Business Idea: Create a cell phone app that allows group messaging on any phone that can text$-$regardless of who makes the phone or what operating system it runs.

Pitch: Imagine you're organizing a wedding. You need to provide up$-$to$-$date information about the arrangements to everyone in the wedding party. You like to text, but there isn't a convenient way to text everyone simultaneously and create a chat room$-$type setting where anyone can respond and everyone sees the response. Until now.

GroupMe is a cell phone app that allows group messaging on any phone capable of texting. It assigns one phone number to a group. You can also use this single number to initiate a conference call. While GroupMe is used primarily to send text messages to groups, users can also send a message to just one person in the group for more privacy. The service works in $90$ countries and is compatible with more than $900$ carriers.

GroupMe is also user$-$friendly. People who are added to a GroupMe group receive an initial text message confirming that they have been added to the group. If it's a person's first time using the service, he or she receives

another text that explains how to use GroupMe and how to opt out. Any member of a group can remove himself or herself from a group by typing #exit in response to a group text.

GroupMe is entirely free, and there are many advanced features available to users. For example, if you're going into a meeting or the theater, you can type #mute to a group, and this will prevent you from getting text messages. When you're out of the meeting or the movie is over, you can type #unmute, and you'll be included again. GroupMe is a convenient and fun way for people to organize and communicate with the groups of people who are important in their lives.

Q&A: Based on the material covered in this chapter, what questions would you ask the firm's founders before making your funding decision? What answers would satisfy you?

Decision: If you had to make your decision on just the information provided in the pitch and on the company's Web site, would you fund this company? Why or why not?