Frugalo

Frugalo.com, established in 2011 by co-founders Michael Cieri and Scott Reynolds, operated as a social savings network headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company developed a platform focused on deal aggregation, utilizing social platforms to help users discover daily deals. It allowed consumers to consolidate all their deal purchases in one place, manage them, and share them with friends. A key feature was the social curation of deals, where users would be alerted when friends made purchases on limited-time offers and could discover offers aligned with their past buying behavior.

The business model centered on providing a centralized hub for daily deal enthusiasts. Before its acquisition, the company secured $140K in funding from investors including AngelPad, InterWest Partners, and Sierra Ventures. Frugalo was positioned within the Media and Information Services (B2B) industry, competing in a market with players like Travelzoo. On March 19, 2012, Frugalo was acqui-hired, marking a significant milestone in its corporate journey. Following the acquisition, Michael Cieri, the former Co-Founder & CEO, and Scott Reynolds, the former Co-Founder & CTO, transitioned from the company.

The platform's main benefit was simplifying the fragmented daily deal market for shoppers. By creating a social layer on top of deal discovery, Frugalo aimed to enhance the user experience, making it more personal and interactive. The service was designed for active online shoppers who frequently used daily deal websites and were looking for a more efficient way to manage and discover relevant offers. Keywords: deal aggregation, social savings, daily deals platform, social commerce, online coupons, deal discovery, consumer savings, e-commerce, Frugalo, Michael Cieri, Scott Reynolds, acqui-hired, social shopping, deal management, online marketplace, consumer technology, savings network, limited-time offers, curated deals, purchase management