Facebook just made what appears to be another “acqui-hire,” with the purchase of Threadsy, a TechCrunch Disrupt startup that went on to make a marketing tool called Swaylo. The terms were undisclosed.
What’s interesting about the deal is that the startup’s paid product SwayloPro will continue to run as a separate company for its current investors. Threadsy was backed by August Capital and Maveron Capital. There have been a few other cases in the past where Facebook has approached a team for talent, and only part of a company wanted to join (or alternately, only part of a company passed Facebook’s rigorous hiring process). When Facebook did a partial acquisition of Zenbe back in 2010, it took three employees.
Threadsy started out as a way for people to see all of their social feeds and communication from different networks like Facebook and Twitter in one place. But they then changed toward a paid service that helped brands see which influencers they needed to establish relationships with to find new customers on social networks.
Swaylo offers you the opportunity to see what kind and how much attention you’re getting for the things you post, share, and like on social media networks. Through an analysis of your social graph, Swaylo reflects your Sway – the impact your online activities have in your social circle and across the social graph.
Today we’re announcing that Threadsy will be acquired by Facebook. Threadsy is the company that operates Swaylo.com, provides people with their Sway score, and helps businesses, organizations and brands connect with their social influencers.
This is incredibly exciting for us! We built Swaylo because we believe Facebook and other social media services are the digital representation of our lives. There is no better opportunity to take Swaylo’s vision to the next level than at Facebook.
Once the deal is done, people will no longer be able to access their Sway scores on Swaylo.com. But SwayloPro will continue to operate as separate, independent company owned by its current investors. SwalyoPro helps businesses connect with influential people on social media – here’s where you can find more info.
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to our investors John Johnston from August Capital and Amy Errett from Maveron Capital. They believed in us early and provided the guidance, support and capital needed to make Swaylo a reality.Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who had a hand in this phase of Swaylo’s growth, especially our small but mighty and talented team. I’d like to extend a special thank you to my Co-Founder and CTO, Udi Nir, and our Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer, Sabrina Riddle for their leadership, vision, and contributions to Swaylo’s success.
Sincerely,
Rob Goldman
CEO & Founder