Prodege, LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryOnline marketing, consumer surveys, market research
Founded2005
FounderJosef Gorowitz
HeadquartersEl Segundo, California
Key people
Charles "Chuck" Davis, CEO
ProductsSwagbucks, MyPoints, Tada, InboxDollars, CouponCause, Pollfish, Bitburst,[1] AdGate Media, Upromise
Number of employees
600[2]
Websitewww.prodege.com

Prodege, LLC is an American online marketing, consumer polling, and market research company based in El Segundo, California. The company develops consumer rewards and polling programs under various brands including Swagbucks, MyPoints, InboxDollars, CouponCause, Tada, Ysense, Upromise, and Pollfish.[3]

History

Prodege was founded in Torrance, California in 2005 by entrepreneur Josef Gorowitz. The company originally partnered with search providers to build a platform for raising charitable donations. Supporters of the charities would earn money for the charities while surfing and shopping using white labeled web browsers.[4] The company started offering the custom browsers to brands as a way to earn money from their fans' online activities.[5] Early customers included the Green Bay Packers football team, and singer Kanye West.[6]

In February 2008, Prodege launched Swagbucks.com – under Co-Founders Josef Gorowitz and Scott Dudelson – and introduced the SB as a digital currency earned for activity throughout its network of websites.[4][7] By shopping and playing online games, customers would earn Swagbucks (SB), points which could be redeemed for gift cards and other merchandise.[4] Swagbucks is an online rewards portal.[8][9]

In January 2013, Prodege Founder Josef Gorowitz appointed former Shopzilla and Fandango CEO Chuck Davis as the company's executive chairman.[9]

In May 2014, Prodege announced that Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) had invested $60 million into Prodege,[10] parent company of Swagbucks and other portfolio brands, and that Prodege also had appointed Executive Chairman Chuck Davis as its new CEO and Chairman, while Josef Gorowitz assumed the title of Founder and President. Also, in May 2014, TCV Venture partner Chuck Davis, who was previously CEO of movie ticket vendor Fandango, became Prodege's CEO.[11][12]

In July 2014, Prodege announced its acquisition of SodaHead.com, an online polling technology platform founded by Jason Feffer.[13] SodaHead.com CEO Chris Dominguez and Founder Jason Feffer joined Prodege's executive leadership team in the move.

In April 2016, Prodege bought rewards site MyPoints from United Online, the company formed by the merger of online services companies NetZero and Juno Online Services.[14]

In August 2017, the company acquired Greenwood Village, Colorado-based cash back shopping and coupon site ShopAtHome.[15]

In May 2019, the company bought Cotterweb Enterprises, a Minnesota-based operator of reward sites in the US, Canada and the UK.[2] In July, Prodege partnered with online local service deal company Groupon to develop a local merchant reward card program for customers.[16]

By 2020, Prodege’s products had over 120 million users, and as of 2019, had rewarded $725 million to its users since its inception.[3]

In February 2020, Prodege bought digital coupon company CouponCause.[17] In May, Prodege bought Upromise, a loyalty program focused on saving for college, from student loan company Sallie Mae.[3]

Prodege partnered with Isometric Solutions and Panel Consulting to provide polling for the Prediction Survey, a political forecast developed by Thomas Miller during the 2020 Georgia Senate election.[18]

In February 2022, Prodege acquired Pollfish, a DIY market research platform.[19]

In July 2022, Prodege acquired AdGate Media, a digital advertising service company founded in 2011, originally based in New York, New York. [20]

Services

Prodege offers online marketing services under several different consumer brands.

  • Swagbucks - a website and application where users shop and participate in other earning activities for cash rewards and gift cards.[4]
  • MyPoints - an online rewards site.[14]
  • InboxDollars - an online rewards site.[2]
  • CouponCause - a coupon site that donates the money users save to non-profits.[17]
  • Upromise - a rewards program that helps members save for key milestones like education.[17]
  • Tada - a site that provides rewards from grocery receipts.[17]
  • Ysense - a gift card rewards program for customers that shop and take surveys.

The company also operates market research platform Pollfish.

References

  1. ↑ "Global Expansion Continues for Prodege with Acquisition of Germany-based BitBurst". globenewswire. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  2. 1 2 3 "Acquisition Gives El Segundo Rewards Company Access to 100 Million Consumers, InboxDollars". LA Business Journal. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  3. 1 2 3 "Swagbucks Owner on a Buying Spree, Picks Up Upromise". Dot.LA. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Bootstrapping to $35M via Affiliate Fees: Swagbucks Co-founder Scott Dudelson (Part 1)". Sramanamitra. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  5. ↑ "Interview with Scott Dudelson, Swagbucks". SoCal Tech. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  6. ↑ "Josef Gorowitz, CEO, Prodege LLC". Smart Business. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  7. ↑ Kuo, Benjamin F. (July 5, 2011). "Interview with Scott Dudelson, Swagbucks". Socaltech.com. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ Mills, Elinor (April 7, 2008). "Searching for swag: Music to fans' ears". CNET. Archived from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Bloom, David (May 13, 2014). "Ex-Fandango CEO Chuck Davis Joins Swagbucks; Company Raises $60M For Expansion". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Faughnder, Ryan (May 13, 2014). "Swagbucks raises $60 million; former Fandango chief named CEO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Ex-Fandango CEO Chuck Davis Joins Swagbucks; Company Raises $60M For Expansion". Deadline. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  12. ↑ "Swagbucks raises $60 million; former Fandango chief named CEO". LA Times. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  13. ↑ Novellino, Teresa (July 31, 2014). "Swagbucks acquired SodaHead and now they'll be kings of web polling". Upstart Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Prodege Buys MyPoints for $13 Million". LA Business Journal. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  15. ↑ "Prodege Buys ShopAtHome.com". SoCAL Tech. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  16. ↑ "Prodege Buys MyPoints for $13 Million". Chicago Business Journal. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Swagbucks Owner Buys CouponCause as Race For Shoppers, Data Heats Up". Dot.LA. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  18. ↑ "Georgia Senate races: Democrats predicted to take both seats, according to data scientist". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  19. ↑ "Prodege Accelerates Innovation & Growth Plan With Acquisition of Pollfish". themiddlemarket. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  20. ↑ "Prodege Builds Upon Acquisition Strategy with AdGate Media to Grow Consumer Audience". globenewswire. 2022-07-11. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
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