnering with major music and entertainment companies to do both these things. First, SendMe works with companies including UMG, Interscope, IODA, EMI Records and more to offer artists’ ringtones, wallpapers, etc. Second, SendMe engages fans using its unique and highly engaging mobile reverse-auction platform called SoLow.com.

Reverse auctions have generated real momentum overseas, but SendMe is blazing the trail here in the US. To win, fans must guess the lowest number that no one else has guessed by the end of the sweepstakes. Throughout the bidding process, SoLow sends hints to help the user zero in on a winning bid. As a result, SendMe is continually engaging the user throughout the process – keeping him/her entertained with the game and, at the same time, promoting the “product.”

Each prize is designed to be a one-of-a-kind experience that fans can’t buy on their own. Most recently, SendMe worked with Interscope to give fans the opportunity to join Soulja Boy’s entourage in London. Last fall, SendMe worked with AEGLive to promote Ozzy Osbourne’s concert tour through an auction that gave fans the chance to bid on spending Thanksgiving dinner with Ozzy.

What are the results, both financial and social? How has the nominee's business performed, and what impact has it had on the problem it addresses? (suggested length: 100 words)

SendMe is one of the fastest growing companies in its sector to-date. The company is very well-capitalized – $25mm – by leading venture firms Spark Capital, True Ventures and GrandBanks Capital. Over the past year, SendMe has signed major content deals with industry leaders including Corbis, EMI Music, Glu, Telcogames, Gameloft, IODA, Sony Pictures Television, and The Orchard. The company also added two properties to its mobile media platform with its acquisition of off-portal mobile community mbuzzy.com and the launch of its mobile sweepstakes destination SoLow.com. SendMe’s three properties create a unique mobile content ecosystem that has also attracted partners including AEG Live, Interscope Records, MobiTV and Universal Music Group, which are leveraging SendMe to extend their brands to the mobile arena, generate high-margin incremental revenue, and create more meaningful connections with consumers.

Comments that readers have made about this submission: