Mast Mobile

Mast Mobile, founded in 2013, operated as a business-to-business mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) from its base in New York City. The company was established by a team with deep roots in the telecommunications and technology sectors: David Messenger, David Dawson, and Peter Lurie. Messenger's journey included a high-level position at Virgin Mobile, which he helped take public, followed by leadership roles at Sprint and American Express in their mobile divisions. Lurie also brought experience from Virgin Mobile and Sprint, while Dawson's background was in technology at Microsoft. This collective experience shaped their approach to enterprise mobile communications.

The firm's core business was a software-centric mobile platform designed to enhance employee productivity and reduce communication costs for businesses. Mast Mobile's key service allowed employees to have two distinct phone numbers, one for personal use and one for work, on a single device. The platform was engineered to intelligently switch between these numbers by applying algorithms to determine if a contact or message was work-related or personal. A significant feature was its ability to automatically log all client communications, such as calls with sales representatives, directly into a company's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, thereby improving sales analytics.

Unlike typical MVNOs that simply resell carrier services, Mast Mobile's strategy was to embed its software directly into the core carrier network. This integration enabled the creation of differentiated services that worked across any mobile device, including iPhones and Androids. The business model was centered on selling these software applications rather than competing on the price of call minutes and data. The company claimed its solution could lower total communication expenses for a business by as much as 40%. After raising a total of $18.4 million in funding from investors like DFJ, Samsung, and FirstMark, Mast Mobile's technology was acquired by Hearsay Systems in October 2017.

Keywords: mobile virtual network operator, MVNO, dual-number solution, enterprise mobility, mobile communication platform, CRM integration, bring your own device, BYOD, business communications, mobile productivity, sales analytics, enterprise software, telecommunications, Hearsay Systems acquisition, David Messenger, David Dawson, Peter Lurie, FirstMark, DFJ, Samsung Ventures