In what is definitely a contender for strangest news of the day, The Foundry Group Managing Director Brad Feld has just debuted his own Groupon clone called “Brad Feld’s Amazing Deals.“ He built the clone through Seattle TechStars company Deal Co-Op which successfully pitched him on the “anyone can do daily deals” aspect of their service.
Says Feld:
“During one of our weekly mentoring meetings, they told me they could turn anyone with good business contacts and an online audience into their own Groupon. They asked me if I knew anyone that fit the bill, and I told them I did… me!”
Feld’s first deal is selling a $50 credit for $25 dollars on Boulder’s “social shopping” gear site Giant Nerd and it looks likes he’s got more offers coming soon. The Foundry Group was most recently in the news for the launch of a brand new, second $225 million venture fund. No word on Feld will be receiving any profits from the “Amazing Deals” clone or how long his enthusiasm for the ubiquitous model will last.
While Feld does also have an iPhone app extension of his brand, there’s really not very much further you can go from VCs turning themselves into Groupons.
What’s next? Ron Conway gets his own social network? Guess we’ll just have to stick with the @RonConwayFacts Twitter account for now.
Foundry Group is a venture capital firm focused on making investments in early-stage information technology, Internet and software startups. Their passion is working alongside entrepreneurs to give birth to new technologies and to build those technologies into industry-leading companies. They are centrally located in Boulder, CO, but invest in companies across North America. Their current venture fund of $225m was launched in late 2007 and is managed by four managing directors. Collectively, they have almost five decades of experience...
The best daily deal partner on the web. Every local publisher and organization has the necessary tools to win at daily deal marketing. Do you have an e-mail list or large online audience? Do you have contacts in the business community? Start a Deal Co-op in your city, town or neighborhood to begin monetizing those assets. Current Co-op members include Mom Groups, Dining Guides, Local Publishers, Local Bloggers, Restaurant Groups, Spa Groups, Marketing Companies and growing all the time.
“Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over 20 years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies and later became a venture affiliate of the predecessor to Mobius Venture Capital.” Previously, Brad served as chief technology officer of AmeriData Technologies. AmeriData acquired Feld Technologies, a firm he founded in 1987 that specialized in custom software applications....
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Disrupt Europe: Berlin Hackathon
Berlin, Germany
