May 2011 Archives

In 2004 when Ben and I were cooking  ideas for a new company, we founded MerchantCircle.  We believed that, even though at the time it was not in vogue,  local  advertising and the Yellow Pages industries were ripe for disruption by the Internet. It was not such a popular idea.  Our best of friends told us, "You guys are naive and crazy....but, possibly, if it all works, brilliant!"  With the initial support of a few key supporters, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work.

After nearly seven years of helping millions of local merchants, MerchantCircle is now joining  forces with Reply! -- MerchantCircle has been acquired by Reply! for $60 million.  Here's the MerchantCircle blog post announcing the deal and here's what TechCrunch has to say.

This is a great deal.  The organizations bring much complementary value to the table.  By joining forces, the new combined company provides even greater value to the local communities that they serve.  Congratulations to all -- Reply!, MerchantCircle, the investors (Scale Venture Partners, Rustic Canyon Partners, Steamboat Ventures, IAC), and the individuals that have worked hard over the years.  Many have been previously called out in the aforementioned blog post, but there are many others that have made this happen, including Doug Kilponen, Darren Waddell,  Wes Mitchell, and Ray Landgraf.

As for me, I am grateful and thankful for having worked with these people.  While Jason and I have recently moved on to start a new company, Charity Blossom, we look forward to Reply!'s continued success with the help of Ben and MerchantCircle.

I know next to nothing about women's shoes.  I am, however, fascinated by the obsession some of my friends have with them.  (As far as I know, it's only my female friends but I'm sure there are few men out there too!)  Nonetheless, I respectfully acknowledge the relative importance shoes play in the lives of many, even though I don't quite get it.

However, today, my cousin Kelly  just informed me (via facebook of course) that:

"Super excited to announce Le Bunny Bleu's Bunny Giver Campaign! 15% DISCOUNT and an ADDITIONAL 15% of your purchase will be donated to The Leukemia Lymphoma Society! It doesn't get much better than this! :) Shop guilt-free for fun, affordable & comfy shoes while helping me raise money to save lives!!!! Thank you for your support. Please feel free to share with your friends! Discount Code: Bunny Giver" 

Why do I care? Well, Kelly is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Team in Training. She's doing the Vineman 70.3 -- a half marathon triathlon. I've been following her training on facebook and I'm exhausted just reading about it. I'm also personally moved because she is dedicating her efforts in memory of my father and grandmother, who both passed away this past year.

 You can donate directly to her cause here.

Better yet, buy some shoes, get a discount, and Le Bunny Bleu will make a donation.

Everyone wins!