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Enplug

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Enplug, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustrySoftware
FoundedMay 2012;12 years ago(2012-05),inCulver City, California
Founder
  • David Zhu
  • Nanxi Liu
  • Navdeep Reddy
  • Zach Spitulski
  • Alex Ross
HeadquartersCulver City, California,U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Nanxi Liu (CEO)
  • Tina Denuit-Wojcik (CTO)
  • Navdeep Reddy
  • (CIO)
ProductsDigital signage
Websiteenplug.com

Enplug, Inc.was an American technology company headquartered inCulver City,Californiathat offerssoftwarefordigital displays,allowingreal-timesocial mediainteraction betweenbrandsand users. The company was asoftware licensingbusiness.[1]

Enplug was acquired bySpectrioin 2021.[2]

History

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Enplug was part of the emergingLos Angelesstartup community, dubbed "Silicon Beach"[3]The company was a graduate of StartEngine, founded by Howard Marks, in September 2012.[4]Since its founding, the company had received awards such as placement on both the Inc. Magazine and Forbes30 Under 30lists.[5][6]

Funding

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In April, 2014, Enplug raised $2.5 million throughseed funding,which came from a number ofinvestors,such as Larry Keele, co-founder ofOaktree Capital Management;Rasoul Oskouy, founding member ofJuniper Networks;Bill Gross,founder ofIdealab;Hossein Eslambolchi,former president and CTO atAT&T;David Cohen, Executive Vice President atInterscope Records;Justin Caldbeck, managing director atLightspeed Venture Partners;Troy Carter,CEO at Atom Factory;Activisionco-founderHoward Marks;Amidi Group, DominateFund, and zPark Venture.[1]

Product

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Enplug's social media displays allow end-users to interact with brands in real-time through their existing social media accounts. Enplug displays support multiple social mediaapps,includingTwitter,Facebook,Yelp,Foursquare,andInstagramusing a business's customhashtag.[1][7]Enplug's software is flexible, where it isn't limited to its own use, and allows customers to customize by installing apps created by third-party developers. The company generated aSDK,wheredeveloperscan create and sell apps.[1]

The displays also act as advertising space for partners.Contentcan be deployed by advertisers, to a screen of their choice.[4]Enplug is aSaaSplatform, where business owners pay to access its software on a monthly basis.[8]

Culture

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Enplug had received press coverage in relation to its companyculture.As of last year,[when?]12 of the 37 employees lived and worked out of a six-bedroom, three-bathroomRanch-style houseinBel Air,California.[9]

For most employees, the company paid for "food, rent, and utilities."[10]The Wall Street Journalwrote of Enplug's culture in an article about the company: "Employees and managers meet, work, eat, clean, exercise and sleep in the same space. And while there are occasional uncomfortable moments, such as nudging your boss to do the dishes, companies like Enplug say it is good for professional relationships, saves on rent and travel costs and is often just plain fun."[9]Forbesreported that the purpose of living together was for the employees to "blur the lifestyle divide" between work and living. The culture is very important to Enplug. CEO Nanxi Liu stated, “I actually think the company would have failed if we didn’t live together."[11]

References

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  1. ^abcdLawler, Ryan (17 April 2014)."Digital Display Startup Enplug Raises $2.5 Million Seed Round".TechCrunch.AOL.Retrieved21 May2014.
  2. ^"Spectrio Acquires Enplug".Spectrio.2021-03-30.Retrieved2022-01-13.
  3. ^Smith, Samantha."LA Startup Goes from 0 to 100mph In Three Months".Forbes.Retrieved22 May2014.
  4. ^abCarney, Michael (21 September 2012)."StartEngine's Summer 2012 Demo Day Was Its Best Yet".Pando.Pando Daily.Retrieved22 May2014.
  5. ^"Enplug: An Operating System for Digital Billboards".22 April 2015.
  6. ^"30 Under 30 2016: Enterprise Tech".Forbes.
  7. ^Shamout, Omar (21 April 2014)."Enplug Nabs $2.5 Million in Seed Funding".Los Angeles Business Journal.Retrieved22 May2014.
  8. ^Carney, Michael (17 April 2014)."Enplug drags digital signage into the social era, raising $2.5M and landing Porsche and Coffee Bean as clients".Pando.Pando Daily.Retrieved22 May2014.
  9. ^abSilverman, Rachel (31 July 2013)."House Party: Working and Living at the Office".The Wall Street Journal.Dow Jones & Company.Retrieved22 May2014.
  10. ^"The Startup Slumber Party: How Living With Your Cofounders Can Save Your Company".Fast Company.2013-02-05.Retrieved2017-09-25.
  11. ^Bell, Lisa Nicole (2013-02-05)."The Startup Slumber Party: How Living With Your Cofounders Can Save Your Company".Fast Company.Retrieved2020-10-05.
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