While the notion of Silicon Beach never really set the world on fire, at least one locally-based tech developer seems to be successful in this highly competitive David versus Goliath business landscape. It's called Thumzup and the app encourages registered users to post photographs on major social media outlets through the app about participating advertisers, typically restaurants, shops, coffee shops, for which those users will receive payment. Cash payments are made through PayPal and other digital payment systems.
The idea is the brainchild of Robert Steele, who created his first tech company in 1979, when he was just 13 years old. "I was making game controllers for the Apple II," he said. "It was a huge platform, big time. There were thousands of games, but there was no game controller. So as a kid, I created a business and started manufacturing them," Steele says, adding, "Before Pac-Man was popular in arcades, there was a game called Snack Attack, Space Invaders too was available on the Apple II. That’s one of the reasons that computer was so good and of course, why Apple is Apple."
Steele was born in California, but grew up on the East Coast. He says that he’s watched as many of his long-time friends have had to wait tables or drive Uber cars while they wait for their creative big break as a musician or an artist for example.
"Tech giants like Facebook and Google make billions of dollars every year selling digital ads, essentially, to everybody’s friends … So the question I asked was ‘How can I connect my friends who need to make some extra money with this enormous pool of digital dollars?’" he said.
"That’s how we arrived at this model, where Rabano, for example, buys an ad campaign and we get the customers to take a photo of their burger and share it with all their friends on Instagram. In this scenario they make $10 and to do that, we make $3. We think that’s the future of digital marketing, but it started with a desire to just put a little extra money in everybody’s pocket." Steele said.
"What this is, is the digital word of mouth," Steele says. "We make it really easy for any brand to pay people cash to tell their friends about the business on their personal social media."
By scanning the QR code on a smartphone, users can install the app and when they enable geo-location and agree to a simple set of terms and conditions, including having a minimum of 100 followers, keeping the post live for 14 days and a minimum of one post per month, they’re ready to go.
"So when everyone participates in this, this is the best form of advertising. It’s better than Facebook ads, it’s better than Instagram ads, it’s better than Google ads, because if you tell your friends you liked this restaurant, they really care what you think. Steele said.
He explains that there’s a section within the app where the payment awaits approval, which is designed for the advertiser to review the posts as they will only pay for ones that have a clear picture and positive remarks. It also lets the advertiser know who their superfans are.
"That’s where the tip of the spear in marketing is right now, every brand wants to interact with their superfans. That way, they can send details of promotions and special offers," Steele said. "Imagine a stadium like SoFi or the Crypto Arena and having on the Jumbotron a giant QR code that you can use to tell your friends about season ticket discounts and we get 10,000 people in a stadium to put it on Instagram. That’s where we see this going," Steele said.
He describes the company as Uber for advertising and says that in order for it to work, it was necessary to start hyper local. "Our first advertiser was a crystal store and meditation studio at the end of Washington Blvd, so we just started right there, in that neighborhood. The second advertiser was Bellissimo Cafe, just a block away. So, we were literally just walking around that area, knocking on doors," said Steele.
"Last year, we were just focused on Venice and Santa Monica building a buzz, getting users and then this year we’ve now expanded nationally and we’re now in 12 states. I’m your local artisanal software developer," he laughed.
Lest we forget that bygone behemoth MySpace was pioneered in Santa Monica and Google, Snapchat and a couple of games developers still have a small presence here, but the Westside never really emerged as a coastal competitor to San Jose. However, Steele insists Los Angeles is a worthwhile second city for tech entrepreneurs.
"I personally prefer Los Angeles, I like the creative vibe," Steele said. "I like the fact that we’ve got a broader culture here. So sure, the Bay Area is very much a tech center, but Los Angeles has a broader multidisciplinary culture. There’s a lot of different industries here and I think it’s more interesting from a business standpoint. I like the idea of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond."
Thumzup can be found at thumzupmedia.com as well as on the Apple App Store and Google Play and while the app currently works through Instagram, it will be launching across TikTok and X (Twitter) soon.