MyPunchblog

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

As 2009 comes to a close, we wanted to do something special to say thank you for a great year. So here’s the deal: If you haven’t created a MyPunchbowl user account yet, we would like to offer you a FREE Premium upgrade when you create an account  — but you have to sign up before the end of the year. 

Do you know someone who would love a free MyPunchbowl Premium account? Tell them about MyPunchbowl using our handy tell-a-friend page.

Here’s the official media alert with details: 

Punchbowl Software, Inc., developers of the start to finish party planning site MyPunchbowl.com, today announced that anyone who creates a new user account before 11:59pm PST on December 31, 2009 will receive a FREE MyPunchbowl Premium account upgrade. Valued at $29.95 (1 year subscription), Punchbowl will give away up to 10,000 Premium accounts by the end of the year. MyPunchbowl Premium provides users unlimited access to invitation and eCard designs as well as the ability to send advertising-free eCards and invites for one year. “Our site traffic has doubled in the last three months,” said Matt Douglas, CEO of MyPunchbowl. “This is our small way of saying thank you for a fantastic year.”

To claim your FREE Premium account, sign up for MyPunchbowl before the end of 2009. 

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

I’ve written a new blog post on my start-up CEO blog. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read my latest start-up musings.

Here’s an excerpt: “Every time I come across a new startup, I ask myself a fundamental question: are there lots of people in the world that are looking for this solution or is the startup trying to create demand?” Read more of my blog post “Sell Umbrellas, Not Rain” >>

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

Do you believe Christmas is this week? If you’re like me (and most people), you probably still have a few more gifts to buy. Most likely for those people on your list that are the hardest to shop for!

If you’re still trying to find the perfect gift - and don’t want to fight the masses at the stores - we have a terrific, unique gift idea for you. Over a thousand actually…

Earlier this year we introduced MyPunchbowl Experiences, an extraordinary selection of experience gifts that engage the recipient’s personality and passions. Ranging from indoor skydiving, first flight lesson, helicopter tour to model for a day, wine making, glass blowing, or a private safari, the possibilities, like the memories they create are endless.

With so many experiences from which to choose in categories such as Wine & Gourmet, Sport & Adventure, and Arts & Culture, there is something for every age and every budget.

To celebrate the holidays, we’re excited to offer $20 off any MyPunchbowl Experience purchase of $100 or more. Use the code “QUICK” at checkout. Browse experiences now.

Make sure to choose the Email or Print It Now delivery options - you’ll have a really cool, unique gift in time for Christmas that fits perfectly inside a cute card!

Happy shopping!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

It’s early December and according to my calendar it’s about time to send holiday cards to friends and family, or at least start thinking about it. Fortunately, MyPunchbowl gives you two great options to create customized holiday greetings this year.

Launched just over a year ago, our free eCards have become hugely popular for sending personalized holiday greetings. Once you browse the holiday designs and find a card you like, you can customize it a number of ways. You can change the background colors, add a family photo and/or video, type a note on the card, and even include a longer text update next to the card.

Send your holiday eCards to everyone on your list immediately or schedule the card to deliver at a later date/time (on Christmas Eve, perhaps?). You can also share eCards on Facebook and Twitter which is helpful when you don’t have everyone’s email addresses. Here are some of our holiday eCards:

If you still prefer to send your holiday greeting cards in the mail, we have an option for you as well: custom printed holiday cards from the MyPunchbowl Custom Print Shop. Choose from hundreds of designs then create your custom printed holiday cards by adding a photo and special message.

Want your printed cards quickly? You can receive them in as few as three days! Browse printed holiday card designs now.

With hundreds of free eCards and custom printed holiday cards, we hope making your holiday cards this year is fun (and easy)!

Happy holidays!

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.

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

A few months back MyPunchbowl launched a new personalized party product on our site – MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda. Personalized soda comes in many classic flavors such as Root Beer and Cream Soda, among others. To personalize your soda, choose your flavor, upload your own photo for the front of the label, then add a personalized message for the back of the label. Pretty cool, right? Check out the soda that our CEO, Matt Douglas created.

For the holidays, our partners at Jones Soda have made some special holiday-inspired flavors available for you to customize for your holiday parties. Evergreen Apple, Snowdrift Soda, Reindeer Root Beer, and Holiday Cheer are the new flavors for this holiday season (just look for the holly icon at the top of the bottle to identify holiday flavors!).

MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda makes a great addition to any party but with these holiday flavors you can definitely add a little something special to your Christmas or holiday party this year. Order your personalized soda soon as these special holiday flavors are only available for a limited time!

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

This morning I was inspired to write a post on my start-up CEO blog about a question that I wish I never had to answer over email. I’m curious to hear your comments on this post. Do you think I’m being too particular or do I have a point? Find out the question and read more in my most recent Startup Swami blog post.

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

If you have an interview some time in the future, you might want to read this blog post from my new start-up CEO blog. This tip could save you a little embarrassment and help your interviewers too. What’s the simple interview mistake you might make? Allow me to tell you what happened to me last week. Read the post on the Startup Swami.

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

When I started MyPunchbowl, I spent a lot of time talking to colleagues and networking with people in startups. Part of my goal was to learn more about how to start a company, but the more I reflect on that period of my life, the more I realize that I spent a lot of energy and time seeking validation of my startup from those around me. With that in mind, the Startup Swami (aka me) has written a post dedicated to those who are trying to start a company or grow a startup. The post was fun to write — it rolled right off of my fingers. So without further ado, here’s today’s Startup Swami post: Your Startup Sucks. Enjoy.

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

Today we are excited to announce our partnership with Oriental Trading Company. As the leader in start to finish party planning, MyPunchbowl now offers the huge range of Oriental Trading products to our customers. Here’s the official announcement: 

MyPunchbowl.com today announced the launch of MyPunchbowl Party Supplies in partnership with Oriental Trading Company. The new Party Supplies portal powered by Oriental Trading is the perfect complement to MyPunchbowl’s award-winning start to finish party planning site. The announcement was made in conjunction with the start of the Shop.org tradeshow in Las Vegas.

As customers plan events and parties on MyPunchbowl.com, they can now shop from a massive selection of Oriental Trading Company’s best-selling party supplies. MyPunchbowl Party Supplies is organized by occasion and matches the types of parties that are most often planned on MyPunchbowl.com — kids and adult birthdays, baby showers, as well as Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s parties.

“We are thrilled to offer our fun and affordable Oriental Trading party supplies to the loyal customers of MyPunchbowl.com,” said Sam Taylor, CEO, Oriental Trading Company. “The common characteristics of our customers make this partnership a win-win solution for our business.”

Through technology developed by MyPunchbowl, inventory from Oriental Trading is updated on a nightly basis. The party supplies portal displays featured products as well as best sellers. After planning an event, MyPunchbowl.com customers can quickly and easily find party supplies that match the theme of the event they are planning. The site also features an integrated search engine to find relevant products among tens of thousands offered on the site.

“We found the ideal partner in Oriental Trading Company,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “As the nation’s largest direct marketer of party supplies, Oriental Trading provides our customers with party supplies that meet our customers’ wide array of party planning needs.”

Shop MyPunchbowl Party Supplies.