Mailchimp is an American marketing automation platform which provides email marketing service. Ben Chestnut and Mark Armstrong founded this company in 2001. Later, Dan Kurzius joined the company and the duo. The headquarters of this company is situated in Georgia, USA. Ben Chestnut is the CEO of this company that has more than 800 employees working with them. So, let’s know why is MailChimp called MailChimp?
This app was always a side project for the founders and wasn’t taken seriously till 2009. This app was not focused on for several years; and the app earned a few thousand dollars per month. In 2010, it has grown rapidly and its user database came to 450,000 from 85,000. By June 2014, it was generating 1 million emails per month on the behalf of its users. In 2017, the company was gaining almost 17,000 new customers daily but the app was owned by the founders only and they still don’t accept any venture capital funds.
MailChimp’s Beginning
By the 2000s, companies were using email to stay tuned with their audiences. However, the process of creating and distributing such big mails to the mass was becoming a challenge. Companies back then used to rely on hard coding skills like putting writing HTML code and tracker links to solve this problem. It was expensive and barely good. At that time, The Rocket Science Group was a web development company, and there, Ben Chestnut recognized this problem.
This problem has given birth to a solution that was MailChimp. They used the code leftover from other failed e-greeting companies and modified it as newsletter software. But the demand for a newsletter wasn’t that big, so the Rocket Science Group thought of coming up with something bigger than just a newsletter. And they created an email platform from the newsletter software called Mailchimp. Now, this giant is used by more than 10 million people on the planet.
Why Is It Called MailChimp?
Ben Chestnut, the founder and CEO of this company says that they had a philosophy when it comes to their web design that if nothing works, add a monkey. Clients love monkey so they called it Chimp mail but later; they found out that the domain was already taken so they switched to MailChimp.
MailChimp’s iconic mascot has a name “Frederick von Chimpenheimer IV” or “Freddie” for short. Chestnut says that it is very strange when he looks back at Freddie’s history as we have not given enough time to him and not even developed him much; but our clients have assumed and imagined it to be like this and that so it was all our customers who have brought life to Freddie and given him this personality.
This giant got its advantages as an attractive brand that uses monkey puns. It made them a fun company. They kept MailChimp freemium so anyone can try it free for their use, and it eventually helps MailChimp to reach more people.
MailChimp’s Founders
- Ben Chestnut – He was born in 1973 and he is an American billionaire and an entrepreneur. Ben Chestnut was born and brought up in Georgia. He has studied physics at the University of Georgia and after completing studies; he created MailChimp for his web design agency.
- Mark Armstrong – He is the son of Neil Armstrong and he has contributed in making of MailChimp too. Mark Armstrong has worked in the movies as well. He was born in Harris country in 1963.
- Dan Kurzius – Dan Kurzius was born in 1972. He is an American billionaire businessman and the co-founder and chief customer officer of MailChimp. Dan Kurzius later joined the company and is still working with Ben Chestnut.
Conclusion
It turns out to be one of the best and most successful companies. So, how did you like the story behind why is MailChimp called MailChimp? If you love our series of how brands got their names, please let us know in the comment section.