Prodege

Prodege, formally Prodege LLC, is an American online marketing company based in El Segundo, California. The company develops consumer rewards and polling programs under various brands including Swagbucks, MyPoints, ShopAtHome, CotterWeb and ProdegeMR.

Prodege
TypePrivate
IndustryInternet rewards
Founded2005
FounderJosef Gorowitz
HeadquartersEl Segundo, California
Key people
Charles "Chuck" Davis, CEO
ProductsSwagbucks, MyPoints, ShopAtHome, CotterWeb and ProdegeMR
Number of employees
250[1]
WebsiteProdege.com

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.[2] The company started offering the custom browsers to brands as a way to earn money from their fans' online activities.[3] Early customers included the Green Bay Packers football team, and singer Kanye West.[4]

In 2008, as Prodege saw its platform became more popular as a revenue generator for its partners, it launched an online loyalty site called Swagbucks.[2] By shopping and playing online games, customers would earn Swagbucks (SB), points which could be redeemed for gift cards and other merchandise.[2]

In May 2014, TCV Venture partner Chuck Davis, who was previously CEO of movie ticket vendor Fandango, became Prodege's CEO.[5][6] In July, the company purchased Los Angeles-based online polling company SodaHead.[7]

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.[8]

In August 2017, the company acquired Greenwood Village, Colorado-based cash back shopping and coupon site ShopAtHome.[9]

In May 2019, the company bought Cotterweb Enterprises, a Minnesota-based operator of reward sites in the US, Canada and the UK.[1] In July, Prodege partnered with online local service deal company Groupon to develop a local merchant reward card program for customers.[10]

In February 2020, Prodege bought digital coupon company CouponCause.[11] In May, Prodege bought Upromise, a Newton, Massachusetts-based provider of college savings plan loyalty programs, from student loan company Sallie Mae.[12]

Services

Prodege offers online marketing services under several different brands.

  • Swagbucks - a gift card rewards program for customers that shop and watch videos.[2]
  • MyPoints - an online rewards site acquired from United Online.[8]
  • ShopAtHome - a cash back shopping and coupon site.[9]
  • CotterWeb - also a gift card rewards program, for customers that watch videos and complete surveys. CotterWeb includes the brands Inboxdollars.com and Sendearnings.com.[1]
  • ProdegeMR - a provider of market research and recruitment tools.[13]

The company also operates a customer reward card program with other companies including local deal company Groupon and instore advertising company Rakuten.[10][14]

References
  1. "Acquisition Gives El Segundo Rewards Company Access to 100 Million Consumers, InboxDollars". LA Business Journal. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  2. "Bootstrapping to $35M via Affiliate Fees: Swagbucks Co-founder Scott Dudelson (Part 1)". Sramanamitra. 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  3. "Interview with Scott Dudelson, Swagbucks". SoCal Tech. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  4. "Josef Gorowitz, CEO, Prodege LLC". Smart Business. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  5. "Ex-Fandango CEO Chuck Davis Joins Swagbucks; Company Raises $60M For Expansion". Deadline. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  6. "Swagbucks raises $60 million; former Fandango chief named CEO". LA Times. 2014-05-13. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  7. "Swagbucks acquires SodaHead and now they'll be key players in web polling". LA Business Journal. 2014-07-31. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  8. "Prodege Buys MyPoints for $13 Million". LA Business Journal. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  9. "Prodege Buys ShopAtHome.com". SoCAL Tech. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  10. "Prodege Buys MyPoints for $13 Million". Chicago Business Journal. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  11. "Swagbucks Owner Buys CouponCause as Race For Shoppers, Data Heats Up". Dot.LA. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  12. "Swagbucks Owner on a Buying Spree, Picks Up Upromise". Dot.LA. 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  13. "Passengers reveal the answers to 7 common airplane etiquette questions". Business Insider. 2017-11-08. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  14. "Rakuten And Prodege Team Up For Card-Linked Rewards". Pymnts.com. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
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