Claim also allows users and their friends to earn cash back, exchange rewards, and redeem together. The platform is a social network that aims to focus on real-world value and communal experiences, rather than manufactured content and reposts.
The startup was founded in November 2021 by CEO Sam Obretz and CTO Tap Stevenson. The two met when they were roommates at Yale University and came up with the idea for Claim when they met again at Harvard Business School. Obretz and Stevenson originally started by thinking about what it means to own something digital.
“We started Claim because we were really interested in what it meant to own something online,” Stevenson said in an interview with TechCrunch. “We saw this with web3 and the sport is also emerging as a collector’s item. There has always been a place online where you can own something, but there has never been a generalized format. So I We started thinking about what it meant to actually remove all the friction of owning something online, and that led to complaints over time.”
The two started by envisioning a platform that could be used in the real world and where you could earn rewards linked to your credit card. We then decided that we needed to allow users to use and exchange rewards with their friends. When they came up with these ideas, Obretz and Stevenson realized they were tapping into a social mechanism that doesn’t widely exist today.
Claims are similar to the idea of trading cards, but create a new kind of value-based experience for brands for consumers. The company says it has turned consumer rewards into a multiplayer game by allowing users to save money and create new experiences together.
Image credits: Claim/Claim Co-Founders Sam Obletz and Tap Stephenson
If it’s a brand you love and your friend hasn’t checked it out yet, you can give them a special treat like a free acai bowl from their favorite coffee
shop or a t-shirt from their favorite streetwear brand. You can exchange rewards, try new places together, and earn status from spending with brands. Once a week, Claim also does “drops” where users open new offers at the same time. Users can decide whether to redeem, gift, or exchange rewards with friends.
While Claim aims to be beneficial to consumers, the startup also aims to help marketers and brands reach new customers without being bombarded with ads on Google, Instagram, and TikTok. We also place emphasis on On Claim, consumers discover brands through rewards from friends. The startup believes that when reaching new customers, being able to try out a product is more beneficial than advertising.
“We make it super easy for marketers,” Obretz says. “We can find customers based on where they shop and where their friends shop. For users who have never done it before, we offer rewards for trying your brand for the first time. This is very important because it brings in genuine new customers. It also allows you to show how effective that reward was based on their spend. That’s why we created It’s this very simple marketing tool.”
The startup currently works with merchants ranging from Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo to local restaurants like Boston’s Life Alive.
Claim’s early results are promising, with one partner on the platform achieving 97% of new customer goals in half the time expected, and another partner acquiring customers within 30 days with a 35% return rate. says.
Claim is currently focused on Gen Z as its overall user base. This is because people in this group are interested in authenticity and think they are tired of advertising, especially since it seems like every post on social media these days is sponsored. The startup hopes to continue testing in Boston, where it currently has more than 10,000 users, before eventually expanding nationwide.
As for the new funding, the company plans to use it to hire new talent and grow its team of eight people over the next year. Claim will also use the funding to focus on testing and learning from an engineering perspective before expanding into new markets.
The startup’s seed round follows an unannounced $2 million pre-seed round led by Susa Ventures and Box Group. Claim’s funding round included participation from 6th Man Venture, Reflexive Capital, A* Capital, GSW Ventures, The Kraft Group, and others.
Source: techcrunch.com
