Smack

Smack is a Boston-based consumer social media startup that developed a succession of communication products for teenage and young-adult users. Its first product, SmackHigh, was a network of Twitter accounts launched in late 2013 that published anonymous, moderator-reviewed messages submitted by high school students about their schools and rival schools, functioning as a lighter-touch alternative to anonymous messaging apps such as Yik Yak and Secret. Moderation was performed by more than 7,000 student volunteers across 26 states, which the company credited with keeping content free of bullying, harassment and racism.

The company subsequently moved from Twitter-based distribution into native apps, releasing a SmackHigh app, the Smack Chat group messaging app (November 2015) and Smack Live, a live video broadcasting app (October 2016). Its breakout product was Fam, an iPhone group video chat app supporting up to 16 simultaneous participants, positioned by press coverage as the "group FaceTime" feature Apple had not shipped as of its June 2017 WWDC presentation. Fam registered more than 4.3 million users in its first seven months and was referenced, along with competitor Houseparty, in a Facebook survey to teenagers about group video chat.

Founding story

Smack originated in late 2013 with SmackHigh, a series of Twitter accounts started by Giuseppe Stuto that posted anonymous submissions from high school students about their schools and rival schools after moderator review. Stuto later built the company with co-founders Frank Iudiciani and Kevin Flynn, aiming to move the community engaged by the Twitter accounts onto standalone apps. The founders' observation that individual tweets sparked side conversations among friends, combined with the difficulty of retaining users through Twitter accounts alone, drove the shift into app development.

Business model

Smack builds free-to-download consumer mobile applications aimed at teenagers and young users, growing distribution through viral social sharing and, earlier, through large moderated Twitter followings. Its assets were audience-based: Twitter accounts with over a million followers and apps with rapid user registration, supported by venture capital rather than a stated paid-subscription or advertising product.

Traction

SmackHigh's Twitter accounts reached 1.1 million users by late 2015. Fam registered over 4.3 million users in its first seven months, with earlier products showing intense but short-lived engagement: Smack Chat users spent hours in the first 24 to 48 hours before losing interest, and Smack Live users engaged for extended sessions without the app achieving mass adoption.

Latest developments

In June 2017, coverage highlighted Fam's growth to more than 4.3 million users in seven months and noted that the growth spurt had strained the company until investors supplied additional capital. Facebook had referenced Fam and rival Houseparty in a survey sent to teenagers about group video chat.