TheStartup.eu

A lot has been said and written about group-buying lately, following the success of US-based Groupon. It certainly is one of the hottest online sectors at the moment and, given the low barriers to entry, has attracted a significant level of competition across the planet. For those who are not familiar with the model, group-buying is about aggregating online demand around local services and getting large discounts for the end users. For the local merchants it’s a new channel to market their service and acquire new customers on a ‘per action’ basis. Unlike the late ’90s, when online group-buying first appeared (Mercata, Letsbuyit, etc.), this is the perfect time for such a model: the penetration of social networks in fact allows users to easily share the offers with their friends or followers, which creates scale and virality.

The European scene has heated up in early 2010 with the appearance of a number of group-buying startups in Germany and in the UK. Some have already been backed by well-known investors, like the German CityDeal and DailyDeal and, lately, the UK-based Keynoir. Some have rushed out too quickly and have already entered the deadpool (Snippa, VivaVoucher, DealBunch, alongside a number of German clones) or are about to enter it. Some others, like the one I am reviewing today, seem to be doing well despite being self-funded.

Founded by fellow italians Yannick Roux and Luca Faloni, Likebees defines itself as a new and engaging way of discovering, experiencing and sharing the coolest things to do in town with friends, while saving money. They are currently live in London only, but they confirmed they have expansion plans across Europe once their model has been oiled up. As it currently is, Likebees looks like a traditional group-buying website, although I must point out a few differences. First, it just looks a lot better than its competitors from the design and branding perspective. While this might not be seen as a unique selling point, a distinctive image definitely helps with brand awareness (for instance, I still get confused between CityDeal, DailyDeal and others). Image also helps them secure quality deals, as merchants are, according to the founders, increasingly reluctant to be associated with brand-diminishing “voucher” sounding websites.
The second element which differentiates Likebees from the crowd, and which perfectly ties in with their brand name, is the social focus. Likebees in fact also allows users to purchase the deal for a group of people rather than only for a single person. “We want to encourage the socialisation at the moment of consumption, not only at the

moment of purchase. This is only the first step towards a more social and user-generated model” say the founders. We will certainly be looking forward to new and more social features coming out, as the two co-founders did not want to give away too many details. Likebees has so far been completely self-funded, but the founders are in discussions for a seed investment.

Despite being one of the most competitive online spaces at the moment, group-buying allows for a different number of players. Whether differentiation or funding will make the difference remains to be seen, what is certain is that the lack of both will keep adding to the deadpool. The next 6-12 months will define the European group-buying scene and consolidation is already under way.