Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 1-13-17 Edition
P. 27
Local
Tampa Native To Launch New TrakGo Messenger App
Technology is chang- ing every industry, and Keith White, a former IBM Marketing Repre- sentative and Eastman Kodak Sales Representa- tive, believes that if African-Americans are not paying attention to the trends and technol- ogy shifts that are occur- ring around them at a rapid pace, we, as a peo- ple, stand to lose eco- nomic and political gains made thus far and fall behind.
White further states, many young African- Americans have to make the shift now towards becoming engineers, software developers, and marketers of technology. For those that acquire the skills to develop and/or market software, a high-demand trade, the more valuable and more in demand they will become. This can
lead to technology intel- lectual capital, entrepre- neurship and help avoid perpetually working on someone else’s dream, pursuing instead your own entrepreneurial ideas and goals.
“Blacks and Hispanics need to prepare now for this changing world if they want to achieve major economic and po- litical clout, have a say in the future direction of their people, and share in the mega-wealth being created through technology and the ris- ing globalized economy.”
White has been a se- rial tech marketing en- trepreneur since 2001. He raised $1.2 million from PSINet for his on- line video streaming video company, MVC1.
In 2008, White launched ZoogaTV, a premium video clip por- tal that generated $300k
KEITH WHITE ...Tampa native
per quarter in pre-roll video ads.
In 2010, White part- nered with Sony Music Latin and the wireless carrier Orange to enable downloadable premium music in the Dominican Republic.
White believes that had he not built-up his tech and marketing en- trepreneurial skills and experiences over the years, he would not be in the position he is today,
i.e., developing his TrakGo Messenger app and platform that will rival WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
In 2014, WhatsApp sold to Facebook for $22 billion. White clearly understands that gaining a small percent of this global market could be worth billions.
“Mobile messaging stands at the center of Millennial communica- tions and engagement between customers and brands. Connecting them in messaging and enabling commerce is about to explode in 2017,” says White.
He has identified a niche segment of the market previously over- looked by existing big players.
stant payment capabili- ties.
TrakGo enable brands, retailers, stores, restaurants, sellers, and many other verticals to connect, engage, and transact easily, quickly, and securely with Mil- lennials via chat. He and his developers are laser- focused on moving users’ physical world activities into the digital mobile world.
White’s goal during the 2017 Black History Month is to share, in- form, and inspire audi- ences to take action on what is not overtly obvi- ous regarding the daily changes in this new tech- nology digital frontier.
For additional infor- mation, contact: An- thony Thomas,
This month (January athomas@trakgo.com or
2017), White plans to launch the TrakGo app kwhite@trakgo.com, 1
Keith White,
and platform with in-
(305) 790-2736.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 15-B