Foursquare + Groupon = “It” Startup GroupTabs

Name: GroupTabs

Quick Pitch: GroupTabs members check in for group deals at bars and restaurants.

Genius Idea: Group buying, deal-a-day sites and location-based services are two of the hottest trends on the block in 2010; they're both attracting major attention from investors and advertisers alike.

While Groupon and its many clones and competitors — even Yelp (Yelp), OpenTable and Zagat want a piece of the action — offer up big deals, few have tapped into the power that location-based services (LBSes) could add to the mix. And the LBSes themselves, including Foursquare, Gowalla, Brighkite and a host of others, have only scratched the surface of location-based marketing potential.

Enter GroupTabs. The service adds a group-buying layer to checkin services such as Foursquare (Foursquare) and Gowalla (Gowalla). If enough people check in to the same bar or restaurant at a given time, they could unlock a big discount, such as two-for-one cocktails or dollar beers. The GroupTabs service essentially lets merchants activate deals after a set number people check in to their venue, all the while encouraging patrons to spread their checkins via social media to encourage a swarm-like effect.

Here's how it will work: Location-sharers can sign up for a GroupTabs account, link their Twitter (Twitter) and Foursquare accounts (more social sites coming soon) and then RSVP to available GroupTabs deals. Come deal time, members can check in to a venue via the HTML5 mobile site gtb.me — which is limited to GPS-enabled devices to eliminate cheating. If enough people check in, the GroupTabs deal is activated, and everyone who is checked in gets to take advantage.

GroupTabs deals have yet to go live. Interested parties can sign up now and look for the service to activate its first deal in New York on August 18. Merchants curious about creating a deal can e-mail sales@grouptabs.com to connect with the team.

The idea is has built-in payoffs for customers and merchants, and it certainly works to further drive home the value of location-sharing services such Foursquare, on whose API the service is reportedly built. We can only hope that it spreads like wildfire so that more location-based group deals come to neighborhoods near the rest of us.


http://mashable.com/2010/08/13/grouptabs