May 2024 Summaries

Feels, a dating app focused on delivering positive user experiences, prioritized secure and seamless user onboarding, prompting founder Daniel Cheaib to seek an efficient SMS verification provider to scale their business. After experiencing issues with transparency and costs from existing providers, Feels turned to Prelude for a better solution. Initially testing Prelude with a fraction of their traffic, Feels ultimately transitioned all their verification traffic to Prelude due to its superior transparency, cost-effectiveness, and customer support. Prelude's use of over 30 providers and algorithm-based optimization allowed Feels to enhance reliability and affordability in SMS verification, addressing previous challenges with opaque billing and support delays. This strategic shift allowed Feels to maintain a more streamlined and transparent user experience, emphasizing the importance of reliable service providers in growth and scaling efforts.

BeReal, a rapidly growing social messaging app, chose Prelude to improve its global SMS verification process, enhancing user experience with developer-friendly tools and better pricing. Initially using traditional telco solutions, BeReal faced challenges with SMS reliability and transparency, prompting them to explore Prelude, which offered more affordable rates that decreased with increased volume due to their provider arbitrage model. Prelude's unified APIs and transparent dashboards allowed BeReal to troubleshoot issues effectively, offering insights into SMS failures and improving customer support efficiency. Despite initial skepticism, BeReal transitioned fully to Prelude, benefiting from its rapid iteration and developer-centric approach, which contrasted with the opaque practices of traditional SMS providers. As a result, BeReal found Prelude's pricing, reliability, and transparency crucial for maintaining service quality and combating fraud, making it an ideal partner for handling their SMS verification needs globally.

Prelude, previously known as Ding, has rebranded to expand its focus beyond phone verification to encompass a broader range of mobile onboarding services, such as KYC, session management, and fraud prevention. This strategic shift aims to enhance onboarding conversion and retention while ensuring that new users are legitimate. Prelude's offerings are designed for developers at modern tech companies seeking agile and cost-effective solutions compared to larger alternatives. The company is committed to maintaining reliable API services for user verification and OTP code delivery, with plans to provide industry-leading support and transparent operations. Existing customers will experience branding updates, including a new domain and email address, but will not need to make any immediate changes as API endpoints remain the same. Prelude's growth strategy includes passing savings back to customers through volume negotiations, promoting its services among mobile-first space founders, and expanding communication via a dedicated blog and social media presence.