Comments on: Trutap decimates headcount, keeps skeleton staff, looks for sale

By: The service of Trutap is down | Go Mobile

The service of Trutap is down | Go Mobile — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:17:52 +0000

[...] fact, there had been already news about Trutap’s funding trouble since end of last year. The company had laid off 80% of its employee about 1 year ago and only kept [...]

By: Mobile startup Trutap cuts 80% of workforce | Job Postings - Profossor.com

Mobile startup Trutap cuts 80% of workforce | Job Postings - Profossor.com — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:14:49 +0000

[...] Mobile startup Trutap cuts 80% of workforce Trutap, a leading UK mobile startup, is to let go almost 80% of its staff after failing to hit its window for a second round of funding. The blow comes only a month after the launch of its latest software application for aggregating social networks on the mobile, the milestone of over 250,000 users and the launch of a revenue-raising advertising platform. Trutap is headed-up by co-founder, CEO and Chairman Doug Richard. The company is cutting back and aiming to keep the service running with a skeleton staff to reduce the burn and keep the service live. That will mean keeping on around 4-5 staff out of the original 30 to keep the application available while the company looks for a sale or new investment. Source: Techcrunch [...]

By: Demise of Library House shows databases are heading to the cloud/crowd

Demise of Library House shows databases are heading to the cloud/crowd — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:58:25 +0000

[...] blow to founder Doug Richard, former BBC Dragons Den judge. His Trutap venture is pretty much life-support, having cut to a skeleton staff just before Christmas. However, Richard had long since become a [...]

By: Why Trutap was decimated and what can we learn from it .. | from-london.com

Why Trutap was decimated and what can we learn from it .. | from-london.com — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:52:22 +0000

[...] Trutap is a London based start-up founded by Doug Richards best known as a former Dragon on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den programme.. It can be classed as ‘Mobile aggregator for web services’ and in that sense competes with many others like Nimbuzz . This week, Techcrunch reports of a severe scale back at Trutap and calls it’s headcount ‘decimated&… [...]

By: from-london.com

from-london.com — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:33:20 +0000

By: Ajit Jaokar

Ajit Jaokar — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:54:47 +0000

My fairly long comments in this blog .. Why Trutap was decimated and what can we learn from it.

In a nutshell, I agree with Marcus and some others here – this is a flaw of the company + VC funding model and is not a reflection on the whole sector since it has other players who are doing well (and some with no VC funding)
http://opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2008/12/why_trutap_was.html
kind rgds Ajit

By: David Symons

David Symons — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 09:38:38 +0000

Sign of the times..

By: Tough week for Doug Richard as Library House hits the rocks | SmallBizPod - small business blog

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:51:10 +0000

[...] lost their jobs at Library House and TruTap, another Richard business in trouble as reported by Techcrunch UK earlier this [...]

By: Marcus

Marcus — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:38:17 +0000

We operate a mobile social network since 2001 at peperonity.com. No VC funding, loyal user base, 10 million uniques monthly. We’re a profitable company. Tough road though given all those VC startups. Honestly, it should have been expectable that at some point consolidation will happen. From B2C to B2R (back to reality).

By: EBuddy reports 10M downloads of mobile chat service » VentureBeat

EBuddy reports 10M downloads of mobile chat service » VentureBeat — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:33:36 +0000

[...] chat across different IM services, and another mobile service EQO have both stumbled recently. Trutap, of the UK, just let go almost 80 percent of its staff after its main venture backer, Tudor V…, and EQO also recently failed to raise funding, and has cut two-thirds of its staff. They both had [...]

By: xuder

xuder — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:28:18 +0000

The Spy’s comments sum up the arrogant attitude that still flows through sites like this, as if people involved in startups are some how superior to others in business. No, not everyone “who’s anyone” has an iPhone – just because you can see the beach from your window, doesn’t mean we all live by the sea.

By: In The Face Of Weakening Demand, Adobe Sheds 600 Workers | American News World - News And Technology

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:55:48 +0000

[...] it will cut 70 people (10 percent) and Trutap, which will let 25 people go (80 percent) and is looking to sell the remains of the [...]

By: 需要低迷に直前し、Adobeが600名を人員削減

需要低迷に直前し、Adobeが600名を人員削減 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:55:22 +0000

[...] これで当サイトのレイオフ追跡チャートでは、8月以来のテク系失職者数が7万6000人に達した。Adobeのほか、月曜日に70名（10%）の削減を発表したLeapfrogと、25名(80%）を解雇して、残った会社を売却しようとしている Trutapが追加された。 [...]

By: In The Face Of Weakening Demand, Adobe Sheds 600 Workers

In The Face Of Weakening Demand, Adobe Sheds 600 Workers — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:28:11 +0000

[...] it will cut 70 people (10 percent) and Trutap, which will let 25 people go (80 percent) and is looking to sell the remains of the [...]

By: Amod

Amod — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:11:11 +0000

Sorry about that !!! Wish you good luck, i am sure you will come up with some new stuff… Looking forward to it

By: Newscorp

Newscorp — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:04:01 +0000

Luke,

I agree with your comments 100% here. That is what VC’s always do. It is the classic VC tech model. 1 out of 10 of these companies work for the VC’s sometimes it is 1 out of 70. But the 1 that works, more than pays for the rest of the failures.

Cheers

By: makkale.blogcu.com

makkale.blogcu.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 08:27:58 +0000

It’s a real shame and I hope they find some way to continue. It’s an app that is popular with our users on Phoload but you want to see my home http://makkale.blogcu.com/hertha-cok-iddiali-hertha-berlin-galatasaray-macinin-golleri-hertha-berlin-galatasaray-uefa-kupasi-macinin-golleri_30222711.html

By: misspiccolo

misspiccolo — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:56:38 +0000

me too! sorry to hear this.

By: Mobile Man

Mobile Man — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:32:56 +0000

The new Trutap app is quite simply stunning and is so much more than just IM. if you haven’t tried it do so now!

Following Nokia’s announcement today that they are going to offer (paid for) IM as part of Ovi Messaging , you can expect Samsung and Sony Ericsson to join the list of potential acquirers.
If I were Nokia I would snap it up before someone else does!

By: acai berry diet

acai berry diet — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:36:57 +0000

sorry to hear

By: raddedas

raddedas — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:29:28 +0000

The Spy: no, the portable coke mirror is favoured by those sitting in the overlap between the marketing, fashion victim and/or gay demographics, along with a fair spattering of those who spend most of their time at work on YouTube; amusingly enough they total quite a small percentage of world mobile shipments, though the members of these communities appear not to socialize with others much so often don’t realise this.

Which doesn’t change the fact that the demise of Trutap was predictable from the start (we posted about that when they first launched), the only surprise being how they managed to spank their way through so much cash in such a short time with so little to show for it…

By: A bad day for start-ups? | Ciaran's Blog

A bad day for start-ups? | Ciaran's Blog — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:51:26 +0000

[...] they hoped was coming may not arrive. So they are bunkering down and preparing for the long haul. Trutap have put all their 30 staff on notice, they are looking for a buyer but if they can’t get one in time, they say they will [...]

By: Roundup: Dow drops 680 points, Palm revenues crater, Trutap shutting » VentureBeat

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:14:49 +0000

[...] shutting down: The mobile social network and instant messenger gateway company has laid off 80 percent of its staff after failing to raise a new round. Tudor Group was one of the backers when we wrote about them last [...]

By: The Spy

The Spy — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:33:57 +0000

Doesn’t everyone, who’s anyone, just own an iPhone now? So this app/service is a waste of time.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:36:39 +0000

U.K has been innovating with new stuff and products I know someone who is in UK does well in aff marketing. On my website I have a mobile search for anyone to use. It very helpful to search for any phone rec ads and info on the particular phone you are insterested in seeing. Just click on my name to see.