Texperts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is written like an advertisement.
Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view.
Mark blatant advertising which would require a fundamental rewrite in order to become encyclopedic for speedy deletion, using {{db-spam}}. (May 2008)

Re5ult Ltd, trading as Texperts

Type	Limited company
Founded	August 2003
Headquarters	Cambridge, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom
Key people	Sarah McVittie - CEO Paul Butcher - CTO Thomas Roberts - CPO Bridget Kerle - CFO, General counsel Rhodri Thomas - DBS Giles Adams - Marketing Director
Industry	Search
Services	SMS-based question answering
Employees	250+ in 12 countries
Website	Texperts.com

Texperts is a "mobile find" SMS service that allows users to text a question to a team of research experts who provide individually tailored, relevant answers to their mobile. Any UK phone can text a question to 66000 and receive an accurate answer within minutes for £1, plus a standard network charge (about ten pence). If for any reason the correct answer cannot be found there is no charge. The company has been shown to be faster than rival services in independent tests.^[1] The service is available on all UK phones, wherever they are located in the world.

1 History
2 Performance
3 The Texperts
4 Awards and partnerships
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Re5ult Ltd launched initially with a subscription-based service called 'Re5ult' on a normal mobile number (07781 484950), with the management citing that revenue shares given by network operators seemed too low to allow it to run on a premium text code. However in the face of competition from AQA, in August 2004 the service was launched on a premium text code and rebranded as 82ASK. The text code being 82275. In 2007, Re5ult switched phone numbers and brands again relaunching the service as Texperts on short code 66000.

[edit] Performance

A recent 'road test' on the question 'How many people were alive compared with all who had ever lived' resulted in the service answering the question in five minutes, with the closest rival answering it in twenty-two minutes. A similar question asked for 'a hotel in Ireland within half an hour of Rosslare en route to Westmeath', with similar results. ^[2] The company sees an average monthly growth of 20%^[3] , and has one of the most recognisable brands in the UK market^[4]

[edit] The Texperts

The 'Texperts' (a portmanteau of text and experts) are mostly graduates (87%), with 44% coming from either Oxford or Cambridge universities, and a significant group (19%) currently completing PhDs at Cambridge University^{[citation needed]}. There are also texperts on 24-hour call to answer questions in more specialised fields such as maths and sciences.

[edit] Awards and partnerships

The company has won several national awards ^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9], and has business deals with several multinational companies, including Multimap, GlaxoSmithKline and The Relationship Specialists, ^[10]. The company also has exclusive access to the Official Guinness World Records database, and also operates several other text services, including partnerships with Thomson and BAA^[11]. On November 9th 2006 82ASK published Do Sheep Shrink in the Rain?, a collection of "the 500 most outrageous questions ever asked and their answers"^[12]

Awarding body	Award	Notes	Year
Real Business/CBI Growing Business Awards	Innovative Company of the Year	Winner	2007
National Business Awards	Best Use of Technology in Business	Winner	2007
National Business Awards	Business Innovation of the Year	Highly Commended	2007
Startups Awards	Best Use of Technology	Winner	2006
British Business Angels	Best Angel backed Business with Young Management	Winner	2006
Global Messaging Awards	Best Content or Information Service	Winner	2005
Shell LiveWIRE	Young Entrepreneurs Of The Year	Winner (Eastern Region)	2005