End of Beta - Why pingg Is Different (part #1)

pingg.com

We are soon coming to the end of our beta phase.  Considering that we have tried to stay below the radar during beta we have been pleasantly surprised by the number and type of events being created – everything from birthday parties to corporate retreats to press events. Your feedback has been incredibly helpful and positive – thanks to everyone who took time to provide feedback and give us a try while we were still in beta.

Like many a start-up, the primary motivation for starting pingg was our  dissatisfaction with the existing services.  Since Evite launched nearly 10 years ago the space has not evolved in any meaningful way.  Look and feel (clip art, lots of advertising, etc…), functionality (send an email, track RSVP’s) and business model (banner & text adds) are all pretty much the same despite a number of promising competitive launches.

Interestingly, related services such as e-greetings have significantly evolved in recent years.  As noted in a NY Times article, e-cards have become ubiquitous for both personal and professional greetings.  This upsurge can be partly attributed to a general increase in comfort with the online environment, but is also due to improved quality and functionality.  Today’s e-cards are a far cry from the old online greetings with animated clip art cartoons dancing across your screen (consider, for example, Someecards.com also featured in the Times).

At pingg, our goal is to fundamentally change the look and feel of online invitation service.  We believe an event host shouldn’t have to sacrifice the look and feel of a traditional paper invite when using a free online service.

We designed pingg’s invitations as if they were a physical invitation.  Aesthetics and the design process are of paramount importance.  We want the host to feel like they are mailing a tangible invitation and the recipient to feel they are opening something special.  pingg’s emails are invitations, not merely notifications that something awaits your guest on a website somewhere.

The corresponding event website is equally important.  A pingg event website is customizable with video, pictures and maps and also provides event specific functionality such as gift registries and the ability to collect money for an event.  Most importantly they are clean, simple and reflect the host’s event style, whether personal or professional.

Thanks again for your support during our beta phase.  We take your feedback seriously and incorporate your suggestions wherever feasible.  My next post will be about pingg’s functionality and the always important “how we keep the lights on” business model differentiators.

Regards,

Lorien Gabel
Co-founder