Where does the name goBalto come from?

Whether it’s a customer demo, investor pitch, friends, family and random folks on the internet – we get this questions all the time. Where does the name goBalto come from and what does it mean?  Here’s the story.

In January 1925, doctors realized that a potentially deadly diphtheria epidemic was poised to sweep through Nome’s young people. The only serum that could stop the outbreak was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand miles (1,600 km) away. The engine of the only aircraft that could quickly deliver the medicine was frozen and would not start. After considering all of the alternatives, officials decided to move the medicine by sled dog.  More than 20 mushers and their dog sled teams eventually took part in a Pony Express-type relay, battling against temperatures that rarely rose above -40 degrees Fahrenheit and winds that were sometimes strong enough to knock over both the dogs and the sleds. On February 1, 1925, the package was handed off for the last time to a musher named Gunnar Kassen in the village of Bluff. Kassen’s sled dog team, led by Balto, set off to cover the final leg to Nome.

Soon after the team left Nenana, a blinding blizzard began, dropping temperatures to -50 degrees and generating wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Kassen found himself unable to navigate, and almost gave up all hope of making it to Nome in time. But Balto knew the trail well, and, following his instincts, led the team through the cold and snow.

Over the next 20 hours, Balto slowly led his sled dog team over the final 53 miles. On February 2 at 5.30 AM, the team finally arrived in Nome. The dogs were too tired to even bark, but the serum had successfully been delivered — only seven days after leaving Anchorage, and just 127 1/2 hours after leaving Nenana.

The press had been following the story for days, and Balto and the team instantly became famous. Balto appeared on the front cover of newspapers all over the world, and shortly afterward appeared in a short Hollywood movie “Balto and the Race to Nome.” Kassen took Balto and the team on a nationwide tour, which concluded with the unveiling of a life size statue of Balto in New York City’s Central Park on December 17, 1925. Sculpted by F.G. Roth, the bronze sculpture is New York’s only statue commemorating a dog. The statue includes a plaque with an inscription that reads:

“Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed anti toxin 600 miles over treacherous waters, through arctic blizzards, from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925 – Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence“.

Our partners and goBalto are navigating through the treacherous landscape of complex clinical trials and adherence to outdated “been there, done that” thinking. When I saw the word “fidelity” associated with goBalto, I couldn’t have been more pleased at our namesake. (Fidelity is defined as “faithfulness to a person, cause or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.”)  The company’s namesake reflects our commitment and loyalty to leveraging innovate and smart technology to get medicines to those in need faster. For me personally? I simply didn’t want to be called something so generic as simplestudystartup corporation or clinicaltrialstartup, inc.

Before there was a goBalto…

When Jae originally founded goBalto in late 2008, it’s original name was Pacbook. The “pac” represented the initials of his children Preston, Adalyn Chung. He thought he was being clever by appending the word “book” in the end, as a nod to Facebook and Pacbook’s intent to do something “social.” When his wife realized the company was called Pacbook, she told him to quickly find a replacement (definitely his smarter half.) Jae subsequently engaged a leading SF based design firm - Hot Studio to assist in branding, and following an intense afternoon of brainstorming, the name goBalto was born. (He originally wanted Balto, but the team couldn’t track down the owner of the URL.) And the logo? They are chromosomes. An early angel investor thought they were bowling pins.

About the Author

Jae is the founder/CEO of goBalto, a venture-backed SF based company that delivers easy-to-use web products for clinical research. Prior to goBalto he co-founded Celltrion a leading biopharmaceutical supplier and was a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company. He’s a published author and winner of the Bio-IT World Award for innovation in 2010. When he’s not disrupting the klugey eclinical space he’s mentoring startup at Rock Health and hanging with his 3 kids and wife.