Voo

Voo, operating under the legal name Roundup Social Inc., was a technology firm focused on simplifying social planning within popular messaging applications.

The company was founded in 2014 by Chris Turlica, who served as its CEO, alongside co-founders Hugo Dozois-Caouette (CTO) and Karine Trépanier (Full Stack Engineer). Turlica, who studied Finance and Psychology for Management at McGill University and passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, brought a financial and analytical perspective to the venture. His experience at a hedge fund preceded his move into entrepreneurship, where he identified a common friction point in social coordination. This background informed the company's data-driven approach to solving the everyday problem of making plans with friends.

Voo's core product was a software application integrated directly into iMessage and Kik Messenger. The service was designed to streamline the process of organizing get-togethers by allowing users to create and share plans without leaving their chat conversations. A key feature was its recommendation engine, which learned user preferences to suggest activities and time-based special offers at local venues like bars and coffee shops. Upon finalizing a plan, the app could seamlessly update the calendars of all participants involved. The business targeted the consumer market, specifically active users of leading chat platforms who frequently organized social outings. The company launched its app on platforms like Product Hunt in late 2016, gaining initial visibility and was featured by Apple.

The startup's journey concluded in early 2017 when it was acquired by Townsquared, a private social network for small businesses. Following the acquisition, Turlica took on the role of Director of Product at Townsquared, leveraging his experience in product development. In 2018, both Chris Turlica and Hugo Dozois-Caouette went on to co-found MaintainX, a workflow and communication platform for industrial teams, where they serve as CEO and CTO, respectively.

Keywords: Voo Plan, Chris Turlica, Roundup Social Inc., iMessage app, Kik Messenger app, social planning app, group scheduling, event coordination, chat integration, calendar sharing, acquired startup, Townsquared, Hugo Dozois-Caouette, Karine Trépanier, plan sharing, activity feed, local offers, social coordination, messaging planner, group events