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Raise.com

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Raise Marketplace
Type of businessPrivately owned
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Area servedUnited States
Founder(s)George Bousis, Bradley Wasz
CEOGeorge Bousis
IndustryeCommerce
URLwww.raise.com
Launched2013

Raise.com is an e-commerce platform owned and operated by Raise that enables third-party individuals to sell Gift Cards on a fixed-price online marketplace alongside Raise's regular offerings.[1] The company is based in Chicago, Illinois, and was launched in 2013 by founder George Bousis, who still remains the Executive Chairman and CEO.

History

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Raise.com was initially conceived as a spinoff of another service created by Bousis and Bradley Wasz, called CouponTrade, which was founded in 2010.[2]

Since that time, the marketplace became more amenable to Bousis' idea. As stated by Crain's Chicago Business column, "a 2009 federal law prevented gift cards from expiring for five years; cards went from a magnetic stripe to all-digital in 2010; and advances in mobile technology made it possible to buy and sell cards on a smartphone."[3]

Founded in 2013, Raise.com received $18 million in Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Funding.[2][4] A second round of funding in 2015 saw $56M in Series B funding from New Enterprise Associates.[5][6][7][8]

In August 2015, Raise.com acquired Tastebud Technologies for an undisclosed amount. Its CEO, Tyler Spalding, took the Chief Strategy Officer role within Raise.com.[9][10]

In June 2016, Raise acquired Slide for an undisclosed amount in stock, a company which allows people to store gift cards in a digital wallet/passbook. Raise also announced plans to open a New York office.[11][12]

As of 2016, the company is valued at about $1 billion, as presented by the New York Times.[5][13]

In September 2017, Raise raised $60M in Round C funding to expand its mobile payment network.[14]

In late 2018, Raise appointed a new CEO, Jay Klauminzer, a marketplace veteran from Groupon and DoorDash. [15]

Business model

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Raise.com takes a 12% cut from the sale of every gift card.[16]

In the period between funding – in 2014, Raise.com released a mobile app (iOS only) version of its marketplace.[17][18]

Raise.com also has partnerships with "over a dozen undisclosed retailers so far who are interested in the sorts [of] consumer shopping insights Raise can provide."[6][16]

Raise has a one-year money back guarantee on purchases made directly through the marketplace.

In 2020, the company also launched two new products based on learnings from their marketplace. Slide, a mobile payments app, offers 4% cash back at a few hundred retailers. Users receive a 1% bonus when adding funds to their account (which also speeds checkout). Users select a merchant, enter the amount of spend, and are then issued a barcode that can be scanned at the register or typed in online. Slide peaked at #17 on the iOS store in December 2020. rZero is a fraud detection platform that was originally built for Raise to address gift card fraud, but it's now used widely across FinTech and other high risk use cases.

Gift card fraud

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Some users of Raise.com have experienced gift card fraud, typically executed by people who steal items under the return receipt requirements of stores and then requesting gift cards.[19][20] Generally, customer service regarding fraudulent gift cards receives minimal complaints, and most receive a 100%+ refund. As AdvisoryHQ states, "Many of the negative Raise reviews on this review site are from buyers who waited until after Raise's 100-day money back guarantee had expired before trying to use their gift card – only to discover that the card was invalid or had a different value than expected."[21][22] Now the company offers a 365-day money-back guarantee instead.

While Raise has not publicly commented on this, their terms of service state that any user who attempts to sell an "invalid card" will be subjected to a sale price reversal and may be liable for the 12% sales commission. Additionally, the account holder may be charged a "card refund fee" in the greater amount – $20 or 15% of the gift card sale price.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "3,000+ Brands, Always On Sale". www.raise.com. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
  2. ^ a b Perez, Sarah. "Gift Card Marketplace Raise.com Gives Itself A Raise With $18.1 Million In New Funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  3. ^ "The amazing rise of Raise". 8 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  4. ^ "The Holiday Season Isn't Over Yet for Retail". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  5. ^ a b "11 Chicago tech companies in the billion dollar club". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  6. ^ a b Perez, Sarah (22 January 2015). "Gift Card Marketplaces Raise Grabs $56 Million From NEA And Others". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  7. ^ Bertoni, Steven. "Gift Card Marketplace Raise Snags $56 MM Series B: Valuation Tops $500 MM". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  8. ^ Sky, Blue. "Raise Marketplace's $615 million valuation means further 'validation'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  9. ^ "Raise tastes its first acquisition with Tastebud Technologies". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  10. ^ "Raise Marketplace Inc.: Private Company Information – Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  11. ^ "Raise acquires New York-based Slide app". 23 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  12. ^ "Raise acquires Slide, announces plans for New York office". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  13. ^ Times, The New York (23 August 2015). "50 Companies That May Be the Next Start-Up Unicorns". Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  14. ^ "Raise Secures $60 Million in Series C Funding Round, Led by Accel, to Drive Growth and Expand Mobile Payments Network". www.businesswire.com. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  15. ^ "Raise founder Bousis hires a new CEO from DoorDash". Crain's Chicago Business. 2018-11-05. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  16. ^ a b Rogers, Bruce. "George Bousis' Raise Creates Cash System For Gift Cards". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  17. ^ Perez, Sarah. "Raise.com's New App Lets You Buy Discounted Gift Cards To Instantly Save While Shopping". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  18. ^ "Gift Card Marketplace Raise.com Launches Mobile App to Revolutionize Retail, Reveals Backing from Bessemer Venture Partners | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  19. ^ "The Role of Phony Returns in Gift Card Fraud – Krebs on Security". krebsonsecurity.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  20. ^ "Raise.com". www.sitejabber.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  21. ^ "Any experience with Raise.com?? • /r/Frugal". reddit. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  22. ^ "Raise.com Review | What Is Raise and Is It Legit? Raise Gift Card Reviews". 2016-06-30. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  23. ^ "Raise.com". www.raise.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
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