Bownty gives you best value for money experiences
No matter where in the world you are, Bownty promises to find you the best value for money experiences.
The deal aggregator site Bownty helps clean the clutter created by hundreds of providers of discounted experiences. Bownty makes it possible to only receive preferred deals, in a frequency that suits you, on the medium you’re happiest with.
Bownty was founded in 2011 by a strong, competent team and was initially backed up by a 3 mio. DKR investment from the Danish venture fund SEED Capital and a couple of business angels. One of their first moves was to ramp up marketing and buy the Danish deal site Cityscoop, securing a head start in regards to customer base. On this foundation, the company was ready to conquer Denmark – and Europe.
Active part in advancing the industry
During its lifetime, Bownty has taken several steps to improve the user experience for the customers and businesses involved. In 2012, the company was among the first movers in the industry to welcome and actively support the formulation of clear industry regulations. This happened as the voluntary association Global Daily Deal Association (GDDA) launched a set of rules intended to ensure fair trade for both consumers and businesses. Thus, Bownty supported an effort to create a common policy on the global deal-market, standardizing the trading process and thereby improving the experience and trust of all parties involved.
“The entire purpose of getting Bownty started was to help consumers make better choices. It seemed very much against our values not to help create transparency – when we actually could. So I was quick to assist in the formation the association, and served on its board for a year and a half,” Steffen Frølund, founder and CEO of Bownty says
Investment paved the way for European expansion
After participating in the startup acceleration program at Accelerace, Bownty received another investment. This time it amounted to 6,6 mio. DKR, and once again the money came from SEED Capital as well as Accelerace Invest.
The money was earmarked to help make the deal market even bigger and increase users’ ability to access relevant and exciting deals. At the same time, the investment opened the doors to Bownty’s desire for further expansion.
The dream of further expansion was to a great degree fulfilled when the company bought their Spanish competitor Yunait last summer. With the acquisition, Bownty is now present in several European countries and has more than 2 mio. users representing yearly sales of about 135 mio. DKR.
“Yunait was acquired with a “make or buy” mindset. We could either invest in marketing with our existing engine, and have time and risk against us, or we could enter the southern European markets in one scoop. We reached a deal structure that tilted the overall balance in favor of acquiring Yunait versus entering through marketing. Time to breakeven on the cash investment was crucial,” Steffen Frølund explains about the acquisition
Now, the focus is on further developing the business, and once again fulfilling customers’ needs is the driving force. Bownty has developed a location-based service, allowing customers to see relevant deals that can be used immediately.
Meet Steffen Frølund and hear his story at TechBBQ in the Opera in Copenhagen May 20
