Belly (loyalty program)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Customer loyalty program |
| Founded | 1 August 2011 in Chicago, United States |
| Founder | Logan LaHive, Craig Ulliott |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Area served | United States, Canada |
| Products | Customer loyalty platform with in-store iPad and mobile app |
| Parent | Hatch Loyalty (until acquisition of product line assets by Mobivity Holdings Corp in 2018) |
| Website | web |
Belly was a customer loyalty program launched in August 2011 in Chicago by Logan LaHive and Craig Ulliott, initially supported by a $3 million investment from Chicago venture capital firm Lightbank.
The platform provided merchants with a loyalty solution featuring an in-store iPad and a mobile app for consumers. For a monthly fee ranging between $50 and $100, merchants received hardware, promotional tools, and performance analytics. Customers accumulated loyalty points by scanning QR codes during visits, which could be redeemed according to each merchant’s rules.
History
By May 2012, Belly had partnered with 1,400 merchants in multiple cities such as Chicago, Austin, Milwaukee, Madison, Washington D.C., Phoenix, New York, and Boston, boasting 200,000 active users. The company secured an additional $10 million funding round from Andreessen Horowitz and Silicon Valley Bank.
In September 2012, Belly was selected as a launch partner for Apple Wallet, and a year later, in September 2013, it integrated with Google Wallet.
During August 2013, Belly completed a Series B-1 funding round totaling $12.1 million, led by investors including New Enterprise Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, DAG Ventures, Lightbank, Cisco Systems, and 7-Ventures (a branch of 7-Eleven).
Belly expanded internationally into the Canadian market in June 2014. Two months later, in August 2014, 7-Eleven adopted Belly’s rewards program across 2,600 stores but ended the partnership in November 2016.
Logan LaHive stepped down as CEO in November 2016, with COO Dan Gloede taking over the leadership role.
In November 2018, Mobivity Holdings Corp acquired the product line assets of Belly from Hatch Loyalty.
Further reading
- Pletz, John. "Loyalty firm Belly cuts some jobs while adding engineers," Crain's Chicago Business, May 21, 2015.