Hashtag #money. The business of the pound sign

Anyone can use the platform’s basic features for freebut businesses can pay for services like embedding a Tagboard page on their site or using more than one hashtags. The startup counts Samsung (SSNLF), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Audi (AUDVF) and Nike (NKE) among its 1,000 clients.

And it has one important supporter: Messina, who joined the board in June.

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Decker points to the Super Bowl as an example of the hashtag’s proliferation. In 2012, 7% of Super Bowl ads featured hashtags. In 2014, 58% of did, according to Decker.

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