Punchbowl Blog

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO, @mattdouglas

I’m very excited to announce that Punchbowl has acquired Socializr — a site for party planning and event management. The acquisition of Socializr will accelerate Punchbowl’s growth in the party planning market. We are excited to welcome Socializr customers to Punchbowl just in time for the holiday party planning season. 

Here’s the full announcement:

Punchbowl Acquires Event Management Site Socializr.com

Acquisition of Socialzr accelerates Punchbowl’s growth in party planning market

Framingham, MA (PRWEB), November 12, 2010 — Punchbowl.com, the one-stop site for start to finish party planning, today announced the acquisition of Socializr.com, a site for party planning and event management. With the transaction, Punchbowl has acquired key assets and technology from Socializr Inc. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The announcement comes on the heels of the company’s acquisition of the domain Punchbowl.com and a fresh, new look for the site. In addition, the company recently unwrapped the unparalleled Digital Invitation Studio—a beautiful collection of free, pre-packaged online stationery sets for events and celebrations, complete with invitations, envelopes, liners, rubber stamps, and postage.

Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams, a pioneer in social networking, launched Socializr as an event management platform that combined customized event invitations with a social networking component. Socializr customers have embraced the site for its ease of use and social media integration.

“Joining forces with Punchbowl allows us to provide Socializr customers with a more comprehensive event management solution,” said Jonathan Abrams, Founder, Socializr. “We’re thrilled to help Punchbowl grow and accelerate the business.”

With more than one million registered users, Punchbowl is the leader in start to finish party planning. Punchbowl offers a modern, effortless way to plan an unforgettable celebration with party planning features including customizable online invitations, potluck organization, gift registries, local party vendors, and much more. The site is ideal for planning birthday parties, baby showers, Christmas parties, and even Thanksgiving dinner.

“Expanding our reach with the acquisition of Socializr will accelerate the growth of our company,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl. “We are excited to welcome Socializr customers to Punchbowl just in time for the holiday party planning season.”

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO. Follow him on Twitter @mattdouglas

I’m very excited to announce that MyPunchbowl has acquired I’m In! — a site for local vendors. With the acquisition of I’m in! MyPunchbowl has entered the local party planning market. Our new local vendor portal enables our users to find vendors for their parties and events. To check it out, visit our new local vendors portal.

We’ll be sending out a press release in the morning, but TechCrunch broke the story this evening.

Here is the official announcement: 

Punchbowl Software, Inc., developers of the start to finish party planning site MyPunchbowl.com, today announced the acquisition of I’m In! (imin.com), through a transaction with GroupGo LLC. I’m In! previously operated as a site for group travel and local trip ideas. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Using assets of I’m In!, MyPunchbowl today launches a comprehensive local vendor portal for the party planning market. The new MyPunchbowl local vendor portal includes over one million vendors that are suitable for parties and events. Vendor categories include Artists, Attire, Bakeries, Balloons, Bands, Caterers, Churches & Synagogues, DJs, Entertainers, Event Planners, Event Staffing & Services, Florists, Musicians, Photographers, Rentals & Equipment, Transportation, and Venues & Locations.

“Our new local vendor portal enables small businesses to connect directly with consumers who are actively planning events,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “The acquisition of I’m in! has accelerated our entry into the local party planning market.”

The local vendor portal also includes the ability to search for party venues and locations. As hosts plan events on MyPunchbowl, they can now search for a venue for their party in the new venue finder. Hosts enter their location and choose from twelve venue categories including birthday party venues for kids & adults, restaurants, and baby shower venues. After a venue is selected, hosts can populate the location and address directly onto their online invitation.

MyPunchbowl also now offers featured listings for venues. Featured locations receive priority placement on the venue finder. Retail venues and chains that service the party planning market can contact MyPunchbowl to get a featured listing.

Visit the MyPunchbowl local vendor portal to search vendors for your next event.