Steve Doumar: The Man and the Face Behind Simplifying Opt-Ins!

American entrepreneur Ray Kroc expressed the importance of persisting in a busy world where everyone wants a bite of success. 

This man is no exception.

An entrepreneur. A family man. A visionary. 

These are the many names of a man that has made it possible for opt-ins to be safe, secure, and accurate; Steve Doumar.

It has been a long, tiresome, eventful, and rewarding journey for Steve Doumar, from being the founder of a bridal magazine brand to the CEO of Whisp opt-in simplified. 

He has experienced professional and personal success over the years, and this is just a quick snapshot of that journey. 

From his early days as a publisher for a magazine to becoming Whisp's CEO endeavors, Steve Doumar keeps going with a desire to succeed.

This blog post will tackle a glimpse of the life and career of Steve Doumar and see what lessons people can learn from him. 

Humble beginnings of Doumar. 

Mr. Doumar grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL, in the 1960s. 

His family has lived there since the 1940s, which lets him establish a significant attachment to the place. 

Steve Doumar has since started a family with his wife and son. 

Steve Doumar's mother's side consists of lawyers and judges living in Miami, which suggests his affinity with the law. 

Steve Doumar enters the marketing fray.

Steve Doumar's first entrepreneurial endeavor took place at the age of 24. He founded a bridal magazine in South Florida called Premier Bride, which focused on all things related to weddings and newlyweds. 

Steve Doumar's dedication to helping people in the matrimonial sector led him down the path of duplicating his success in other markets. He started with a few locations but eventually built up to 70 or more franchises across America.

From there, Steve Doumar sold Premier Bride in 2000 to set up his focus on the Internet with monster.com, where he ran an Internet advertising website that has since become known as LiveOps. 

The advent of LiveOps.

Steve Doumar co-founded LiveOps with other advertising experts such as Doug Feirstein, Wendell Brown, and Bill Trenchard, the latter two being founders of a competitor dubbed CallCast. LiveOps and CallCast merged as a single entity back in 2003. 

Several people have taken the operational helm of the company, including former Sybase president Marty Beard, former eBay COO Maynard Webb, and former ShoreTel VP Vasili Triant.

Since then, LiveOps has become the leading company in the pioneering gig economy, which has led to an entire ecosystem of independent contractors.

The company has had 25,000 operators since its inception, and Steve Doumar is one of its original shareholders. In addition, LiveOps has generated numerous business partnerships, including with Amazon, Stand Up For Cancer, Macy's, Pizza Hut, and Electronic Arts. 

Steve Doumar's career in telecommunications and the rise of TapText. 

Steve Doumar left his position as LiveOps' co-founder in 2013 to focus on the telecommunications industry, where he founded two companies, namely Expert Planet and StarStar Mobile. 

From there, he founded a company in 2019 called TapText, the starting point Doumar established in developing a new way to simplify opt-ins. 

Doumar's TapText company has led to the invention of developing a way for consumers and businesses alike to communicate with each other using text messages. This technology was awarded 27 patents in total.

Additionally, the tech industry in Miami has been on a significant upswing at the time, and Doumar's TapText business is no exception. Recently, he sold his house in Fort Lauderdale to move into the area to take full advantage of this growth opportunity.

In 2022, Doumar's TapText business rebranded to Whisp with the tagline "Opt-in Simplified." As a result, the company is growing more robust than ever.

Whisp has set a new standard for data acquisition, especially when it involves consumers opting in and receiving company offers. And since then, Whisp has made it easy for people to sign up with a safe and secure opt-in experience.

It is all thanks to Steve Doumar, who keeps simplifying business transactions between these parties with his hard work. 

How did Whisp come to be?

Steve Doumar's extensive history with the telecommunication sector has allowed him to make the necessary preparations for putting Whisp in action.

When Steve Doumar realized there was no way to transfer consumers from an advertisement into text, he set out on a mission to make it happen. With years of experience in the phone industry and through LiveOps came his idea for Whisp, which made transactions between parties more manageable than ever. 

Simplifying the Opt-In Experience. 

Doumar understands the importance of having a smooth and simple customer journey between a company and its customers, which Whisp is trying to achieve. He quotes;

"There are many business opportunities related to shortening the consumer journey. For example, when I go to an apartment complex to fill out an application, the average fee is $500. Additionally, they run a credit check, and you must fill out a four-page document. I believe there could be a way to alleviate the time and effort related to this action."

Overall thoughts

1. Whisp is becoming a game-changer for better communication between companies and their customers. Its lasting impact will be potentially felt for years to come.

2. The client journey should NEVER be a liability for anyone, including your company!

3. Success never comes easy, that is for sure. But once it hits you, a breath of relief and a cry of triumph follows. 

4. Everyone has a choice; to move forward or to stay behind. 

Conclusion:

That's just a quick snapshot of Steve Doumar's journey. As you can imagine, it has been full of professional and personal successes. 

But what makes Steve Doumar's story even more remarkable is that he has done all this while always keeping a smooth customer journey at the forefront of his mind.

Whisp is committed to making your customer journey as smooth as silk, no matter where you are and how challenging your marketing game is. 

Don't delay; simplify your opt-ins today!