Tattletech Hot Seat with Tobias Kemper, Nimbuzz

It’s here! The hot seat interview even I have been waiting for and I did the darn thing. Tobias Kemper, Head of Communications & Social Media, Nimbuzz. I love this company, yes I am going to say this outloud. LOVE THEM! Why? Well maybe because they are made up of some of the smartest and nicest fellas I have met in a long time or the fact that they believe in their product without being arrogant or pushy. Maybe it’s just the fact that they have a good product and it works. Well we caught up with Tobias at Plugg before he jetted off to Japan for holiday and here is what we got.

Tattletech: What is Nimbuzz’s overall selling point Twitter style?

Tobias Kemper: The ultimate app to keep up to date with all your friends in one place. Best mobile social messenger for your  hyperconnected lifestyle!

TT: Free mobile calls? We’re all over that. But how do you get around using the minutes from the wireless operator?

TK: We use the mobile internet, or Wifi to provide free mobile calls using the phone’s data connection. We recommend an unlimited data plan (which is the norm with most new tariffs), and your Nimbuzz experience is golden! No hidden fees, no worries, and arguably the best VoIP calls all over the world.

TT: Does your “Locate Your Friends” feature replace services like Brightkite, Loopt and Google Latitude?

TK: No, and it isn’t supposed to either, it is just one of the popular tools in our extremely feature rich application and can be used in conjunction with our other calling and messaging options. For example, it’s great when arranging to meet up with a group of friends and finding a location that will suit everyone. We are about openness and sharing, integrating over 20 of the most popular communities, and our Locate Your Friends solution is actually a Google Maps mash-up.

TT: We couldn’t help but notice that Twitter is not listed on your site. When do you expect to implement it into Nimbuzz?

TK: We are experimenting with it via the Personal Message feature, but it isn’t a proper implementation yet. It is coming though so stay tuned! We love the Twitterati and do not want to dissapoint!

TT: What has been your biggest technological obstacle and how did you overcome it?

TK: Scalability. We needed members to get the best out of Nimbuzz. We have now proven what we can do, a landmark for us was when we added StudiVZ support for 12 million users. To give you an idea of our current scale we are now adding over 600,000 new users a month – that’s more than one new user in less than four seconds!

TT: How does Nimbuzz stack up against competitors?

TK: We have a bunch of great competitors out there, and they were all there before us and pioneered the space. We are happy to have them help us build the market, and I think we have done an amazing job in setting ourselves apart, thanks to our loyal users and huge word of mouth spread! We also get massive uptake by winning peer award titles like Best Mobile IM app, Best VoIP app, Best Free app, Best All Round App from Top Mobile 20 and global recognition from Red Herring as the only mobile social messaging aggregator to ever win the prestigious Red Herring Global 100 award.

TT:  Do you have any insider tips for Nimbuzz users?

TK: Yes, on the iPhone and iPod touch, you can use the landscape-mode chat from any angle, even while hanging upside down from a tree! Just in case you should ever find yourself in that position. Otherwise, for the latest and greatest, we send daily facts and figures on twitter.com/nimbuzz. Follow us there.

TT: What trends do you see among Nimbuzz users?

TK: The Nimbuzz iPhone app is huge for us in terms of popularity and also new users, but the Symbian client is still in the lead – they are both awesome products that I am super-proud of. We see massive uptake in Europe and North America, as well as in developing countries and Asia. Our Skype solution is used to near breaking point of our system, it’s insane. Especially when the US wakes up. We enjoy massive word of mouth, and 98% of user recommend the product to a friend.

TT:  What do you predict to be the next big thing in social networking?

TK: If I knew that I’d be on my way to becoming a very rich man! If you look at the most popular new social networking tools simplicity is key – whether that be a short Twitter status update or a fantastically intuitive and easy to use interface whilst still doing everything you want from one place. People’s expectations are higher than ever so whatever it is it needs to live up to these demands, our users are a guiding light and we will continue to work on a product that fits in everyone’s lifestyle without a paranormal learning curve to adapt to first.

TT: What’s next for Nimbuzz?

Infinity and beyond! We are a mass market product for the hyper connected lifestyle and we are still building the market. We are announcing more revenue sharing partnerships worldwide (today we announced a partnership in Italy  and will deliver the next über-app for Android and Blackberries. New features across the board of course and focus on usability. We listen to our users and we are on the right track. Check our new iPhone app that just came out, as an example, it is HOT!

TT: Who is your favorite superhero?

TK: The Big Lebowski – he came out of nowhere and is a “hero” to so many loyal, loyal followers out there. Cult status, and the complete package of style and cool, with an awesome soundtrack, too.

–JLH

PS. Interesting PPT

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Tags: Nimbuzz, Nimbuzz iPhone, Tobias Kemper

The top six men of Red Herring Europe, Berlin 2009

It’s ready. The Easy on the Eye Men of Red Herring Europe. As you know it takes more than just a pretty face to get on this list. It is about the whole man – the renaissance man, the man with style, charm, intelligence and wit. It’s that man that makes the list. And now with no further delay, the RH Europe Men.

Mans Adler, Bambuser. The original. He doesn’t dress like he fell out of 1980s alternative band video cause that look is back, he IS that guy. Intelligent, soft spoken with a passion for change in the way people connect to each other today, Mans will make you believe in the power of connecting with your fellow man. Plus, he’s a good dancer and he actually listens to you when you talk. Sexy.

Farley Duvall, Red Herring. The strong soft spoken type who represents the old school gentleman – opening doors, asking about your day and greeting everyone by name at every event you go to. Always the connector, Farley brings people together naturally.  He knows a little about everyone and makes you feel like his entire focus is just on you.  We like that in a man.

Frank Schuil, IRLConnect. You really have to look past the pretty face on this one. You have to ignore your instinct stare at him with a stupid school girl grin on your face or giggle a little while twirng your hair. If you can get past that, you will discover a sensitive, kind and genuine man who wants to change the way we connect with each other inside and outside of the Internet. Humble, soft spoken with boyish good looks, Frank has a lot on his mind  and he wants to tell you about it without the sell job you get from most young entrepreneurs today.

Davor Hebel, Fidelity Ventures. So, lately everywhere Tattletech shows up, there is Davor. And trust me when I say to you that this is NOT a complaint. Somehow, I forget to breathe when he is around and everything that comes out of my mouth sounds less than intelligent. Davor is shall we say, the poster boy for good looks, charm, intelligence and down right sweep you off your feet good manners. The last of a dying breed and you don’t get that anymore. We are glad that there is someone still carrying the torch and are thinking of hacking his travel calendar jus so we can show up where he is next.

Michael Stephanbloom, CEO and Cofounder, AdJug.
Michael is what you get when you combine a journalism major with a marketing guru, (ran Gumtree UK, my favorite eBay company maybe because my dear friend Martin Tschopp was on this list before and is one of the smartest and nicest men I know on the planet), entrepreneur and numbers guy. Writer, number cruncher, trail blazer and all around generally nice guy. Oh not to mention that his eyes and that smile of his can stop you dead in your tracks all the way across a crowded room.

Wesley Chan, Google. Some describe him as fun loving entrepreneur which is very true, but we also like the fact that Wesley has a quest for adventure and can spin a yarn that is entertaining and genuinely fun to listen to. He doesn’t talk shop 24/7 and wants to engage with you as a person and share experiences. He’s a true gentleman, attentive and always has something interesting to say. And the ladies love him, what’s not to love? (pictured at RH with Marie Kluth, Go4Venture, Collete Ballou, BallouPR and Jennifer Hicks, bGrand.)

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Tattletech Hot Seat with Vopium’s Tanveer Sharif

Shortly before Red Herring Europe, we had a chance to put Vopium’s CEO Tanveer Sharif on our Hot Seat.  Here we go:

Tattletech: What do you see as the future for conventional landline usage?  How much of that market share can VoIP absorb?

Tanveer Sharif: First of all Vopium offers a solution provides the cheapest call option to user may it be via VOIP, GSM or Wifi, or even landline. For landlines we have a service we call just dial, thus we are aiming for a bigger piece of the pie. The future will still see a decrease in landline usage, in most developing countries it is already no longer main stream. Globally alternate services like Vopium will see real growth as the trends shift to mobile only, low cost calling services.

TT: Considering the popularity of the GPhone and iphone, will Vopium be supported on those as well?

TS: Definitely, already we have an iPhone application pending approval @ app store whereas GPhone client is in development as we speak. Vopium has dedicated teams working on all the channels i.e. JAVA, RIM, SYMBIAN, Windows Mobile, Apple and Android too. Vopium is continuously adding compatible handsets on the market and support more than 500 devices at the moment.

TT: The name reminds us of opium, VoIP for the masses.  How did you come up with that and what is the association, if any, you’re trying to make?

TS: There is no doubt that Vopium is addictive. We came up with the name as we wanted to reflect the voip and addiction, and what could reflect that better than Vopium.

TT: Some of the rate discounts using your service vs. traditional calling are as much as 80% and 90% – how can you do that and maintain profitability as a company?

TS: The international call market is huge (approx 417 billion min as of 2008) and Vopium proves to be a viable business model given the market size and volume on offer. On top of that, the margin we make is substantial, despite the low prices.  So this is just a question of scalability rather than survival and be profitable.  It all makes a fantastic case vis-à-vis conventional calling services charging a handful.

TT: You have a deal sponsoring Team Saxo Bank in the 2009 Tour de France – will you actually have people from the company attending the race as well?  Are any of you cyclists?

TS:       As you know our HQ is based in copenhagen, and here you have almost more bikes than people. And we love cycling it is a healthy means of transportation, and enviroment friendly as well. Vopium is sponsoring Team Saxo Bank throughout 2009 and Tour de France will be one of the major events that some of us will attend. We in the company are not professional cyclists though it’s a hobby for some so I expect they will enjoy our association with Team Saxo Bank as do the users who will be given exclusive discount offers from time to time.

Tags: Voice over Internet Protocol

A little freelance editing for a big politician

On return to the hotel after an evening with MobyPicture, Google, Xihalife, IRLConnect, SEB Ventures, Thomson and Go4Ventures, we encountered the same group of three Dutch citizens sitting in the same table we had left them four hours earlier struggling to convert a five page speech from Dutch to English.

As it turns out – this was the political and speech writing team for the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutalebs preparing an important speech he was giving tomorrow about integration. He is the first mayor of a large city in the Netherlands who is of Moroccan, Muslim, and immigrant descent.

Since Tattletech was one of the only native English speakers back in the hotel, we volnteered to clean up the speech for them. Part of history in the making. We felt honored.

The political team writing the speech for Ahmed Aboutaleb with Tattletech, Berlin

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IRL Connect counts down to public beta

IRL Connect, our favorite visual social network, is counting down to its public beta launch and they are keeping quiet about the virtual launch party – but we know it must be something big! We have been using the platform for a while and love it – putting all our friends from Facebook and Twitter on the map, interacting with them and just plain feeling the love. If you wanna get on, use the invite key: senseit. They also have a Twitter feed: @IRLConnect or you can follow their leader on IRLConnect @frankschuil or Twitter @frankschuil. He talks to just about everyone. – JLH

Tags: Frank Schuil, IRL Connect, Twitter, Visual Social Network

Red Herring Venture Europe Regenerates

Here in Berlin at Red Herring Venture Europe, its a whole new day. More VCs, new VCs and better than that – true innovation. Maybe it was Tim Draper who said out of recessions or bad markets come companies with innovation, but here at RH it is true.

Already the vibe is different, more positive and more down to earth. Housed at the Radisson Berlin (not some overpriced over fancy hotel) with the worlds Largest freestanding fish tank, people are mingling and talking and generally in good moods. Yes I did say good moods.

We have been hanging with IRL Connect, MobyPicture, Vikrant from Veddis Ventures, Ari Wegter formerly of LoveFilm and now GlibHippo, Intera, Sevenload, Wesley Chan of the cool GoogleVoice, Collette Ballou of Ballou PR, Moondus (virtual reality) and TellmeTwin.

This morning there was an actually fruitful Meet the Money where no one got completely torn to shreds (constructive!)  and a round of amazing keynote roundtables the best being Wesley Chan, Google about turning start ups into successes. Yes that was the topic and yes people were listening!

This afternoon there is panel on M & Trends in this market featuring JP Morgan, Jefferies & Co., GP Bullhound and SVB Global. See our feed on Twitter @jennalee for updates there.

More company presentations to come. Plus tomorrow they announce the 100 finalist for the RH 100 award stay tuned! – JLH

Tags: Ari Wegter, Frank Schuil, IRL Connect, MobyPicture, Red Herring, Twitter, Wesley Chan