Escapex, stylized as escapex, was a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

developer specializing in

white-label A white-label product is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they had made it. The name derives from the image of a white label on the packaging that ca ...

fan engagement apps for celebrities. It was founded by Sephi Shapira in 2014 and has raised $18 million in funding. It allows celebrities to reach fans directly, as well as receiving revenue from fans through its

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium", is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ( ...

model.

Overview

Shapira is

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i and previously founded Interchan and MassiveImpact. He graduated from

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) (, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public university, public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Named after Israeli List of national founders, national founder David Ben-Gurion, the unive ...

. The company has raised $18 million in funding. Its 2018 revenue was $5.5 million. In 2016, the company had 57 employees split between

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The company's General Manager is Joe Cuello, formerly an executive at

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, then Chief Creative Officer at

TuneCore TuneCore is a New York City–based digital music distribution, publishing and licensing service founded in 2006. It was acquired by Believe Music in April 2015. TuneCore distributes music through online retailers such as Deezer, Spotify, Amazon ...

. Their director of social engagement is Rafe Lopresti-Oakes. A press release from the company described the service as having a "proprietary loyalty program" which allows "monetization of social engagement through e-commerce and in-app advertising". App launches typically offered a contest for one fan to meet the celebrity. The app also allows Escapex to collect and monetize user profiles for advertising. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the concept of Escapex, musing, "If people love you, why not make money from them?".

Notable apps

The company has created over 350 applications, including: *

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

, June 2016 or earlier *

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

, June 2016 or earlier *

Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...

, June 2016 or earlier *

Rohan Marley Rohan Anthony Marley (born 19 May 1972) is a Jamaican businessman and former football player. He is the son of reggae artist Bob Marley, and the father of Zion Marley, model Selah Marley, reggae artist YG Marley, and former American football pl ...

and the

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

estate, February 2017 *

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

, March 2017 *

Prince Royce Geoffrey Royce Rojas (born May 11, 1989), known professionally as Prince Royce, is an American singer. At an early age, Royce took an interest in music, and in his teenage years began experimenting with music and writing poetry. By age nineteen ...

, March 2017 *

Jeremy Renner Jeremy Lee Renner (born January 7, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in independent films such as ''Dahmer (film), Dahmer'' (2002) and ''Neo Ned'' (2005), then supporting roles in bigger films, such as ''S.W.A.T. (20 ...

, March 2017, making over $35,000 per month in April 2019 *

Galen Gering Galen Laius Gering (born February 13, 1971) is an American actor most known for his portrayal of characters on daytime soap operas. He currently plays the role of Rafe Hernandez on the long-running NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives.'' He also ap ...

, June 2017 *

Yandel Llandel Veguilla Malavé Salazar (born January 14, 1978), best known by his stage name Yandel, is a Puerto Rican singer who is a member of the reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. He released his first solo album, ''Quien Contra Mí'', in 2003. His s ...

, June 2017 * Greg Vaughan, June 2017 * Jason Thompson, June 2017 *

Niecy Nash Carol Denise Betts (previously Nash, née Ensley; born February 23, 1970) (), known professionally as Niecy Nash, is an American actress. Her career began in the late 1990s, with appearances in the films '' Boys on the Side'' (1995) and '' Cooki ...

, September 2017 *

Tyler Posey Tyler Garcia-Posey (born October 18, 1991) is an American actor and musician. He began his career as a child actor and received recognition for his role as Raul Garcia in ''Doc (2001 TV series), Doc'' (2001–2004) and Ty Ventura in ''Maid in Man ...

, September 2017 *

Osric Chau Osric Chau () is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Kevin Tran in the CW series ''Supernatural'', Vogel in the BBC America series ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'', and Ryan Choi in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse. Life a ...

, January 2018 *

Chris D'Elia Christopher William D'Elia (born March 29, 1980) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host. He is known for playing Alex Miller on the NBC sitcom '' Whitney'' (2011–2013), Danny Burton on the NBC sitcom ''Undateable'' ...

Alessandra Ambrosio Alessandra Corine Ambrósio (; born 11 April 1981) is a Brazilian model. She is known for her work with Victoria's Secret and was chosen as the first spokesmodel for the company's Pink (Victoria's Secret), PINK line. She was a Victoria's Secret A ...

, making over $35,000 per month in April 2019 * Abigail Ratchford, making over $35,000 per month in April 2019 *

Amber Rose Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She gained attention after she starred in the music video for Young Jeezy's 2008 single " Put On", which featured Kanye West. She began a romantic re ...

, making over $35,000 per month in April 2019 * Dita Von Teese *

Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, musician and activist. He is known for his role/inspiration in the marijuana industry, his Cannabis (drug), marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movie ...

Bollywood stars

Escapex has a large roster of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

celebrities, including: *

Sunny Leone Karenjit "Karen" Kaur Vohra (born May 13, 1981), known by her stage name Sunny Leone, is a Canadian American actress, model, and former pornographic actress. She was named ''Penthouse (magazine), Penthouse'' Pet of the Year in 2003, was a co ...

, December 2016 *

Remo D'Souza Remo D'Souza (born Ramesh Gopi Nair; 2 April 1974) is an Indian choreographer, film director, and producer. Over the course of his career spanning more than 25 years, D'Souza has choreographed more than 100 films. He is considered the most suc ...

, January 2017 *

Amy Jackson Amy Louise Jackson Westwick (née Jackson; born 31 January 1992) is a British actress and model known for her work in Indian films. She predominantly works in Tamil films but has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and English films. Jackson's ...

, March 2017 *

Kajal Aggarwal Kajal A Kitchlu (née Aggarwal; born 19 June 1985), known professionally as Kajal Aggarwal, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Aggarwal is considered as one of the highest paid actresses of South In ...

, March 2017 *

Nargis Fakhri Nargis Fakhri is an American actress who primarily works in Hindi-language films of India. After working as a model in America, Fakhri came to prominence in India with the 2011 romantic drama film ''Rockstar (2011 film), Rockstar''. She subseque ...

, April 2017 *

Disha Patani Disha Patani (; born 13 June 1992) is an Indian actress primarily working in Hindi films. Patani made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Loafer'' (2015), and had her first Hindi film release with the biopic '' M.S. Dhoni: The Untold St ...

Sonam Kapoor Sonam Kapoor Ahuja (; born 9 June 1985) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Sonam Kapoor, several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Film Award and a Filmf ...

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

Jeremy Renner app

Renner released a

called "Jeremy Renner" (Android) and "Jeremy Renner Official" (iOS) in March 2017.

FastCompany ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webber ...

wrote extensively about Renner's app in April 2019, calling it "a surprising new kind of social media". The Ringer's Kate Knibbs, explaining how self-referential the app is, summarized it stating "Jeremy Renner’s Jeremy Renner app is the Jeremy Renner of apps." The community developed to include memes, selfies, and a "Happy Rennsday" event on Wednesdays. As early as October 2017 there were claims of censorship, bullying, and "contest-rigging". In September 2019, comedian Stefan Heck wrote about discovering that any replies through the app would appear as if they were sent by Renner himself in

push notifications Push technology, also known as server Push, refers to a communication method, where the communication is initiated by a server rather than a client. This approach is different from the "pull" method where the communication is initiated by a client ...

. Heck wrote about notifications making it appear Renner was a big enthusiast of " porno"; other users made it appear Renner was a big fan of

Casey Anthony Caylee Marie Anthony (August9, 2005 – June2008) was an American toddler who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony (born March19, 1986), and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July15, 2008, Cayle ...

. Renner had to ask Escapex to shut down the app the following day, stating "The app has

jumped the shark The idiom "jumping the shark", or "shark jumping", or to "jump the shark"; means that a creative work or entity has evolved and reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with or ...

. Literally." In September 2020, comedian/writer Caroline Goldfarb and actress Sarah Ramos launched The Renner Files podcast, a six-part series investigating the Jeremy Renner app.

References

External links

* {{official, https://escapex.com Mobile applications