Recognizing Seismic Shift in Way Consumers Connect, Investors Commit $3.35 Million to Mobile Gifting Platform
Los Angeles, CA –- (JS2 Communications) -- June 1, 2010 -- Giiv.com, the rapidly growing mobile gifting platform, today announced it has secured $3.35 million in Series A funding. Investors supporting this round of funding include TomorrowVentures, Eric Schmidt’s seed and early-stage venture capital firm; Haim Saban’s Saban Ventures, Founder Collective and SK Telecom Ventures, the U.S.-based investing arm of SK Telecom. SK Telecom developed the popular mobile gifting service Gifticon in Korea, which allows millions of Korean consumers to wirelessly send gift vouchers for items from leading retailers, including Starbucks, Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, 7-Eleven, Baskin-Robbins and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
“Giiv.com represents a seismic shift in the way that consumers can give gifts in the U.S.,” said Patrick Chung, Managing Director, SK Telecom Ventures. “As we have already seen in Korea with Gifticon, consumers want to send quality gifts to friends and family any time they choose, unencumbered by the constraints of traditional gifting. As text messaging continues to surpass face-to-face contact, email and even phone calls as the primary means of communication, Giiv.com is positioned to be a must-use service for consumers to stay connected.”
Based on the simple idea that giving should be fun, fast and easy, Giiv.com’s “texting with benefits” service features gift options from retailers including Amazon.com, TOMS Shoes, GlobalGiving, Teleflora, Fandango, Barnes&Noble.com, and Wine.com, with many more to come. To use the service, the sender simply visits www.giiv.com, downloads Giiv.com’s iPhone app or visits Facebook, selects a gift and enters in the recipient’s cell phone number with a personal message of up to 20 characters. The recipient then instantly receives a text message with a gift code to redeem in-store or online.
“Our customers tell us Giiv.com provides the easiest, fastest and greenest option for consumers to delight their friends,” said Michelle Crames, Founder and CEO of Giiv.com. “We are excited to expand and enhance Giiv.com’s offering as we bring on additional retailer partners, launch new products and services and grow our team.”
Before Giiv.com, Crames was a Board Member of Spice/MCorpGlobal, a multi-billion dollar media and telecommunications firm headquartered in Asia; consulted to Ideation Acquisition, a digital media special purpose acquisition corporation; and served as CEO of Lean Forward Media LLC, an interactive media and entertainment company. She has also worked at Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Studios, and McKinsey & Company. Giiv.com’s co-founder and senior advisor Diane Reichenberger previously was COO of Rock & Republic; CEO of Dualstar Entertainment Group; President of L.A. Gear, Inc.; S.V.P. and General Manager - Women's Division of Joe Boxer, Corp. and has held key management positions in several global companies including The Gap, Inc., The North Face, Levi Strauss & Co., Mast Industries and Esprit de Corp.
About Giiv.com
Founded in 2009, Giiv.com is based on a simple idea: that giving a gift should be fun, fast, and easy. Giiv.com lets consumers give gifts from their favorite retailers anytime, anywhere, instantaneously. The sender simply selects a gift and enters in the recipient's cell phone number with a personal message. The lucky recipient then instantly receives a text message with a gift code to redeem in store or online. No paper, no plastic, no shipping, no waiting!
About SK telecom ventures
Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, SK telecom ventures (www.sktvc.com) is a dedicated venture capital fund with US $100m under management that looks to make financial returns on investments through funding internet, mobile, and digital media companies that can leverage the fund's sole limited partner, SK telecom. SK telecom (www.sktelecom.com) has an international reputation for delivering innovative media, mobile, and internet services in the cutting-edge market of South Korea. It is leveraging its technology expertise and operational know-how to advance overseas into new markets such as the United States and China. SK telecom ventures is based in the United States but pursues investment opportunities globally and is willing to lead or co-lead investment rounds.
Back to Press Center
