Ribbon (company)
| File:Ribbon Company Logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Hany Rashwan |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Website | www |
Ribbon was a technology startup based in San Francisco that specialized in enabling online sales through shortened URLs, which could be shared via email, social networks, and personal web pages. Its platform incorporated checkout processes directly into services such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, allowing consumers to finalize purchases without leaving those platforms.
Originally named "Kout," the company completed the AngelPad startup accelerator program in October 2011. It secured $1.6 million in investment from backers including Tim Draper (Draper Associates), Naguib Sawiris, Emil Michael, and Gokul Rajaram, bringing total funding to $1.75 million.
Twitter shutdown
Ribbon introduced "in-stream" payment capabilities on Twitter on April 10, 2013, permitting users to make purchases directly within the Twitter.com timeline. Nevertheless, approximately ninety minutes later, Twitter revoked Ribbon's API access. While Ribbon had initially obtained authorization to display video cards, it modified the URL to activate its checkout feature, violating Twitter's terms. Subsequently, Ribbon declared it would discontinue in-stream payments and revert to displaying only product summaries. From April 11, 2013 onward, Ribbon links on Twitter redirected buyers to the company's website to complete transactions.