About RougePages
It all started when Jason wanted to get a haircut. He had just come back from a year in London and wanted to find a good barbershop. Wouldn't it be great if there was a comprehensive listing of barbershops online? He asked Matthew if he knew whether anything like this existed.
Matthew didn't. He was relatively new to Baton Rouge and just wanted to find out where to catch a good band. While he agreed that a guide to barbershops would be useful, he thought a guide to local events would be even better. Matthew asked Jason if he would be interested in discussing this further, and Jason invited him to join him for a drink at the Chimes.
The next night was so clichéd that it could have been pulled straight from a bad movie. Jason and Matthew met for a drink, threw ideas around excitedly, and sketched a rough business plan on the back of a napkin. They had a concept; all they needed was a name. Matthew emailed Jason the next morning with his inspired choice that captured both the comprehensive nature of their listing with a distinctly local character: RougePages.
"It's like the yellow pages, but for events. In Baton Rouge. RougePages."
Driven by their vision, the pair worked furiously over the next two months to give life to their concept. Matthew created the technology and Jason set up the business. On April 15, 2004, the people of Baton Rouge had one good reason to be a bit less gloomy about Tax Day: the most powerful, comprehensive guide to Baton Rouge events had been born.
Things were going full steam. An email to Jason's many friends and contacts was working its way around the city, and an appearance on WRKF helped generate thousands of visitors and many advertising inquiries within the first week.
But, as John Lennon said, "life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." Real life caught up with the duo. Jason's work and upcoming marriage came to occupy most of his time, and Matthew quickly learned that money was easier to earn working on other people's websites. RougePages remained, but over the months it became a shadow of its former self.
Until now.
On September 1, 2005, just in time for football season, RougePages was reborn. Matthew, after over a year of contract work, rewrote RougePages from scratch using everything he had learned about creating websites. This time, things were done right. RougePages was faster and much easier to use.
The RougePages of today is built to grow. We hope to add new sections and features to keep RougePages fun, useful, and always interesting. If you'd like RougePages become even more useful, you're always welcome to submit an event, create an account, or tell us what you think. We'd love to hear from you.