Honey (company)
Honey Science Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, California,[5] operates a browser extension that aggregates and automatically applies online coupons on eCommerce websites.[6] It is a subsidiary of PayPal. Honey's revenue comes from a commission made on user transactions with partnering retailers.[7] When a member makes a purchase from select merchants, Honey shares part of its commission with the member in a cashback program.[8] Users are notified of price drops and price history on selected items sold by participating online stores.[9] Its browser extension is available on Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft Edge.[10]
Subsidiary | |
Industry | Cashback website, online coupons |
Founded | October 2012 |
Founders | George Ruan[1] Ryan Hudson[2] |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States[3] |
Area served | Canada |
Key people | George Ruan (CEO) Ryan Hudson (Co-founder) |
Number of employees | 209 (worldwide, 2018) |
Parent | PayPal[4] |
Website | joinhoney |
History
Entrepreneurs Ryan Hudson and George Ruan founded Honey[11] in November 2012 in Los Angeles, California, after building a prototype of the browser extension in late October 2012. A bug tester leaked the tool to Reddit, where it went viral.[12] By March 2014, the company had 900,000 organic users.[13]
In September 2019, The LA Clippers' training facility was re-branded as "The Honey Training Center: Home of the LA Clippers" after entering a multi-year partnership with Honey. In addition, Clippers practice jerseys will also display the Honey logo as part of the branding.[14]
Financing history
In 2014, Honey raised $1.8 million in seed money, followed by a $4 million Series A round in 2016. By October 2017, Honey raised a $9 million Series B round.[15]
Honey raised a $26 million Series C round, led by Anthos Capital in March 2017.[16]
By January 2018, Honey raised a total of $40.8 million in venture backing.[17]
On January 6, 2020, it was acquired by PayPal for about $4 billion.[18][19][20]
References
- "Coupon Duo Now Worth $1.5 Billion After Honey's Sale to PayPal". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- "Coupon Duo Now Worth $1.5 Billion After Honey's Sale to PayPal". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- Vincent, Roger. "Online coupon firm Honey taking over historic Coca-Cola plant in Arts District". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- "Coupon Duo Now Worth $1.5 Billion After Honey's Sale to PayPal". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- Vincent, Roger. "Online coupon firm Honey taking over historic Coca-Cola plant in Arts District". latimes.com. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- McAlone, Nathan. "14 ways to save money by thinking like a millennial". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- Rey, Jason Del (2018-04-02). "Honey — the under-the-radar coupon startup — has held talks to raise around $100 million in a new investment". Recode. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- Kane, Libby. "A struggling dad built an app to buy his kids cheaper pizza — and now his company has 5 million downloads and $40 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- Ellingson, Annlee (January 31, 2018). "How Honey helps users keep their New Year's resolution to save money". American City Business Journals.
- Nield, David. "How to Spot Genuine Discounts During Your Holiday Shopping". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- "Coupon Duo Now Worth $1.5 Billion After Honey's Sale to PayPal". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- Shontell, Alyson. "New Coupon Startup 'Honey' Has Had 9 Successful Investor Meetings In A Row". Business Insider.
- "Honey Introduces A Universal Cart For Online Shoppers Where Savings Are Automatically Applied". TechCrunch.
- Esnaashari, Farbod. "LA Clippers Rename And Renovate Training Facility In Partnership With Tech Company Honey". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
- "Honey Science Section Overview". Crunchbase.
- Pierson, David. "Can't find a coupon code? This L.A. start-up does all the work for you". Los Angeles Times.
- Ketchum, Dan. "Got a Problem? Turn It Into a Business Like These 15 Companies". www.gobankingrates.com.
- "PayPal Completes Acquisition of Honey" (Press release). PR Newswire. January 6, 2020.
- Taulli, Tom. "Why PayPal Paid $4 Billion For Honey Science". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
- Peters, Jay (2019-11-20). "PayPal acquires the company behind the Honey deal-finding extension for $4 billion". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- Weiss, Geoff. "Browser Extension 'Honey', A Frequent Shane Dawson And MrBeast Sponsor, Acquired For $4 Billion". Tubefilter. Retrieved 11 June 2020.