Convoz is an American online

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

service based in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

which focuses on creating public collaborative conversation through video. It was founded by

Hakeem Seriki Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began his ...

and Glen Allison, under the parent company X Empire Inc. and was seeded by

Upfront Ventures Upfront Ventures, formerly known as GRP Partners, is a Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. It is one of the largest venture capital firms in Los Angeles, with $2 billion in total raised funds. ...

. The video-centric platform allows users to send 15-second clips directly to celebrities and they can then watch and choose which ones they want to respond to, sometimes broadcasting a message for all to see as well as

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

to their followers. The startup has a total of seven employees, and has cultivated an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Greycroft Ventures,

500 Startups 500 Global (previously 500 Startups) is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California ...

, Precursor VC, Okapi Ventures, XG Ventures, and a roster of

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

including

Justin Kan Justin Kan (born July 16, 1983) is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of live video platforms Justin.tv and Twitch, as well as the mobile social video application Socialcam. He is also the cofounder and former ...

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Background

Convoz was announced to an investor and entrepreneur crowd at the Upfront Summit in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

by founder

in January 2018, in an attempt to raise capital for the app. In the presentation, Seriki announced that the video-centric platform aims to be "the place where you go to talk to people." He wants Convoz to be an app where people converse face-to-face with celebrities. It was revealed that Seriki approach

to invest in the app, who also supported Seriki's presentation as well as rapper

who was known for being an early investor in

Clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

. The beta version of the app was officially released on January 30, 2018. The app was officially unveiled on June 6, 2018, and many celebrities including

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), better known by his stage name Big Boi, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a member of the southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside André 3000. ...

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

as well as sports players were using the app to communicate with fans. In May 2019, the app was noted for its format of having short video messages that other users can watch and respond to in a study which demonstrated that viewers are more responsive to lightweight content such as snapshots and video clips. In June 2019, Seriki, E-40, and portfolio company

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

to invest $25,000 into a startup founded and managed by a woman or person of color as a marketing campaign to get more users to use the Convoz app. The conditions meant the entrants had to pitch their business idea on the Convoz app. In November of the same year, both investors held another competition on the app but this time increasing their investment fund to $100,000. Republic again facilitated the competition and

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...

star

Daymond John Daymond Garfield John (born February 23, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, and television personality. He is best known as the founder, president, and chief executive officer of FUBU, and appears as an investor on the ABC reality telev ...

served as a judge for the contest. The winner of the competition was Pierre Laguerre and it was announced in January 2020. His startup idea was "Fleeting Pro", a company that links certified class A & B drivers to trucking companies for scheduled, on-demand transportation needs. As of 2023, Convoz operates with an invite-only registration and has a

waiting list Waiting list, Waiting List or similar terms may refer to: * Waiting List Service, for Internet domain name registrations * Wait list, in United States university and college admissions * Waiting list ticket, a Reservation against Cancellation tic ...

for new users on the app.

References

Sources

* Di Chen, Dustin Freeman, and Ravin Balakrishnan (2019).
Integrating multimedia tools to enrich interactions in live streaming for language learning.
'

Association for Computing Machinery The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional member ...

. Retrieved January 14, 2023.

External links

* {{Authority control 2018 establishments in the United States 2018 software Android (operating system) software Companies based in Houston Internet properties established in 2018 IOS software Mobile software Image-sharing websites Photo software Proprietary cross-platform software Symbian software Video software Celebrity Video hosting WatchOS software

Background

See also

References

Sources

External links