The Story

This story, or epic journey as some have called it, begins in a deserted parking lot on an early Saturday morning in January, 2007. Derek Johnson, a University of Houston student sat waiting in his car for his other Fraternity brothers to arrive, not aware that they would never show up. What Derek didn’t know was that a last minute email with the subject “Meeting Location Changed” was waiting in his inbox. After realizing no one was coming, Derek drove home in frustration. After arriving home and seeing the email, he knew what he needed to do.

Against the advice of his parents, teachers, counselors, friends, relatives, community members and even his mailman, Derek dropped out of school to devote his entire life to one thing. He wanted to make sure that no one ever found themselves in a deserted parking lot on a Saturday morning because of an unanswered email.

After months of Red Bull, sleepless nights and endless tinkering in his secret lab, which some would refer to as his parent’s basement, Derek had come up with a solution. The answer was actually right in front of him the whole time, the text message! Derek figured out that by having the ability to send a text message from his computer or even better, his mobile phone, whether it is 10 or 10,000 people, would forever improve the way groups communicate with their members. He called his creation Tatango.