BuyWithMe
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Social e-commerce, group buying |
| Founded | May 2009 |
| Founder | Andrew Moss, Seth Rosen |
| Fate | Acquired by Gilt Groupe and merged into Gilt City |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | United States (including Boston, San Diego, Washington, DC) |
Key people | Jim Crowley (CEO from January 2011) |
| Products | Daily deals platform |
| Parent | Gilt Groupe |
| Website | buywithme |
BuyWithMe was a pioneer in the social e-commerce sector and emerged as the first significant rival to the group buying platform Groupon. Originating in Boston and subsequently relocating its headquarters to New York City, BuyWithMe allowed consumers to capitalize on collective purchasing power to obtain discounts from local businesses through an online platform.
Introduced in May 2009, BuyWithMe was acquired by Gilt Groupe in November 2011 and subsequently merged into Gilt's daily deals division known as Gilt City.
History
BuyWithMe provided weekly-lasting daily deals distributed via email, its website, and collaborations with partners such as Boston.com. Each deal required a minimum number of participants to activate, guaranteeing merchants a certain level of sales.
The company was established by entrepreneurs from the Boston area, including Andrew Moss and Seth Rosen, and secured $5.5 million in funding during 2009. In 2010, it attracted $36.5 million in venture capital investments from firms like Matrix Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and Pinnacle Ventures. Starting operations in Boston, BuyWithMe expanded to cities including San Diego and Washington, DC, reaching nine markets by the end of 2009. Notable collaborations included integration with location-based service Foursquare.
Jim Crowley took over as CEO in January 2011. By mid-2011, BuyWithMe aimed to enhance customer retention by acquiring a company specializing in card-linked offers. However, challenges in securing additional venture capital funding led to its acquisition by Gilt Groupe.
Following the purchase, the original founders transitioned to new projects such as Booster by Custom Ink.