Punchbowl.com

Punchbowl.com is a web-based online invitations service and digital greeting cards site based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 2006, received venture funding from a variety of sources, and launched its website in 2007.[1] The service allows users to plan and organize parties and events, with features such as customizable online invitations and local vendor search. The site has received media attention from multiple outlets including the Wall Street Journal,[2] the New York Times,[3] and TechCrunch.[4] In 2007 it was listed on PC World’s "25 Web Sites to Watch", and in 2008, it received the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) Award for Usability, and was an Honoree for a 2008 Webby Award. In 2010, Entrepreneur Magazine listed it as one of the "100 Most Brilliant Companies", and the site was also lauded in The Oprah Magazine and Women's Health. In 2014, Punchbowl was named the exclusive provider of online invitations for Disney Interactive. In 2015, the company was awarded another MITX Award for ‘Best UX’ and unveiled the 2015 “Characters Kids Love” Collection, confirming collaborations with Nickelodeon, WWE, and Activision.

For other uses, see Punch bowl (disambiguation).
Punchbowl.com
Private
IndustryOnline invitations, software
Founded2006 (2006)
FounderMatt Douglas (CEO)
Sean Conta (CXO)
Headquarters
Framingham, MA
,
USA
Websitepunchbowl.com

Company history

Punchbowl was founded by software and user interface experts Matt Douglas and Sean Conta,[5][6] who previously worked together at Bose Corporation. Incorporated on April 11, 2006, the company officially launched on January 15, 2007, under the name MyPunchbowl.com as a free site for party planning.[7]

The company was funded by Contour Venture Partners, Intel Capital, and eCoast Angels,[8] receiving its seed round of funding on October 2, 2007, from lead investor Intel Capital.[9] On September 16, 2008, Punchbowl announced its Series A round of funding in the amount of $2.1 million[10] led by Contour Venture Partners.[11]

Punchbowl has acquired two companies: "I’m In!" on November 17, 2009,[12] and Socializr,[13] a Silicon Valley event management platform created by Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams, on November 12, 2010.

In September 2010, the company announced that it had surpassed one million registered users and had acquired the Punchbowl.com domain.[14] In September 2011, the company introduced a new product called Digital Greeting Cards which is a free eCards service.[15]

In February 2014, Punchbowl was named the exclusive provider of online invitations for Disney Interactive.[16] The collection features Disney favorites such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Frozen, Disney Princess characters, Disney Fairies characters, Toy Story, Cars, The Muppets, and many more.

In October 2014, Punchbowl unveiled a new user interface and launched the “Characters Kids Love” invitation collection. The collection includes hundreds of branded invitations that feature iconic, beloved characters. The 2014 “Characters Kids Love” collection featured invitations from Disney, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Transformers, and more.[17]

Punchbowl released the 2015 “Characters Kids Love” collection in June. It includes collaborations with Nickelodeon, WWE and Activision.[18]

The company has licensed its technology to leading retail and media sites, including Oriental Trading Company,[19] 1-800-FLOWERS, Lifetime, Cozi, and Premier Designs.

In 2020, Punchbowl ended its free eCard and invitation service and moved to a paid subscription model. It now offers a variety of monthly subscription options.

Awards
  • MITX Innovation Award, Best UX, 2015[20]
  • MITX Innovation Award, Best Consumer Tech that Makes Life Easier, 2011[21]
  • Named one of the “100 Most Brilliant Companies” by Entrepreneur Magazine, 2010[22]
  • O: The Oprah Magazine’s “100 Things That Are Getting Better,” 2010[23]
  • Named one of the “100 Most Useful Sites on the Web” by Women's Health, 2008[24]
  • Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) Award for Usability, 2008[25]
  • Webby Award Honoree, Events, 2008[26]
  • PC World’s "25 Web Sites to Watch", 2007[27]
gollark: For legal reasons I have to add asterisks to that.
gollark: I would be an excellent\* administrator.
gollark: Me!
gollark: Me!
gollark: You banned heavpoot.

References
  1. Gonzalez, Nick (January 14, 2007). "MyPunchbowl Joins the eVite Gunners". TechCrunch.
  2. Boehret, Katherine (June 13, 2007). "Invite Sites Help Start a Party". Wall Street Journal.
  3. Turbow, Jason (December 16, 2009). "Inviting Web Sites for Party Planners". The New York Times.
  4. Rao, Leena (October 4, 2010). "Punchbowl Debuts Digital Invitation Studio (Invites)". TechCrunch.
  5. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass-high-tech/2007/12/punchbowl-software-inc-looks-to-bring-funds.html. Retrieved 2020-06-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Punchbowl.com | StartHub". starthub.org. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  7. Marshall, Matt (January 15, 2007). "Mypunchbowl joins growing list of Evite rivals". VentureBeat.
  8. Siegler, MG (September 16, 2008). "MyPunchbowl serves up a $2.1 million second round". VentureBeat.
  9. Morrison, Chris (October 2, 2007). "MyPunchbowl lands seed funding for online invitations". VentureBeat.
  10. "Punchbowl | Crunchbase". CrunchBase. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  11. McCarthy, Caroline (September 16, 2008). "$2.1 million for invite start-up MyPunchbowl". CNET.
  12. Kirsner, Scott (November 16, 2009). "Why is It So Hard to Kill a Web 1.0 Dinosaur?". Boston.com.
  13. Tartakoff, Joseph (November 12, 2010). "Punchbowl Gets Socializr to Join Its Party". PaidContent.
  14. Rao, Leena (September 14, 2010). "Online Party Planning Site MyPunchbowl Rebrands As Punchbowl; Passes 1M Users". TechCrunch.
  15. Rao, Leena (September 12, 2011). "Party Planning Platform Punchbowl Expands Beyond Invitations To Digital Greeting Cards". TechCrunch.
  16. Perez, Sarah (February 5, 2014). "Punchbowl Rolls Out New, Touch-Friendly Digital Invitations, Snags Exclusive Disney Partnership". TechCrunch.
  17. Perez, Sarah (October 20, 2014). "Punchbowl Takes On Evite With A Redesigned Site, New Kids' Brand Partnerships". TechCrunch.
  18. Loveday, Samantha (June 10, 2015). "VEGAS 2015: Punchbowl unveils new additions to Characters Kids Love invitation line". Licensing.biz.
  19. Rao, Leena (April 27, 2010). "MyPunchbowl Signs Multi-Million Dollar Licensing Deal with Oriental Trading Company". TechCrunch.
  20. "Winners / 2015". Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
  21. "Punchbowl-Software". Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  22. Ohngren, Kara and Jennifer Wang (June 2010). "100 Most Brilliant Companies". Entrepreneur Magazine.
  23. "100 Things That Are Getting Better". O, The Oprah Magazine. January 2010.
  24. "100 Most Useful Sites on the Web". Women's Health. June 2008.
  25. "MITX - Punchbowl Software". Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange. June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015.
  26. "Webby Nominees". The Webby Awards. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  27. Gralla, Preston (June 18, 2007). "25 Web Sites to Watch". PCWorld.
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