Sam Seller, and Oliver Levy, have set up a Valentines Day anonymous text service, which allows people to send secret messages on Feb 14.
Roses are red, violets are blue, a Valentines text says I love you
Jessica Earnshaw
Thursday, February 14, 2013
9:00 AM
»Three friends who set up a Valentine’s Day text service, after coming up with the idea over a pint, hope to encourage you to send that special person a message of love today.
Sam Seller, 24, of Brook Way, Chigwell, and “technology wizz” Oliver Levy, 20, of Repton Park, set up SOA Networks with a friend – who wishes to remain anonymous – developing smartphone applications as well as web design.
Great response
The company, in Fowler Road, Hainault, launched Valentine Text in 2011, alongside marketing partner, Clinton Cards.
Sam said: “Oliver and I came up with this idea to be able to send anonymous text messages on Valentine’s Day.
“From that point on I was like a dog with a bone and I started looking into how it could be done. I didn’t want anyone else stealing the idea.”
They applied for permission to Phone Pay Plus, the phone regulator, and after nine months they became the only company with permission to send anonymous texts in the UK.
Sam, a former pupil of King Solomon High School, Forest Road, Barkingside, said: “It was a very lengthy process with many barriers to cross, including data protection and harassment. But in 2011, we got permission, with less than two weeks to go until Valentine’s, which meant everything was extremely tight.”
After Clinton Cards went into receivership, the friends decided to go it alone.
Sam said: “We still want to offer the service as it is such a unique idea.
“We have had such a great response and people have been asking us if it is something we could run all year.
n For more information visit www.myvalentinetext.com.
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