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Solavei

Company type	Private
Industry	Social Commerce
Founded	Bellevue, Washington(February 1, 2012 (2012-02-01))
Founder	Ryan Wuerch
Defunct	December 4, 2015 (2015-12-04)
Headquarters	Bellevue
Number of locations	1
Area served	United States, including Puerto Rico
Key people	Ryan Wuerch (Founder, CEO) Rick White (Head of Legal and Policy)
Products	Social-based mobile virtual network operator
Number of employees	140
Website	solavei.com

Solavei was a social commerce network offering contract-free mobile service in the United States, known for its use of incentivized referral plans and its social network advertising program. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} In addition to its mobile phone services, Solavei operated a social commerce network for its users. ^{[1] [5] [6]} Ryan Wuerch founded the company in 2012. ^{[1] [6]} As of 2013, Solavei had 140 employees and was valued by investors at $120 million. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]} The company has been described as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, ^{[11] [12]} or of being very similar to a MLM company. ^[13]

On June 18, 2014, the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. ^[14]

Solavei announced on November 19, 2015, that its carrier partner, T-Mobile USA, had terminated its agreement to provide service under the condition that Solavei did not meet expectations. Solavei customers were allowed to migrate to T-Mobile Prepaid for a $10 monthly credit for 6 months and a free month of service. Wireless service was discontinued on December 4, 2015.

Background

Solavei was launched in September 2012 and operated as an MVNO through its partnership with T-Mobile US. ^{[1] [6] [15]} The company's initial offering was a $49 per month, no-contract mobile phone plan for unlimited voice, text, and data. ^{[6] [7]} In September 2013 the company implemented the loyalty card program Solavei Marketplace. The program enabled users to receive discounts at participating retailers. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

The company utilized a customer-to-customer marketing model, paying its customers on a recurring basis for referrals. ^[1] As of August 2013, Solavei had paid out more than $14.4 million to its near 280,000 members. ^{[6] [7] [10] [16] [18]}

Leadership

Ryan Wuerch, former CEO and founder of Motricity, was the founder and CEO of Solavei. ^{[6] [19] [20] [21] [22]} In February 2012, Wuerch and his team raised $5 million in initial seed funding. ^[19]

Some of Solavei's financial backers included Jonathan Miller of News Corp and David Limp of Amazon.com. ^{[23] [24]}

Marketing model

Solavei paid its customers for referrals. ^[1] At its simplest, users earned $5 per month for every customer that they signed up for mobile service. ^{[1] [6] [25] [26]} The income generated was deposited on the Solavei Visa PayCard, which could be used wherever Visa is accepted. ^{[1] [6]} Solavei Visa PayCard also allowed members to gain access to Solavei Marketplace that was launched on October, 2013, which featured cash-back discounts for a variety of retailers. ^[27]

The company used its advertising and sponsorship funds to compensate its members to build distribution networks. ^[1] Through sharing on social media outlets, grassroots campaigns on YouTube, and regional events, Solavei had developed a business model that relied on customer-to-customer interaction. ^{[1] [18]}

References

External links

• Solavei — Official Website