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Facebook Offered to Buy Scvngr for $80M: Could Have Powered Facebook Deals

36 points by sliggity 15y ago

jsavimbi 15y ago
If true, they should've taken the money. I don't see much coming from that Scvngr team other than marketing themselves as the next ___ for ___.
- staunch 15y ago
  Not if it was $60-$80 million in Facebook stock at a $100 billion valuation.
- spdy 15y ago
  Yes this is one of the ideas that only survive if they have a fast exit. It`s a neat idea but it does not scale. The whole "coupon" space is tainted by groupon Take the money say "Thank you" join Facebook stay there for a while and get exposed to totaly new ideas and leave with a team after the IPO.
  - commandar 15y ago
    Scvngr always struck me as more of a Foursquare competitor than Groupon. Honestly, I thought they had a lot of really good ideas, and they leveraged game mechanics in a really interesting way, but, unfortunately, they just didn't ever have the user base that makes that sort of service feel worthwhile.
    - mikeryan 15y ago
      Scvngr always struck me as more of a Foursquare competitor than Groupon. Scvngr was more of a location service. LevelUp seems to be a bit of a pivot into the daily deals space.
    - jsavimbi 15y ago
      Scvngr was able to present itself as beng in the running for a certain type of unproven service that was sexy for a very limited time and Foursquare, with many years and multiple incarnations before that was and is able to corner that particular and still unproven market. Scvngr looks like it tried to leapfrog its way ahead with their pivot but I haven't heard any news from them in awhile. The difference between the two companies, if I would sum it up for myself, is that Den and Naveen actually believe in what they are doing is for a limited amount of people to really enjoy and not a be-all for everyone scaling across every knook and cranny of the country. It really is a social service for certain type of people, mechanics and all. Scvngr, on the other hand is what? A copy cat app producer headed up some kid relying on Trevor, who while a good developer, is just another guy. No passion for what they're doing, no story, no originality, no insight, no humanity. Foursquare for all its warts is trying to solve a problem for people and enhance their lives; Scvngr is just trying to make a buck an I don't think that's lost on anyone.
0x12 15y ago
Unconfirmed, that doesn't amount to much. And if true and they said 'no' they must have had their reasons, it all depends on the total package, not just on the amount. It most likely wasn't 80 million in cash, no strings attached.
ja27 15y ago
I wonder how many actual active users they have. I know I downloaded their apps and did a couple activities but quit pretty quickly. Also, I originally tried them based on a piece of print advertising I saw somewhere, which makes me think they are spending a lot per user acquired.
adelevie 15y ago
If true, it would have been a major exit for DreamIt. Assuming DreamIt's stake was diluted to 2%, that'd be $1.6 million from a $~20,000 investment.

36 points by sliggity 15y ago

If true, they should've taken the money. I don't see much coming from that Scvngr team other than marketing themselves as the next ___ for ___.

staunch 15y ago
Not if it was $60-$80 million in Facebook stock at a $100 billion valuation.
spdy 15y ago
Yes this is one of the ideas that only survive if they have a fast exit. It`s a neat idea but it does not scale. The whole "coupon" space is tainted by groupon Take the money say "Thank you" join Facebook stay there for a while and get exposed to totaly new ideas and leave with a team after the IPO.
- commandar 15y ago
  Scvngr always struck me as more of a Foursquare competitor than Groupon. Honestly, I thought they had a lot of really good ideas, and they leveraged game mechanics in a really interesting way, but, unfortunately, they just didn't ever have the user base that makes that sort of service feel worthwhile.
  - mikeryan 15y ago
    Scvngr always struck me as more of a Foursquare competitor than Groupon. Scvngr was more of a location service. LevelUp seems to be a bit of a pivot into the daily deals space.
  - jsavimbi 15y ago
    Scvngr was able to present itself as beng in the running for a certain type of unproven service that was sexy for a very limited time and Foursquare, with many years and multiple incarnations before that was and is able to corner that particular and still unproven market. Scvngr looks like it tried to leapfrog its way ahead with their pivot but I haven't heard any news from them in awhile. The difference between the two companies, if I would sum it up for myself, is that Den and Naveen actually believe in what they are doing is for a limited amount of people to really enjoy and not a be-all for everyone scaling across every knook and cranny of the country. It really is a social service for certain type of people, mechanics and all. Scvngr, on the other hand is what? A copy cat app producer headed up some kid relying on Trevor, who while a good developer, is just another guy. No passion for what they're doing, no story, no originality, no insight, no humanity. Foursquare for all its warts is trying to solve a problem for people and enhance their lives; Scvngr is just trying to make a buck an I don't think that's lost on anyone.

0x12 15y ago

Unconfirmed, that doesn't amount to much. And if true and they said 'no' they must have had their reasons, it all depends on the total package, not just on the amount. It most likely wasn't 80 million in cash, no strings attached.

ja27 15y ago

I wonder how many actual active users they have. I know I downloaded their apps and did a couple activities but quit pretty quickly. Also, I originally tried them based on a piece of print advertising I saw somewhere, which makes me think they are spending a lot per user acquired.

adelevie 15y ago

If true, it would have been a major exit for DreamIt. Assuming DreamIt's stake was diluted to 2%, that'd be $1.6 million from a $~20,000 investment.