tagboard1212It’s been nearly 11 months since we first heard about Tagboard, the Redmond startup that curates social media content for brands.

The company has been making moves since then and on Wednesday announced $2 million in funding and several major partnerships.

Tagboard is capitalizing on the usage of hashtags in social media and essentially has built a landing zone for specific hashtags or topics that are alive on social media. Users can find out more information about a certain subject, while companies have the ability to customize the design and imagery of their pages to help frame the conversation and brand, all in real-time.

Members of the Tagboard team. The company was founded by Sean Sperte (left), CEO Josh Decker (second from left) and Tim Shimotakahara (center).
Members of the Tagboard team. The company was founded by Sean Sperte (left), CEO Josh Decker (second from left) and Tim Shimotakahara (center).

Tagboard has also partnered with sports teams like the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks, as well as companies like Boeing, Audi, Outback Steakhouse and others. CEO Josh Decker, who founded the company with Sean Sperte and Tim Shimotakahara, thought of the idea for Tagboard after he spent the last few years managing quattroworld.com, a community of Audi enthusiasts. 

“We knew when we started this company that the market really needed a way of finding the whole hashtag conversation in one place,” Shimotakahara said.

Tagboard’s execs do admit they are surprised with how much reception has come from the enterprise side, whether it’s conference organizers, churches or big sports brands coming to them wanting a way to curate social media content. The startup, which now employs 15, said there’s many more partnerships in the works, especially with football season about to begin.

Though like any social media movement, the craze around hashtags could one day fade away. For now, though, Tagboard isn’t too worried about that.

“If things change, I’m sure we can adapt and go with the market,” Decker said. “But for now, the market is telling us that we’ve hit the bullseye with what we’ve built and will continue to focus on that.”

The company wouldn’t disclose who specifically is funding Tagboard, but did add that one big investor was one of Facebook’s first employees and is “well-known,” according to Decker.

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