Hustle Acquires Tape, Bringing Video Stories to Leading Peer-to-Peer Text Messaging Platform


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hustle, the leading peer-to-peer text messaging platform, has acquired Tape, a mobile video stories platform. Hustle will integrate Tape's tools to create and distribute video stories into its offering in the coming months.

After a year of revenue growth of more than 100%, message volume growth of 200%, and acquisition by Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital, Hustle is continuing to fulfill its mission of empowering organizations to humanize communication through the acquisition of Tape. By bringing together Hustle's best-in-class P2P texting platform with the rich storytelling capabilities of mobile vertical video, Hustle's customers will be able to further personalize their outreach to their communities.

“We are incredibly thrilled to bring the power of video stories to Hustle's clients," said Steve Pease, Hustle's CEO. "Personalized mobile video is the future, and the acquisition of Tape will empower our clients to take advantage of video to mobilize action, donations, and participation.”

“The acquisition by Hustle was a natural fit," said Dave Schatz, Tape's co-founder. "Adding video to SMS campaigns invokes a human connection that has driven engagement and conversions for Tape's customers. Tape’s other co-founder, Tim Zelinsky, and I believe this is the perfect opportunity to grow mobile video adoption at an even larger scale."

Industry research shows that 90% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes of being received, and vertical videos have a 90% higher completion rate compared to horizontal videos. Hustle will soon be the first platform for brands, nonprofits, and political groups to take advantage of the mobile marketing trends of both P2P texting and vertical video stories within one tool.

For additional information on Hustle, visit hustle.com or stay connected with Hustle on Twitter and Facebook.

About Hustle
Hustle is a peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging platform with a mission to strengthen relationships by scaling genuine human conversation. Since 2014, Hustle has helped hundreds of relationship-driven clients initiate more than 1 billion personal texting conversations within their communities. For more information about Hustle, visit www.hustle.com.

Braughnwynn "Bibi" Brown
Director of Marketing for Growth
Pronouns: she/her
510.435.5682 | bibi@hustle.com