Free mobile messaging and VoIP service provider Viber recently made a slew of announcements, including reaching the milestone of 200 million users, the roll-out of Viber 3.0 on Android and iOS, and the launch of new apps for Windows and Mac desktop computers.
We had a chat with Viber founder and CEO Talmon Marco to go beyond the facts in the press release and see how the company is faring.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial activities prior to Viber?
Answ TM: I was born in Israel, spent most of my adult life in the US. I started a few companies before Viber, most notably iMesh, a file-sharing service".
Q: How, when and why did you co-found Viber Media?
Answ: "Viber was started in March of 2010 with a few friends from my iMesh days. We recognized the need for a messaging and voice application centered around the mobile experience and the phone book as your “social graph” or “contact list”.
"We wanted something that would be “super easy to use”. It would be the app you love and your grandpa can use without your help. We figured it was going to attract people because of the price but it had to be a great experience if people were to stay on board."
Q: Can you give us some basic facts about the company?
What size is your staff, where are the offices located, and has the company ever raised funding?
Answ: "Viber is pretty small given the scope of what we do. We are a little over 100 people, developing on about a dozen platforms. The company is based in Cyprus with development centers in Belarus, Israel and China. Funding is still “friends and family”. We never did an institutional round of financing. Maybe someday".
Q: The first Viber app for iOS was launched back in December 2010.
How has the mobile messaging landscape evolved since then, both to your advantage and negatively?
Answ: "At the time mobile messaging was a novelty. Since then it has become, in many countries, mainstream. This is good as less and less education is needed, but at the same time competition is fiercer than ever as more and more companies, big and small, realize the promise of mobile messaging".
"It’s an exciting time, but one with few hours of sleep".
Read more: 200.000.000 mobile users, for starters – Q&A with Viber CEO Talmon Marco - The Next Web
We had a chat with Viber founder and CEO Talmon Marco to go beyond the facts in the press release and see how the company is faring.Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your entrepreneurial activities prior to Viber?
Answ TM: I was born in Israel, spent most of my adult life in the US. I started a few companies before Viber, most notably iMesh, a file-sharing service".
Q: How, when and why did you co-found Viber Media?
Answ: "Viber was started in March of 2010 with a few friends from my iMesh days. We recognized the need for a messaging and voice application centered around the mobile experience and the phone book as your “social graph” or “contact list”.
"We wanted something that would be “super easy to use”. It would be the app you love and your grandpa can use without your help. We figured it was going to attract people because of the price but it had to be a great experience if people were to stay on board."
Q: Can you give us some basic facts about the company?
What size is your staff, where are the offices located, and has the company ever raised funding?
Answ: "Viber is pretty small given the scope of what we do. We are a little over 100 people, developing on about a dozen platforms. The company is based in Cyprus with development centers in Belarus, Israel and China. Funding is still “friends and family”. We never did an institutional round of financing. Maybe someday".
Q: The first Viber app for iOS was launched back in December 2010.
How has the mobile messaging landscape evolved since then, both to your advantage and negatively?
Answ: "At the time mobile messaging was a novelty. Since then it has become, in many countries, mainstream. This is good as less and less education is needed, but at the same time competition is fiercer than ever as more and more companies, big and small, realize the promise of mobile messaging".
"It’s an exciting time, but one with few hours of sleep".
Read more: 200.000.000 mobile users, for starters – Q&A with Viber CEO Talmon Marco - The Next Web
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