E-commerce discount provider Flubit has prepared for life as a major publisher by doubling the headcount at its London HQ.
Founded in 2012 by French businessman Adel Louertatani and entrepreneur Bertie Stephens, the company piqued interest from around the world after securing $1 million in funding within two months of allowing investors to come forward. After a recent funding round lead by Cocoon Wealth injected a further $1,750,000 into its coffers, the firm recruited 25 workers to bring its staff count over the 50 employee mark.
It has been a whirlwind two years for Flubit, which offers discounts to online shoppers by consulting with merchants to open up bulk selling opportunities. A typical customer will send a product URL over to Flubit, which then informs the retailer of the consumer’s request and produces a highly personalised offer.
The company will have to face stiff competition from the likes of Groupon and Living Social if it wants to succeed in the affiliate space. But in only requesting between 2.5-6% commission for each sale, thus stripping out integration, monthly or fixed channel fees, Stephens believes it presents a far more palatable offer for retailers.
New recruits
To ensure it can live up to the early promise, Flubit has brought in a number of new hires and applied considerable focus to securing personnel with web development and coding skills. Stephens says the company has experienced few problems in bringing in talent with these skillsets due to its positioning in London.
“In recent years London has increasingly become a technology hub and a magnet for talented developers, so finding first-class recruits is easier than it used to be,” he commented.
Flubit has also bolstered the numbers in its marketing, customer service and operations departments with a view to accommodating the increasing requirements from users and clients.
Stephens said his plan for the rest of the year was to get more retailers signing up to the site, but it seems gaining new users is not a priority. Flubit is currently working on an ‘invite-only’ basis whereby anyone who wishes to receive offers must submit their interest and await confirmation from the site.