A real person
Usually me. I’ll help you get set up, load your contacts and learn the shortcuts.
OUR STORY
It started with a pickup game that kept not happening.
Hi, I’m Jonathon Lunardi, the founder of SMSGO. If you’re a customer, you’ve probably already gotten a text from me: verifying your account, loading your contacts, or showing you a shortcut.
You might also find me on the field as a referee for professional Ultimate Frisbee, where teams trust me to make game-deciding calls. I bring that same responsibility to SMSGO. You can trust me with your group and your contacts.
Jonathon
Founder, SMSGO LLC · Silver Spring, Maryland
01 · WHO’S BEHIND IT
Almost three decades building for the web.
I studied Management Information Systems and computer science at the University of Oklahoma, where I ran the Sooner Information Network, the student portal, working directly for the CIO. Then I moved to Washington, DC, where I’ve lived for about 20 years. My first job here was at the American Council on Education, building the internal site its 300 staff used for grants and procurement.
I was one of the early users of AOL and Prodigy, and later LinkedIn and Facebook. I’ve watched the technology change and kept my skills growing with it. SMSGO is what all of that turned into.
- The dial-up yearsAn early user of AOL and Prodigy
- University of OklahomaMIS and computer science. Ran the Sooner Information Network for the CIO
- Washington, DCBuilt the staff site for the American Council on Education’s 300 employees
- On the fieldUFA referee for the DC Breeze, making the calls in professional Ultimate
- TodayFounder of SMSGO LLC, Silver Spring, Maryland
02 · THE PROBLEM
Will there be a game tonight? Nobody knew.
I also play Ultimate Frisbee. Our Wednesday and Friday pickup games in Silver Spring kept falling apart. Some people were on Facebook, some on GroupMe, some only on email, and some in a text thread. There was no one place everyone would actually see.
So nobody knew if we’d have enough players. People drove out and stood around. On bad-weather days it was worse. Knowing for sure, before anyone leaves the house, turned out to be the whole point.
Will there be a game tonight or no? How the heck would I know. And since I am the ‘coordinator’ I show up anyway. When other people show up and a game doesn’t make, well, those people may not show up next time. What a mess when all we want to do is have some fun.
03 · THE IDEA
Not another app. Just a text.
Everybody has a phone, and anybody can text back. So I built SMSGO on plain text messaging instead of a new app. Members reply YES privately, SMSGO counts, and when we hit our number, everyone gets “GAME IS ON!” If we don’t, we call it before anyone drives out.
1
One text to everyone
A private text that lands right on their phone.
2
Private replies
Each YES or NO comes only to the organizer, and SMSGO keeps the count.
3
A real answer
“GAME IS ON!” the moment there are enough players. Confidence, not guesswork.
04 · THE PROOF
Our own game, one season.
Silver Spring Ultimate still runs on SMSGO every Wednesday and Friday. Here’s the 2026 season so far, every game, straight from the database.
58games scheduled
47“GAME IS ON!” 81%
11called off early, before anyone drove out
442spots filled: 403 YES replies plus 39 guests
889STATUS checks: “how many are in?”
11straight weeks with a game, through Oct 2
EVERY GAME, JAN 28 – OCT 2, 2026
✓GAME IS ON✕Called off
Hover or tap a game for the date and headcount. Silver Spring Ultimate, 2026 season. Test events left out.
161 people have joined Silver Spring Ultimate since July 2025, and 80 are active today.
22,682 messages sent and received for our group since July 2025.
05 · BEYOND FRISBEE
Then other people wanted it.
I had a feeling this would be useful far beyond Frisbee, so I built SMSGO as a platform any group or business could use. If you need direct access to your people, to message them and hear back, that’s what SMSGO does.
Church groupsPTAs and schoolsHomeschool co-opsWeddingsFuneralsSports teamsBook clubsNonprofitsSmall businesses
NOT JUST FOR ORGANIZERS
An Airbnb host in Stillwater uses SMSGO to text past guests whenever he has open dates or a discount. If you have people you need to reach by text or email, it works for you too.
So so so happy I came across your platform!
Beyond happy with it! Thank you so much Jon!
It grew by listening.
Almost every feature since the first version came from an organizer asking for it:
- Run your group from your phone with text commands like
#all,@Nameand#ADD - Formatted emails with headings, colors, buttons and photos
- Members choose text or email, and switch whenever they like
- Recruiters, scheduled messages, polls and more
06 · HOW YOU PAY
No subscriptions. On purpose.
I hate monthly subscriptions. I forget about them, or I go over my allotment and get charged extra. I didn’t want SMSGO to work that way.
With SMSGO, you pay when you use it and you don’t pay when you don’t. It’s that simple. I never worry about what I might be wasting, and I don’t want you to either.
$0.03 per text segment
$0.003 per email
$5 to start, about 166 standard text segments
$0 with no messaging activity
See pricing
07 · MY PROMISE
Founder-level support. That won’t change.
I still do a lot of the customer support myself. Where else do you get the founder on the other end of the line, and a direct say in what gets built next?
Your ideas get built
Ask for a feature or an improvement. Many of today’s tools started that way.
Your list stays yours
We never sell or share it, and we never contact your people.
Fair prices
Excellent service and affordable prices. That’s the deal, and it won’t change.
linkedin.com/in/lunardi
Silver Spring, Maryland
Start for Only $5About 166 standard text segments. No subscription.
Our mission: make “are we doing this?” go away.