Zong

Zong is the leading mobile payments platform for sellers of digital goods and services. Its frictionless payment experience converts shoppers into buyers at rates up to 10 times greater than traditional payment methods. Zong leverages direct connections with mobile network operators around the world to provide a secure payment solution with unrivaled connectivity and service quality. Zong is the mobile payment provider for Facebook Credits and also works with hundreds of leading destination sites, such as Gaia Online, IMVU and Playdom. Reaching over 2 billion mobile users, Zong provides localized payment capabilities in over 30 countries in 16 languages. Zong is the only mobile payments platform that combines the high conversion rates of carrier billing with the low costs and flexibility of payment card networks. Zong is based in Menlo Park with offices in Paris and Geneva, and is backed by Matrix Partners, Advent Venture Partners and Newbury Ventures. For more information, please visit www.zong.com.

David Marcus, Founder and CEO, Zong

David Marcus is the founder and CEO of Zong, a leading mobile payment service used for monetizing web audiences in social media, gaming and virtual worlds.  Zong enables seamless payments for more than 350 Facebook and MySpace applications as well as dozens of leading virtual worlds and gaming platforms, and has direct integrations with mobile carriers around the world.  David drives the overall direction and product strategy for the company.  He also serves as CEO of Zong parent company Echovox, a pioneer in transaction-enabled mobile services.

An experienced entrepreneur, David has created a number of successful venture-backed businesses, including the first alternative telecom carrier in Switzerland, GTN telecom, which he launched in 1996.  Under David’s leadership, GTN became one of the top three alternative carriers in Switzerland and was acquired by World Access in 2000.  In 2003, David co-founded VOX telecom, a leading VoIP and wholesale carrier which services over 60% of the largest incumbent carriers globally.  David also spearheaded the creation of echo6 in 2006, a joint venture between Echovox and the French leading media group M6 (Metropole Television).  Echo6 is now one of the most successful mobile entertainment companies in France.  In March 2008, David co-founded Twitterfone, the popular and free service that converts a voice message into Twitter updates from any mobile phone.