Wallop
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Wallop was a social networking startup spun out of Microsoft Research's Social Computing Group in 2006, backed by about $13 million from Microsoft and venture capitalists including Norwest Venture Partners and Bay Partners. Its invitation-only social network tried to mimic real-world socializing with a highly visual interface, monetizing through Flash profile 'bling' sold for $0.99 to $4.00 instead of ads.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Origins
Wallop begins as a research project in Microsoft Research's Social Computing Group.
- Spin-off
Microsoft spins Wallop off as a separate company led by CEO Karl Jacob; it launches an invitation-only beta social network aimed at young adults, and raises a $10 million Series B from Norwest Venture Partners.
- Social network scrapped
Confronted with the dominance of Facebook and MySpace and their open APIs, Wallop scraps its beta social network and retools to build Flash applications for other social networking platforms.
- Rebranded as Coveroo
Wallop renames itself Coveroo and pivots to mobile phone accessories, acquiring laser-engraving firm Etchstar; the social-networking business is wound down.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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