Zipwhip Shutting Down One Year After Acquisition by Twilio in $850M Deal

On December 1st, 2023, Zipwhip will permanently shut down it’s business texting service.

A surprising outcome just a year after Twilio acquired the Seattle startup for $850 million. At the time of acquisition, Zipwhip had more than 30,000 organizations that they provided text messaging services for. The acquisition of Zipwhip by Twilio was a major one and ranks amongst some of the largest in Seattle’s tech startup history.

Zipwhip was originally founded in 2007, soon became known as the company that brought you the Textspresso a decade ago in 2012. Initially Zipwhip aimed to be a household name amidst the texting industry, however things did not go as planned.

Zipwhip managed to generate $34 Million in Q2 for Twilio, accounting for roughly 3.6% of the company’s total revenue.

Despite earnings, Twilio’s stock has fallen significantly amidst the stock markets downward trend this year.  Following the acquisition, Zipwhip announced its plans to cease operations and scheduled its shutdown date for December 1, 2023, giving customers time to transition to alternative texting platforms. This transition was necessary as there was no direct migration path for Zipwhip customers to Twilio’s services, leading companies to seek new text messaging providers by the end of the year to avoid any disruptions in customer communication.

As Zipwhip begins the transition towards shutting down it’s services, Zipwhip employees have been brought over to Twilio.

This transition to onboard Zipwhip employees comes just after Twilio announced they would be laying off 11% of it’s workforce in September of this year.

Of the remaining staff of Zipwhip are cofounder and current CEO John Lauer and James Lapic the current Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Both men’s Linkedin profile’s continue to show their positions with Zipwhip.

Twilio which now operates out of the Bay Area in California, was originally founded in Seattle in 2008. Jeff Lawson who had previously worked at Amazon Web Services as one of their first product managers, is the founder of Twilio.

Twilio specializes in business communications software and offers its own Text Service’s. Twilio will continue to operate all of it’s current SMS products, which for existing Zipwhip customer’s should make an easy transition over to Twilio, right?

Not quite.

What does this mean for current Zipwhip customers?

Zipwhip customers were given a deadline of April 30 of this year to make final adjustments to their existing contracts and subscriptions for its services.

The following guidance has been provided by Zipwhip in it’s ‘Software End of Life Resource Guide’:

“Does Zipwhip Twilio have a similar business texting service to which we can migrate? Will you migrate us automatically or put us in touch with a Twilio sales representative?”
“No. Twilio does not have a similar service to Twilio Zipwhip that is “out-of-the-box” ready so there is no migration path after the Zipwhip services shut down.”

With no direct migration from Zipwhip to Twilio, existing customer’s have been directed to some of the othe big names in the SMS business industry. Twilio however has refused to answers questions related to which provider is best for Zipwhip cusomers current businesses.

How to transition from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI?

Unfortunately, Zipwhip Twilio does not have a similar business texting service like Twilio Zipwhip that seamlessly allows for migration. As a result, there is no ‘out-of-the-box’ ready migration path after the Zipwhip services shut down. However, we understand the importance of finding a suitable alternative, and we’re here to guide you through the process of transitioning from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI. Here’s a step-by-step approach to help you make a smooth switch

1. Evaluate if CloudContactAI is the right solution for you:
– Sign up for a free trial account with CloudContactAI, which takes less than two minutes and doesn’t require any commitment or credit card information.
– Throughout the 14-day trial period, you can explore the platform, send texts, import contacts, and enjoy support from our team to understand the capabilities of CloudContactAI.

2. Choose a suitable plan:
– Once you are ready to launch, consider upgrading to a paid plan.
– CloudContactAI offers a straightforward pricing structure based on the number of messages you plan to send monthly, with no contract obligations.
– If you find that your messaging volume estimate needs adjustment, changing plans is easy. You can view our pricing details on our website.

3. Migrate your contacts from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI:
– Exporting data from Zipwhip may not be straightforward, as they don’t provide a direct export feature for contact lists.
– However, there are alternative methods depending on the size of your contact list:
– One option is to copy and paste your contacts into a Google sheet using a tutorial we provide.
– Alternatively, you can contact CloudContactAI Support and inquire if they can assist with exporting your data.
– Once you have your contacts in a usable format, refer to our help center article for step-by-step instructions on adding the contacts to SimpleTexting.

4. Transfer your phone number from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI:
– If you wish to continue sending texts from the same phone number you currently use on Zipwhip, some additional steps are necessary:
– Get in touch with our customer service team to inform them which phone number you would like to use. You can reach them at [email protected] or via our live chat feature.
– Register your chosen number for 10DLC (local numbers) with CloudContactAI, as the registration from Zipwhip will not transfer to us.

We understand that transitioning from Zipwhip may seem daunting, but rest assured, we are here to support you every step of the way. Our goal is to make the process as seamless as possible, ensuring a smooth and successful transition to CloudContactAI.

What kinds of integrations are available to me with CloudContactAI?

With CloudContactAI, you have access to a wide range of integrations that can greatly enhance your experience. Through our partnership with Zapier, you can connect CloudContactAI to thousands of different applications. By following the instructions provided in our help center, you can seamlessly set up integrations with various platforms that suit your specific needs.

Even if you don’t find the exact application you wish to integrate with on Zapier, we have a dedicated team of advanced automations experts who can develop and sustain a custom integration for you. This personalized approach ensures that your unique requirements are met and allows for a seamless connection between CloudContactAI and your chosen application.

In summary, CloudContactAI provides an extensive selection of integrations through Zapier, and if you cannot find the desired application, our team is ready to create a customized integration just for you.

Can I import contacts and conversations from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI?

Certainly! When it comes to importing contacts and conversations from Zipwhip to CloudContactAI, the process differs for each. Starting with contacts, you can indeed import them into your CloudContactAI account, allowing you to manage your contacts more efficiently. However, for conversations, the direct import feature may not be available. Nevertheless, there is a workaround. Zipwhip does provide the option to request a CSV export of your messages. This export can serve as a record of your conversations. While you won’t be able to directly import these conversations into CloudContactAI, you can manually add any pertinent information from those messages, such as important details or notes, to the corresponding contact entries in CloudContactAI. This way, you can ensure that crucial information is still accessible even if the conversations themselves cannot be directly imported.