Group Commerce

Group Commerce was a technology firm that provided a white-label, business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) e-commerce platform. The company was founded in 2009 by a team of former DoubleClick employees: David Rosenblatt, who served as chairman, Jonty Kelt as CEO, and Andrew Glenn as CTO. Rosenblatt's background includes serving as CEO of DoubleClick, which he sold to Google, and later as Google's President of Global Display Advertising. Kelt had experience as an investment banker and held executive roles at Google and DoubleClick before co-founding Group Commerce.

The company's core business involved supplying media companies, publishers, and brands with a versatile e-commerce platform to operate their own group-buying and daily-deal style websites. This model allowed publishers to generate new revenue streams by offering curated deals and products directly to their established audiences. Group Commerce's client roster included major media entities such as CBS, The New York Times, and DailyCandy. The platform was designed to help the media industry navigate the transition to digital by providing a turnkey solution for e-commerce. By 2012, the company had reportedly raised over $40 million in funding from investors including Spark Capital, Carmel Ventures, and Jafco Ventures.

A significant milestone for the company was its expansion into Europe through the acquisition of Dealised's European operations. In May 2013, Group Commerce itself was acquired by one of its competitors, NimbleCommerce, in a merger. This transaction created a larger e-commerce technology platform and distribution network specifically for publishers. The combined entity was subsequently acquired by Blackhawk Network in February 2016.

Keywords: white-label e-commerce, publisher e-commerce solutions, B2B2C platform, daily deals platform, group buying websites, media monetization, digital commerce platform, David Rosenblatt, Jonty Kelt, Andrew Glenn, DoubleClick alumni, NimbleCommerce acquisition, e-commerce technology, publisher revenue, online promotions, media e-commerce, private-label e-commerce, Dealised acquisition, Spark Capital, Blackhawk Network