Cash Texts Review and Profile

CashTexts was a mobile-advertising and referral-marketing company launched in August 2011. The business was co-founded by Kenny Gardner and Kristian Hoenicke, with Hoenicke initially serving as president. Atticus Killough later served as president and described the company as operating in the United States and Canada. Unlike a conventional product-based direct-selling company, CashTexts connected advertisers with consumers who agreed to receive promotional text messages containing coupons and offers from restaurants, retailers, entertainment businesses and other merchants.

Membership was free. Participants completed demographic and interest profiles and could select when and how frequently they wanted to receive promotional messages. CashTexts advertised payments of five cents for each qualifying text received, with a maximum of five paid messages per day. Members who accumulated at least $5 were paid through a branded prepaid debit card. Because the number of messages depended on advertiser demand and demographic targeting, many participants received substantially fewer than five messages per day.

CashTexts also used a five-level unilevel referral structure. Members received additional payments when people in their referral organizations received advertising messages, extending through five levels. The company also offered commissions for referring businesses that purchased mobile-advertising campaigns. Compensation therefore came from advertising revenue and referral activity rather than participant enrollment fees or purchases of a proprietary product.

The company encountered difficulties attracting enough advertisers to support its promised message volume. In March 2012, CashTexts announced that Gardner and Hoenicke were stepping away from corporate management. Gardner reportedly left while undergoing treatment for throat cancer, while Hoenicke left to pursue local marketing ventures and attend to family matters. Killough continued with CashTexts through August 2013.