Talk:Firstup

COI creation

JeffreyArthurVA declared a COI at COIN on this page while it was a user space draft. I have moved it to draft space and added the COI template.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 21:31, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

Following up here to note that I have a conflict of interest related to this company (I know the founder), which is why--in light of WP:COI--I've elected to submit this draft for review by other uninvolved editors rather than implement it myself. ThatMontrealIP was kind enough to shift this over into draft space, as I originally had it in my user space. Regards, JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 21:55, 10 July 2020 (UTC)

Notability

Established by cited sources: [1], [2], [3], [4] ~Kvng (talk) 16:32, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

@Kvng: I am puzzled by the above statement, because some of these are not such great sources. hcmtechnology.com report advertises custom editorial content on its website: "Packages include editorial opportunities that raise brand awareness and deepen our your relationship with customers, prospects and colleagues." The Bostonglobe.com is not SIGCOV, but rather a trivial mention. Hrexecutive.com says "The full-time editorial staff works with leaders in the profession to ensure the editorial product is insightful, strategic and timely," and they give an email for "editorial submissions", meaning this is a paid advertising platform. Does not sound particularly independent, and the source parrots the SocialChorus CEO with multiple quotes. econsultancy.com is an interview, so not valuable for notability considerations. They also advise on their contact page that that you can contact them for "Commercial/partnership enquiries". Are there other sources? If not, this makes me wonder if this should be returned to draft space.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 18:09, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

@ThatMontrealIP: feel free to take it to AfD if you don't think it meets WP:NCORP. ~Kvng (talk) 18:17, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

I might do that, but as you are the reviewer I thought I would first ask which sources meet the notability standard? The ones you cited are really junky.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 18:19, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

ThatMontrealIP, I see what you mean about those industry trade publications. Would it be helpful for me to list the sources used to establish notability below? (separately, I could also propose an edit that removes these industry trade publications.) Regards, JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 18:26, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Removing stuff isn't going to help save this. What is needed is more high-quality sources. ~Kvng (talk) 18:32, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

(ec) [1] has a paragraph which is more than a passing mention. The others may or may not pass community reliability standards. You can't completely discount an WP:INTERVIEW. ~Kvng (talk) 18:30, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

@Kvng: I've taken out the items that look like paid industry pubs. It's ironic that the company specializes in paid placement of company blah-blah. I think notability is marginal in terms of its current state, but I will leave it to see what editors independent of the subject say. ThatMontrealIP (talk) 18:34, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

@Kvng: this source is pretty good coverage. That said, I am really dubious/cautious about the article and motivations for having it here, seeing as its product is about social influencing and manipulation/use of influencers to more readily promote brands. It's like the paid editing company of the Internet. ThatMontrealIP (talk) 18:42, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

The sources most helpful to consider would be:

• https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/20/socialchorus-seriesa/
• https://www.businessinsider.com/halogen-media-acquires-nyc-startup-youcast-2011-4
• https://venturebeat.com/2014/09/18/socialchorus-lands-7-5m-to-help-more-employees-spread-their-companys-message/
• https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/29/socialchorus-raises-12-5m-for-its-internal-communications-platform/
• https://www.wsj.com/articles/employee-engagement-company-socialchorus-raises-12-5-million-1527627012

JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 18:44, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

From your earlier note above, the company that this article is about no longer operates in the area of social media; it did during its early years, but per the 2018 TechCrunch article it now strictly produces software for internal communications within companies and is no longer in the earlier business. `JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 18:48, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

I did not include investment announcements in my list because these are often considered WP:ROUTINE coverage. ~Kvng (talk) 19:48, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

That makes sense. In terms of what you might consider for this article, my observation has been that for large and notable but not publicly traded software companies, much of the reporting on them in reliable sources tend to be clustered around either rounds of venture capital funding raised or acquisitions/mergers/expansions. I think this is partially because there are often so many rounds of funding, and something notable happening with a software company (significant development changes in the product, changing the direction of the business that reporters take note of) often coincides with it receiving a new round of funding or completing an acquisition/merger. That has been the case with this company, as most of the major events in the company have happened to also coincide with a round of funding (or in one case, an acquisition followed by a name change), so the media reports tend to cover both jointly. That is not meant as a counter to your note; just hopefully a bit of context that helps. -JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 20:22, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

• A bot has stuck a notability tag on this article. I am not comfortable with marking this article as reviewed. Whiteguru (talk) 04:07, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Since the discussion above, it happens to be that some significant changes in the ownership structure of this company transpired. In more plain language, usage of the software produced by this company grew to the point where a new investor took note and bought a majority stake for $100 million, rendering two earlier investors as minority investors. This event is beyond WP:ROUTINE coverage as it is not strictly an investment blurb on a bulleted list that says "Company A raised $2 million this week; Company C raised $4 million...), but is a more sizable investment receiving media coverage that was made due to some fairly notable companies adopting this software, ultimately rendering an ownership structure change as reported here: https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/15/sumeru-equity-partners-buys-majority-stake-in-socialchorus-with-100m-investment/

Would one of you be able to review the text below and, if you deem it to be fitting, add it to the end of the article under the 2016 - present section? I've tried to keep it succinct and factual, just to state the context surrounding this investment (new, rather large companies adopted said software), the investment firm with the majority stake, the amount, and the resulting ownership structure note that two earlier investors remained on but as minority investors.

code for last paragraph

By 2020 the software was being used to manage employee communications at approximately 120 large employers, including [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and [[Boeing]]. As a result, Sumeru Equity Partners led a $100 million investment in July 2020, making it the majority stakeholder. Two earlier investors''—''Kohlberg Ventures and Arrowroot Capital''—''remained involved in the company as significant minority investors.<ref name="Sum1">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Ron |title=Sumeru Equity Partners buys majority stake in SocialChorus with $100M investment |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/15/sumeru-equity-partners-buys-majority-stake-in-socialchorus-with-100m-investment/ |accessdate=23 July 2020 |publisher=TechCrunch |date=15 July 2020}}</ref>

Regards, JeffreyArthurVA (talk) 15:01, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Techcrunch is a bit of a sketchy source. See this. ThatMontrealIP (talk) 21:17, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

• What I think should be changed (include citations):

Apologies - this was my first time using Wiki and I changed the SocialChorus page before I knew about the conflict of interest. You can take it back to its old way if you do not agree with my changes.

I do need ONE more change - the name changed from SocialChorus to Firstup in the header because we merged back in 2021. If you can also make the Dynamic Signal page past tense and link back to the new/updated SocialChorus/Firstup page since we are one team that would be great. You can also just remove the Dynamic Signal page since I merged the history in the SocialChorus/Firstup page.

• Why it should be changed:

SocialChorus and Dnamic Signal merged in 2021 as one company. We need our history merged and updates that happened since 2021.

BrittanyB418 (talk) 16:35, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

I see the edits resorted back. Here is what I would like it to say:

Change name to Firstup.

Firstup is an American multinational software company headquartered in San Francisco, California, that designs, develops and sells workforce communications software. Its platform helps large companies manage communications with employees and partners. Greg Shove, Nicole Alvino, Russ Fradin, Steve Heyman, and Jim Larrison are notable figures in the company's history, with Nicole Alvino serving as the current CEO.

Firstup: Company Overview and History

Overview:

Firstup, created from the merger of SocialChorus, Inc. and Dynamic Signal in 2021, is a software as service company. Firstup designs, develops, and sells workforce communications software, helping large companies connect with and reach their employees. Firstup, known as the intelligent communication platform, enables companies to connect their workforce, design and intelligently deliver employee campaigns, and gain real-time engagement insights spanning the entire employee journey. Firstup delivers personalized communication and data insights to improve the employee experience at every moment that matters.

Founding and Early Years (2008–2013):

SocialChorus was founded in 2008 by Greg Shove and Nicole Alvino. Initially operating as Halogen Media Group, the company focused on helping businesses run online marketing campaigns. After securing Series A funding from Kohlberg Ventures in 2009, SocialChorus merged with influencer management platform YouCast in 2011 and rebranded itself. The platform facilitated large-scale advocate marketing campaigns, gaining early clients like AT&T, Toyota, and Peet's Coffee.

Dynamic Signal was founded in November 2010 by Russ Fradin, Steve Heyman, and Jim Larrison. They raised $8 million in equity-based financing in early 2011 and launched VoiceStorm in 2013, a product managing and measuring employees' efforts to promote their companies on social networks. Dynamic Signal's early growth was fueled by significant investments, including a $13.3 million funding round in 2012.

Evolution and Expansion (2013–2016):

Initially aimed at engaging influential consumers, SocialChorus shifted focus when AT&T employees expressed interest in promoting their company online. This led to the creation of AT&T Social Circle, an employee social media advocacy program. The success of this model prompted SocialChorus to specialize in employee advocacy, with additional funding rounds led by Kohlberg Ventures in 2014 and 2016.

Dynamic Signal continued its growth trajectory during this period, releasing an iOS application for VoiceStorm in February 2014. In August 2014, Dynamic Signal closed a $12 million funding round, some of which was used to acquire content marketing start-up PaperShare. In December 2016, Dynamic Signal raised $25 million in growth financing to expand its international operations.

Transformation into Workforce Communications Platform (2016–2020):

As companies undertook digital transformation projects, the need for a unified internal communication platform grew. SocialChorus evolved into a comprehensive workforce communications platform, integrating various internal communication channels. In 2018, the company raised $12.5 million to develop integrations with SharePoint, Slack, and Workplace and expanded into the EMEA region with a new office in London.

Merger and Formation of Firstup:

In 2021, SocialChorus and Dynamic Signal merged to form Firstup, combining their strengths to create a leading workforce communications platform. The merger aimed to enhance employee engagement and streamline communications within large enterprises, leveraging the expertise and technologies of both predecessor companies. Following the merger, Firstup launched the new Creator Studio to cement its market leadership as the people-first communication platform — with the best of content design, hyper-personalized delivery automation, predictive analytics and insights.

The next milestone was the launch of journey automation — allowing companies to create automated communication campaigns around the key moments of the employee journey.

These strategic moves propelled Firstup to reach $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), a milestone achieved by only 1% of all SaaS companies. Today, Firstup serves more than 500 enterprises in 200+ countries, including large companies like Amazon, KraftHeinz, Dow, Whirlpool and jetBlue to name a few. BrittanyB418 (talk) 16:44, 24 July 2024 (UTC)

The material above reads as being heavily promotional and it contains no sources at all. I'd suggest that you resolve both of these issues and then repost your request. To resolve the promotional issue you will pretty much have to start again from scratch. Axad12 (talk) 12:32, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

References