Enplug, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware
FoundedMay 2012, Culver 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
Websitewww.enplug.com

Enplug was an American technology company headquartered in Culver City, California that offers software for digital displays, allowing real-time social media interaction between brands and users. The company was a software licensing business.[1]

Enplug was acquired by Spectrio in 2021.[2]

History

Enplug was part of the emerging Los Angeles startup 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 Forbes 30 Under 30 lists.[5][6]

Funding

In April, 2014, Enplug raised $2.5 million through seed funding, which came from a number of investors, such as Larry Keele, co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management; Rasoul Oskouy, founding member of Juniper Networks; Bill Gross, founder of Idealab; Hossein Eslambolchi, former president and CTO at AT&T; David Cohen, Executive Vice President at Interscope Records; Justin Caldbeck, managing director at Lightspeed Venture Partners; Troy Carter, CEO at Atom Factory; Activision co-founder Howard Marks; Amidi Group, DominateFund, and zPark Venture.[1]

Product

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 media apps, including Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, and Instagram using a business's custom hashtag.[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 a SDK, where developers can create and sell apps.[1]

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

Culture

Enplug had received press coverage in relation to its company culture. As of last year, 12 of the 37 employees lived and worked out of a six-bedroom, three-bathroom Ranch-style house in Bel Air, California.[9]

For most employees, the company paid for "food, rent, and utilities."[10] The Wall Street Journal wrote 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] Forbes reported 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

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lawler, Ryan (17 April 2014). "Digital Display Startup Enplug Raises $2.5 Million Seed Round". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Spectrio Acquires Enplug". Spectrio. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. ↑ Smith, Samantha. "LA Startup Goes from 0 to 100mph In Three Months". Forbes. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 Carney, Michael (21 September 2012). "StartEngine's Summer 2012 Demo Day Was Its Best Yet". Pando. Pando Daily. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  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. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  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. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 Silverman, Rachel (31 July 2013). "House Party: Working and Living at the Office". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Startup Slumber Party: How Living With Your Cofounders Can Save Your Company". Fast Company. 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  11. ↑ Bell, Lisa Nicole (2013-02-05). "The Startup Slumber Party: How Living With Your Cofounders Can Save Your Company". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
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