# Color Labs

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Color Labs Type Private Key people Bill Nguyen Geoff Ralston Douglas Leone Website color.com (Taken over)

Color Developers Color Labs, Inc. Release March 24, 2011; 15 years ago (2011-03-24)[1] Operating system iOS 4.2 or later Size 7.7 MB Available in English Type Social networking software License Freeware Website color.com (Taken over)

**Color Labs, Inc.** was a start-up based in [Palo Alto, California](/source/Palo_Alto%2C_California), US. Its main product was the eponymous [mobile app](/source/Mobile_app) for sharing photos through [social networking](/source/Social_networking_service). It allowed people to take photos in addition to viewing other photos also taken in the vicinity. The application grouped photos based on a user's friends so that he or she is more likely to see more relevant ones.

Following skepticism and rumors from [Silicon Valley](/source/Silicon_Valley) commentators,[2][3] Color Labs stopped selling the app at the end of 2012.[4]

## Launch

The group started when co-founders [Bill Nguyen](/source/Bill_Nguyen) and Peter Pham received $41 million in funding. Color was named as a tribute to [Apple](/source/Apple_Inc.)'s color logo from the Apple II. Nguyen described the Apple II as having changed his life when he was seven.[5][*[unreliable source?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources)*] The domain name Color.com was bought in December 2010 for $350,000.[6]

In 2010–2011, Color closed $25 million in funding from [Sequoia Capital](/source/Sequoia_Capital), $9 million from [Bain Capital](/source/Bain_Capital), and $7 million in venture debt from [Silicon Valley Bank](/source/Silicon_Valley_Bank).[7] In September 2011, [Douglas Leone](/source/Douglas_Leone) revealed that Sequoia Capital only invested three days before the scheduled launch of Color.[8]

On March 24, 2011, Color launched its eponymous [mobile app](/source/Mobile_app) in [iOS App Store](/source/App_Store_(iOS)).[1] A week after the launch,[1] Color Labs released an update with significant changes to the iOS App interface—allowing users to see photos from events "Nearby", a "Feed" of relevant photos, and a "History" of groups that users can participate in. Words underneath each icon explaining what they did were also added.

In July 2011, it was reported that [Google](/source/Google) offered to buy Color for $200 million before their first launch, but Color Labs turned down the deal.[9]

## Controversy and demise

When it launched, the application had around 1 million downloads. By September 2011, the service had a little under 100,000 active users.[10][*[failed verification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability)*] In June 2011, less than three months after the company officially launched, Pham left Color,[11] followed quickly by Chief Product Officer [DJ Patil](/source/DJ_Patil).[12]

In the weeks following Color's initial launch, controversy surrounded the startup's $41 million funding and mixed reviews on the product. The initial launch confused users with the application's interface and purpose. Its initial rating in the [App Store](/source/App_Store) was 2 out of 5 stars. In an interview with [Robert Scoble](/source/Robert_Scoble) in April 2011, Pham and Nguyen admitted that Color's launch was a wasted opportunity, sharing: "We threw out a network you don’t know how to get good at…We threw a mountain at people."[13]

In October 2012, media reports indicated that Color's board of directors had voted to shut down the company.[14] Other sources denied that the company was shutting down but suggested that it was possibly preparing to be acquired by another company or for another major transformative event.[15] Reports included that the staff would be sold to Apple for $2 to $7 million.[2][3] In November, Color Labs announced that the app would be shut down at the end of 2012.[4]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-zdnet_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-zdnet_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-zdnet_1-2) O'Grady, Jason (March 24, 2011). ["Color: New social photo app arrives for iOS"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110403004531/http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/color-new-social-photo-app-arrives-for-ios/9838). *[ZDNet](/source/ZDNet)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/color-new-social-photo-app-arrives-for-ios/9838) on April 3, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-thingsD_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-thingsD_2-1) Gannes, Liz; Paczkowski, John (October 18, 2012). ["What's Really Going on With Color: A Small Apple Talent Acquisition"](http://allthingsd.com/20121018/whats-really-going-on-with-color-a-small-apple-talent-acquisition/). *All Things D*. Retrieved June 14, 2013.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bought_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bought_3-1) Taylor, Coleen (November 9, 2012). ["Sources: Apple Paid $7 Million For Color Labs"](https://techcrunch.com/2012/11/19/sources-apple-paid-7-million-for-color-labs/). *Tech Crunch*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-shut_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-shut_4-1) Thomas, Owen (November 20, 2012). ["Color, The $41 Million App, Really Is Shutting Down Now"](http://www.businessinsider.com/color-shutdown-2012-11). Retrieved June 14, 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Quora_5-0)** Nguyen, Bill (March 25, 2011). ["Why is Color named "Color"?"](https://www.quora.com/Color-Labs-startup/Why-is-Color-named-Color). Quora. Retrieved December 14, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-domainnamewire_6-0)** Alleman, Andrew (March 24, 2011). ["Sequoia and Bain Capital-Backed Startup Was $350,000 Color.com Buyer"](http://domainnamewire.com/2011/03/24/sequoia-and-bain-capital-backed-startup-was-350000-color-com-buyer/). DomainNameWire. Retrieved December 15, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wsj_7-0)** McMahan, TY (March 24, 2011). ["Sequoia To Color Labs: Not Since Google Have We Seen This"](https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/03/24/sequoia-to-color-labs-not-since-google-have-we-seen-this/). WSJ. Retrieved December 10, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tcsept2011_8-0)** Rao, Leena (September 18, 2011). ["Sequoia's Doug Leone: We Are 'Thrilled' To Be Investors In Color, 'Stay Tuned' For The Pivot"](https://techcrunch.com/2011/09/18/sequoias-doug-leone-we-are-thrilled-to-be-investors-in-color-stay-tuned-for-the-pivot/). TechCrunch. Retrieved December 10, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tcjuly_9-0)** Arrington, Michael (July 21, 2011). ["Google Tried To Buy Color For $200 Million. Color Said No"](https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/21/google-tried-to-buy-color-for-200-million-color-said-no/). TechCrunch. Retrieved December 11, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-venturebeat_10-0)** Ha, Anthony (April 1, 2011). ["Can Color beat the backlash with an improved interface?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20111229074345/http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/01/color-iphone-update/). Venture Beat. Archived from [the original](https://venturebeat.com/2011/04/01/color-iphone-update/) on December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tcjune_11-0)** Arrington, Michael (June 14, 2011). ["Troubled Startup Color Loses Cofounder Peter Pham"](https://techcrunch.com/2011/06/14/troubled-startup-color-loses-cofounder-peter-pham/). TechCrunch. Retrieved December 10, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Color Labs Chief Product Officer DJ Patil Resigns"](https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/11/color-labs-chief-product-officer-dj-patil-resigns/). 11 July 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-interview_13-0)** Scoble, Robert (April 1, 2011). ["The funding and failures of Color, Silicon Valley's $41 million startup (wrapup of the week of hype and hate)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20111224045318/http://scobleizer.com/2011/04/01/the-funding-and-failures-of-color-silicon-valleys-41-million-startup-wrapup-of-the-week-of-hype-and-hate/). Scobleizer. Archived from [the original](http://scobleizer.com/2011/04/01/the-funding-and-failures-of-color-silicon-valleys-41-million-startup-wrapup-of-the-week-of-hype-and-hate/) on December 24, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-venturebeat101712_14-0)** Bilton, Ricardo (October 17, 2012). ["Color goes dark: Board votes to shut down company, source says"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121018104120/http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/17/more-trouble-for-color-shareholders-and-board-vote-to-wind-down-company/). Venture Beat. Archived from [the original](https://venturebeat.com/2012/10/17/more-trouble-for-color-shareholders-and-board-vote-to-wind-down-company/) on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-venturebeat101712b_15-0)** Bilton, Ricardo (October 17, 2012). ["Even Color doesn't know what's happening at Color"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121019034324/http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/17/color-internal-chaos/). Venture Beat. Archived from [the original](https://venturebeat.com/2012/10/17/color-internal-chaos/) on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2012.

## External links

- [Archived version of the official website](https://web.archive.org/web/20121221195737/http://www.color.com/) at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (archived 21 December 2012)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Color Labs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Labs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Labs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.