THE HISTORY

Facts about my YELP Project (2001 to 2004)

About me

My name is Max (M. Osolé) and I’m an owner of Blue Brother image Sampling BV (BBIS) and MailManix BV, a small media and advertising agencies from Amsterdam. Below you see my work in Time.

Internet in 2001

Around 2001 my company and I have start working on the concept of, as we call it at that time, emotional WEB. Code mane Panic Attack / YELP

Just to put things into perspective, Facebook and social media didn’t exist yet (2004) and the web had just had its big crash so called “Dot-com bubble”. During this period, many Internet-based companies, commonly referred to as dot-coms, were founded, many of which failed. Only 48% survived the period.

Yelp 2001 - 2004

We were developing and “translating” Yellow Pages “book” to the “web”. As a small company we were developing a social media oriented product for Gouden Gids (GG), the Yellow pages in the Netherlands, - own by World Directories - part of VNU (now Nielsen) at that time. GG also closely worked with The Berry Company from Ohio.

We gave the project name YELP, for YELllow helP.

It was planned to be a web page with online listing  and with the key characteristics like "COMMUNITY" "RESPONSE" "FEEDBACK", "STAR RATING"

The original text emphasised also the following points:

• More useful
• Richer - visuals, sounds... appeals on emotions....
• More trustful (updates, differentiates between clients, interactive)
• Allows extra services, (voting or star system, exchange of information between users…
• Feedback is essential
• User is part of community
• Increasing the competition, which delivers better services for users.
• Yelp creates a meeting space/place between users and clients. 

Rejected

After nearly three years of developing the Yelp, the final version of the proposal, in form of the business plan (in Dutch, written together with Ralph Hoogland), was proposed on July 2003 to Gouden Gids NL and it was later rejected by Board of Directors (CEO Dick H. Ahles).

In 2001 BBIS bought the URL yelp.nl and yelp.be. The yelp.com was at that time in the possession of an private non commercial person from NY.

BBIS sold both names, yelp.nl and yelp.be to Gouden Gids NL on 08-04-2003 on their request. CEO Dick H. Ahles called me and told me that their advertising agency thought, that name ware so good, that they were prepared to pay $20.000,-, a big sum for a name at that time. I thought I have made a good deal.

2004-2016

After than I forgot about my Yelp and move on with my other work.

Many years later (2009) I have read a report that Google inc. was offering $5.500.000,- for an american company with name Yelp, a company established on 01. 10. 2004 in USA.

I have check out what kind of company that was, and to my surprised I have found out, that it was very similar to my “old” Yelp. I remember calling Dick Ahles, and telling him, that he did miss a big opportunity by rejecting our project. He kind of agree with me.

At that time I was thinking, that it is not that unusual, as many people have the same idea about the same thing. I was a little puzzled about the timing as my proposal was rejected and names bought just before the n”real” Yelp waq established.. But again, that can also just be a coincidence.

A year had passed and in 2010 I have started to develop a new project with the name Zenduz. An online editor for designing emails and I was start looking for an investor.

YELP and Yellow Pages LINK

At that time I also accidentally stumbled on Wikipedia page about Yelp and to my surprise I have found out following fact:  

“MRL co-founder, David Galbraith, who had instigated research into a Yellow Pages style Internet product, came up with the name Yelp.”
Read 2013 version

Thing were getting more and more alarming, but still not enough, to do anything about it. But more I was looking into the Yelp product more I saw my “old” Yelp.

As “Max Levchin was the main Yelp investor, and my name is Max, and my code name is Max, I thought to contact Max Levchin to see if he will be willing to invest for the second time in “my” Zenduz project.

And I have placed on my web page www.bluebrother.nl a “letter” to Max Levchin with the following question:

Is there any chance there is a connection between my and your Yelp?

I have never send the letter op post it or add a link to it, but it was indexed by Google. You can read the letter in full here.

Removal of Yellow Pages referral from Wikipedia

Not long I have place it on my web page (but didn’t linked it to anything) the reference to the Yellow pages and Yelp from the Yelp Wikipedia web page were deleted. That was the last element, which tip me over to belive that there might be some connection between my YELP and “official” YELP.

MRL co-founder David Galbraith, who instigated the local services project based on user reviews, came up with the name "Yelp
Read 2017 version

2016-now

In mid 2017 I made an attempt to contact David Galbraith via Linkedin, but I got no response.

Now I’m wondering is there any way to find this out. I there any law company to look if I have any options, is there any way to make a film about how many “ideas” in today's internet world are “stolen” like Facebook or mine?

From Max M. Osolé to Макс Левчин, David Galbraith, Russel Simmons, Jeremy Stoppelman and all others concern...