Twizoo

Twizoo was a London-based technology company founded in 2013 by Madeline Parra and John Talbott. Initially, the venture launched as a consumer-facing mobile application designed to provide restaurant and bar recommendations by analyzing real-time data and sentiment from Twitter. The founding premise was to leverage the high volume of user-generated content on social media to offer authentic, timely reviews.

Co-founder Madeline Parra, a mathematics graduate from Davidson College, brought analytical rigor and a background in digital strategy from her time at GSK. This data-centric approach was central to the company's technology. The business later pivoted from its direct-to-consumer app to a B2B2C model. This strategic shift focused on a machine-learning engine that could be integrated into third-party websites. The company developed a widget for travel and hospitality clients, allowing them to embed relevant social media content and reviews directly onto their own platforms. This tool used artificial intelligence to automatically identify and display engaging user-generated content, helping businesses increase user engagement and conversion rates.

The business model centered on providing this technology as a service to other companies. In November 2017, Twizoo was acquired by the travel search giant Skyscanner for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was driven by Skyscanner's desire to enhance its hotel reviews and recommendations by integrating Twizoo's technology for surfacing customer opinions from social media. The entire six-person Twizoo team, including the founders, joined Skyscanner's London office as part of the deal. At the time of the acquisition, Twizoo's widget was surpassing 500,000 daily unique impressions. The company had previously received backing from investors such as EC1 Capital, Downing Ventures, and Jensons EIS Fund. Keywords: Twizoo, social media aggregation, user-generated content, review platform, travel technology, hospitality tech, AI, machine learning, sentiment analysis, B2B2C, Madeline Parra, John Talbott, Skyscanner acquisition, London startup, restaurant reviews, hotel recommendations, social content integration, data analysis, travel-tech, content curation