Frog History

The eZanga Frog logo comes from a unique, yet tragic, event ending in the death of a real frog. And so it begins...

Rich and Beth Kahn, the founders of eZanga, were having their house built on a golf course in Delaware. While the foundation of the house was being constructed, a frog jumped into the wet concrete! With no way to save the frog, he was left roasting in the sun. Even though the frog died, he will be remembered forever. Yes this is sad, but true.

Because of this frog's tragic story, Beth decided to dedicate one of their bathrooms to his memory, considering it would have been the spot where the frog had passed. In addition to the bathroom décor, Rich delegated Beth to choose a mascot for the site, and naturally she chose the frog.

Beth wanted to create a search engine where contests and prizes were offered to their loyal members. The basic concept was to design a marketing program that would encourage members to refer as many people as possible to the website, while giving them more chances to win cash and prizes each month.

Here is a picture of the actual frog (still alive) sitting on the concrete foundation floor. Beth and Rich tried to find someone with a ladder, but no one was there to help.

	Beth started her frog search. She began noticing frog landscaping statues throughout her neighborhood. Frogs appeared to be a popular trend!


	Beth started taking pictures and eventually found a frog she could use to create the website’s first logo.


	While Beth was looking for the frog logo, her husband Rich was building out the web site. They agreed on the frog design Beth found and decided it was time to get creative. Rich found a great deal and had the logo designed for only two hundred dollars!

	When eZanga.com finally became a full time job for Rich and Angel, a decision was made to hire the Skins Factory to create a more professional logo.


	The eZanga logo led to the creation of our frog mascot.

The owners of eZanga originally wanted to have something to give to the trade show attendees. Of course our frog made the most sense as an eZanga keepsake!

After many prototypes, the "squishy" frog was chosen.

After all the hard work and dedication put towards the website, it was finally time to have some fun! Rich came across a 3D animator, (a gentleman we will keep a secret, but let’s just say he works for top players), who designs games for major gaming consoles. The animator transformed the frog mascot into a 3D model with the intent to dress him accordingly with each holiday occasion, and later turn him into an animation.

eZanga's History

The most famous and frequently asked question we receive is, "What exactly does 'eZanga' mean?" Originally we thought the term ‘eZanga’ was indefinable with a completely nonsensical origin, but we were wrong.

The story begins in 1997. Rich needed to come up with a name for the search engine he designed. Initially, Rich wanted a name with no defined meaning. He came up with the name "eZang.com" but did not have the funding for the startup. From 1997 to 1999, Rich spent time traveling the country to raise money. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful. A few years later, Rich and Beth were ready to start up a search engine with a simpler design and a smaller investment they could afford. They tried to use Rich's original idea, "eZang.com" but it was already taken by a company in Japan. In order to use the original concept in some form, Beth decided to add an "a" to the end.

On May 29, 2003 we became eZanga.com.

Ok, so what does it mean? An eZanga user has submitted some valuable information to help us decipher the true meaning of eZanga: in Hindu, ‘Zanga’ translates to ‘tempo, beat’ and ‘bell-ringer’ in Aramaic. Considering we’re such an upbeat company, this seems fitting! Another ‘Zanga’ reference is the tribe in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, Lost World. For those who are wondering, Lost World is a story about the survival of prehistoric animals, which ties in with our mascot frog, Jimmy Hoppa!