by Ronny | Sep 13, 2012 | photo, San Francisco
We have teamed up with Vernon Davis, one of the NFL’s top tight ends, to thank his Facebook fans and Twitter followers with a $10 credit to be used at participating Bay Area restaurants in our network. “I do almost everything using my phone, so I think this is a great way to thank my fans at the start of a new season.”Vernon said. “Plus, I get a chance to help local store owners get more business. As an entrepreneur myself, I’m a huge supporter of anyone who has the courage to go out on their own and build a business.” Today, Vernon helped his fans score big with their favorite local merchants when he shared the code “Vernon” with his 1 million Twitter followers and 35,000 Facebook fans. New users can download our app on their iOS or Android smartphone, enter the $10 code, and redeem it at one of our hundreds of participating Bay Area restaurants including local favorites A.G. Ferrari Foods, Pearl’s Deluxe Burgers, Green Chile Kitchen, and Osha Thai. Leo Rocco, CEO and founder, said collaborating with Davis was a natural fit. “Vernon is a tech-savvy San Francisco icon who has mastered using social media to connect with his fans,” Rocco said. “GoPago is opening a direct channel to show these fans his appreciation by connecting them to the merchants they love. And we’re doing it on a massive scale. We think that’s a game changer in the relationship between athletes and their fans.” In July, we partnered with San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum to offer his fans on Facebook (and in real life) thousands...
by Ronny | Sep 6, 2012 | photo, San Francisco
The walls of our office got a major upgrade in mural form from one of our own. Kris Jun, UX and Visual Designer, lent his artistic talents to make our office feel more like a home, with all-star appearances from the GoPago family. JPMorgan Chase, Verizon Wireless, Bread and Cocoa, Sellers Markets, Freshii, Lou’s Cafe, Tropisueno, After Osha and many others can be spotted in our mural version of “I Spy.” Kris provided some great personality to our white walls. He is an office favorite because of his animated expressions, wacky sound effects and the fact that if you say his first and last name together, it sounds a lot like a major religion. We set off to learn more about the man behind the mural, and wanted to share our findings with you. GoPago: What was your inspiration? Kris: Since our company is located in the city it seemed like the natural backdrop. If we were located in a desert, I’d draw that… with a cactus. We understand you have a graphic novel in South Korea, care to tell us more? One’s Mind would be the English translation. What’s in One’s Mind? The main character feels everything is a visual metaphor. He thinks of a sand watch and then thinks of the remnants left behind when time passes. He also thinks of a sandwich. How did you feel at the unveiling of your masterpiece? It was fantastic and I got the “GoPago Superman” award. The Superman shirt I received made it extra special and makes me feel proud of myself. Half of the illustration already appeared on the...
by Ronny | Aug 23, 2012 | event, San Francisco
At GoPago we get our livelihood from local small businesses, good food and the entrepreneurial spirit. Those three things were alive and well this past Saturday between the 20th and 26th blocks of Folsom Street at the 4th Annual San Francisco Street Food Festival. The event was presented by La Cocina, “a non-profit incubator kitchen providing affordable commercial kitchen space and industry-specific technical assistance to low-income and immigrant entrepreneurs who are launching, growing and formalizing food businesses.” We heard amazing stories and tasted some delcious food from across the city. One of our favorites was from Maria of Estrellita’s Snacks. She was an immigrant from El Salvador, who was lucky enough to live right across the street from La Cocina, she wandered in and started a business with $20. She now has packaged yucca and plantain chips, sells tamales and pupusas at the Alemany farmers market and is opening up a restaurant that has already been home to Woody Allen, A-list actors and the rest of the production crew. She told us in Spanish to wait till the movie gets released because her and her restaurant will be making a cameo. The dream was so tangible and actuated that we could taste it! We actually started the food festival a bit early on Friday with the first ever Night Market, it was a bit chilly out but we found comfort in our office neighbor Soup Junkies’ Crab & Tomato Noodle Soup. It’s always surprising how sometimes you wait a while to try great food that is so close by. The next day at the event we had some terrific...
by Ronny | Aug 17, 2012 | San Francisco
Our community has grown so rapidly in the last month that we now have over 75,000 users in San Francisco! We are thrilled to have you all as fellow line skippers, but we want to get to know you better. We want to know what you look like and which one of the venues in our network is your favorite. If you share all this awesomeness with us you will be automatically entered to win a $50 credit, which will be awarded to one lucky user. Here is what you have to do: 1. Add your photo to your GoPago account. It’s as easy as opening the app, clicking profile and then clicking the camera icon where you can snap a new shot, upload from your gallery or use your Facebook profile picture. 2. Leave a review for your favorite venue. Go to your receipts, if you haven’t yet clicked “I received my order” do so and then you will be directed to “Write a review.” No need to write a novel, we just want to know what you liked about the location and maybe even what you ordered. We love your suggestions. If you want to up your chances of winning the credit, leave multiple reviews! Bonus Points: show us your face and let us hear your voice at the same time! Make us a short, 30 seconds to 1 minute long, video on why you use GoPago and email it to media@GoPago.com. Alright folks, don’t remain faceless and wordless! You have until Monday August 20th, 2012 at 5pm to get your profile all jazzed up. The...
by Ronny | Aug 8, 2012 | news
We are extremely excited by this week’s announcement of GoPago LIVE -a tablet based POS system equipping brick-and-mortar merchants with the payment and business tools necessary to run a modern business. The reception by brick-and-mortar merchants nationwide has been overwhelmingly positive. This marks a truly exciting time for brick-and-mortar merchants and GoPago. Our CEO and founder Leo Rocco says, “We think GoPago LIVE will turn the payment industry on its head. This is so much more than POS. It’s a total solution for brick-and-mortar business owners. We’re redefining and re-setting the bar for modernizing business payments and loyalty programs.” GoPago LIVE makes us the first payment-as-a-service (PAAS) provider to offer a 100% free service. We are so happy to offer our merchants a system that levels the playing field between industry giants and independent sole proprietorships. Our free plug-n-play solution delivers “your business in a box” with the tablet, tablet stand, cash drawer, receipt printer, credit card reader, software and 24/7 merchant support services with zero startup costs or monthly fees. One of our merchants, Lucky Dogs, has already seen the difference and the results. Co-owner Aric Doo reports, “As a small business owner, my payment system is just a tool that helps me get through the day. I don’t want to worry about it, and it just needs to work. I tried a different tablet system, but it cost me $700 not including the iPad, and I had to hire my own tech guy. I’ll never go back. GoPago LIVE is easy, no money out of my pocket, and the 4G makes each transaction super fast.” GoPago LIVE...
