SimpleHoney

SimpleHoney, Inc. operated as a consumer-focused e-commerce entity headquartered in San Francisco. The company was established in 2011 by co-founders Joyce Kim, a former corporate attorney and CEO of soompi.com, and Eric Nakagawa, a web developer. Their initial product, launched in May 2012, was a recommendation tool that suggested hotels to users based on their personality profiles.

Observing market dynamics, the firm pivoted its strategy at the beginning of 2013. It transitioned into a mobile application provider, launching a travel and shopping app named "I Want Wish Lists". This service enabled users to curate lists of desired items and receive notifications about the optimal time and place to make a purchase, effectively functioning as a smart shopping assistant. The business was backed by the accelerator 500 Global, securing seed funding in October 2011 and May 2012.

In a strategic move that underscored the value of its team's expertise, SimpleHoney was acquired by OpenCoin Inc. (the company developing the Ripple protocol) on April 3, 2013. The acquisition was primarily a talent acquisition, with OpenCoin seeking to leverage the SimpleHoney team's proficiency in user experience and design. The objective was to simplify the complex interface of the Ripple payment network and its associated virtual currencies, making them more accessible to a mainstream audience. The entire four-person team, including Kim and Nakagawa, was integrated into OpenCoin to focus on this user-centric development.

Keywords: SimpleHoney, Joyce Kim, Eric Nakagawa, OpenCoin acquisition, Ripple, e-commerce application, wish list app, hotel recommendation, user experience design, mobile shopping, 500 Global, talent acquisition, payment protocol, shopping assistant, travel tech, I Want Wish Lists, San Francisco startup