GrandCentral was founded in late 2005 by Craig Walker and Vincent Paquet, who had worked closely together for years while running internet telephony pioneer Dialpad Communications. After being acquired by Internet giant Yahoo! in June 2005, they suspected there were other problems that could be solved using next-generation communications services and both missed the intensity of the start-up environment. Craig was fresh off a flight at San Francisco's International Airport when the big idea struck. Back on solid ground (and with better cell phone reception), Craig muddled his way through three separate voicemail boxes - one for his cell phone, one for his work phone, and one for his Blackberry. Three numbers to dial, three passwords to enter, three inboxes to check. He knew that millions of people shared his frustration. And he knew there had to be a better way.

    Together, Craig and Vincent laid the plans, hired the team, and started building a new company that would let users roll all their phone numbers (and voicemail boxes) into one.