Decide

Decide.com operated as a specialized online service focused on predicting the optimal time for consumers to purchase consumer electronics and appliances. Founded in 2010 by Oren Etzioni, Mike Fridgen, Brian Ma, and Hsuan-Tien Lin, the company was headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The platform's core function was to advise shoppers whether to buy a product immediately, wait for a price drop, or hold out for a newer model. This guidance was generated by proprietary predictive algorithms that analyzed a vast pricing database.

The founding team brought a wealth of relevant experience. Oren Etzioni, a computer science professor and serial entrepreneur, had previously founded Farecast, a successful travel price predictor, and Netbot, an early comparison-shopping engine. His expertise in data mining and machine learning was central to Decide.com's technology. Mike Fridgen, who served as CEO, also came from Farecast where he was the VP of Marketing & Product Development and later led product management for Bing Travel and Shopping at Microsoft after its acquisition of Farecast. Brian Ma previously worked as a program manager at Zillow and Microsoft, and had co-founded a career-focused website called Eggsprout. Hsuan-Tien Lin, a professor with expertise in machine learning and data mining, also contributed to the company's technological foundation.

The service provided data-driven advice intended to give consumers confidence in their purchasing decisions and help them avoid buyer's remorse. For its users, Decide.com offered price predictions that, as of early 2013, were reported to be 80% accurate. The business model was based on earning affiliate revenue when users clicked through and made purchases from retailers. A key part of the product was its mobile application, which allowed users to access these insights on the go. The company secured a total of $17 million in venture capital from investors including Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, and Vulcan Capital.

In September 2013, eBay acquired Decide.com for an undisclosed amount. Following the acquisition, the Decide.com website and mobile applications were shut down. The acquisition was primarily for the talent and technology; eBay's objective was to integrate Decide.com's data science and predictive analytics expertise to develop better pricing and insights tools for its own 25 million sellers. The majority of the Decide.com team, including CEO Mike Fridgen, joined eBay's Seattle-area office. Co-founder Oren Etzioni did not join eBay, instead taking on a new role as the Executive Director of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Keywords: price prediction, consumer electronics, shopping analytics, e-commerce tools, price forecasting, data mining, Oren Etzioni, Mike Fridgen, Farecast, eBay acquisition, product lifecycle prediction, affiliate marketing, shopping advisor, predictive analytics, Madrona Venture Group, Maveron, Vulcan Capital, big data e-commerce, consumer purchasing tools, Seattle startup