MyPunchblog

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

I believe there is one word that is the most important word for start-ups. I wrote about it today on my new start-up CEO blog, Startup Swami. Go ahead, try to guess. What is the one word that matters the most when you are starting a company? Want to know my answer? Then head over to the Startup Swami to find out what word I think matters the most.

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

This week we sent out the fall edition of our quarterly newsletter. This is the second newsletter that features our updated newsletter layout — we first introduced the new format at the beginning of the summer.

In case you missed it, the fall newsletter was jam-packed with tips and helpful information for hosts planning Halloween parties as well as holiday parties. It also contained exciting news about two recent additions to our product offerings: MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda and MyPunchbowl Experiences.

So far we’ve gotten some great feedback about our newsletter. Check it out and let us know what you think!

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

We’re excited to welcome former CEO of TownConnect, Mike Ford, as he joins MyPunchbowl as VP of Business Development. Here’s the official announcement:

Punchbowl Software, the company behind MyPunchbowl.com, announced today the hiring of Mike Ford as Vice President of Business Development. In this position, Ford will be a key part of the management team responsible for driving sales, traffic and strategic partnerships.

“Mike joins us at the perfect time in the company’s growth,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “Mike’s experience as an entrepreneur and business leader in the consumer Internet space makes him a great fit for Punchbowl.”

Ford’s sales and business development experience in social media, search marketing and ad networks will play a vital role in the growth of Punchbowl’s service. Previously, he was Founder & CEO of TownConnect, a social-local networking site that connects people in their communities and SVP, Sales & Marketing for Did-it Search Marketing in New York. Mike also led vertical business development for Quigo Technologies (acquired by AOL) and was the Founder of Computer.com.

Mike’s favorite reason to celebrate is St. Patrick’s Day – a tradition for generations in the Ford family. Mike has personally hosted over thirty St. Patrick’s Day parties.

“I’m thrilled to join the Punchbowl team,” said Mike Ford. “The business potential of MyPunchbowl.com provides a unique opportunity for me to work with top online brands and retailers.”

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

As some of the long-time readers of this blog know, this blog started off with only one author — me. As a result, the blog took on many forms: sometimes related to MyPunchbowl, and other times related to my observations about start-ups and business. It was a hodgepodge of Matt, in blog form.

A few months ago, I decided to make a change to this blog. I invited other people in the company to contribute to the blog, and focused the subject material on MyPunchbowl-related topics. We’ve heard from our co-founder Sean has offered a glimpse into new features and functionality on the site, from our Marketing Manager Stephanie about interesting ways to connect with the MyPunchbowl community, our Analytics wizard has shared with us ways we think about numbers, our interns have shared their stories and observations. I’ve heard lots of great comments about these changes, and I think our company blog has become stronger.

However, one thing that’s been left out since these changes is a place for me to share some of what I learn and observe about start-ups and business in general. So that’s why today, I’m launching a new startup CEO blog called the “Startup Swami.” For those of you who don’t know, Chris Berman (of ESPN) made the term “swami” a pop-culture phenomenon a few years ago. As the “ESPN swami” Berman waxed on about all things sports, and threw in a few predictions to boot. As the Startup Swami, I hope to share what I’ve learned over the last several years about how to start a company. The blogs will take many forms: short-form, long-form, and maybe even some video. My hope is that you will hear my raw thoughts and experiences as I continue to navigate the startup world.

I’ll post short summaries on the MyPunchbowl company blog when I write on the Startup Swami. Today’s post, offers a brief background story of why I decided to create the Startup Swami.

I hope you will check out my new CEO blog and subscribe to the feed.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

It happens to everyone at some point - you need to cancel an event that you’ve already invited people to.

With our latest release, we make it a little easier on you and your guests. If you need to cancel your event, just choose Cancel Event from the Event Options menu on your Dashboard:

We’ll take you through it step by step and we even include an option to send your guests a message:

But wait, there’s more! If you need to reschedule your event we’ll give you the option to copy to get you started:

We hope your event goes off without a hitch, but now if you do need to cancel you can do so with confidence.

This post was written by Matt Douglas, Founder & CEO

A few weeks ago, we launched the latest personalized party product on MyPunchbowl — personalized soda. We partnered with our new friends at Jones Soda to provide a new area of our site called MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda.

Here are some of the great things you can do with MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda:

• Choose your flavor: try Root Beer, Creme Soda, Orange & Cream, Strawberry Lime, Pure Cane Cola, and many more
• Upload a photo: add some personality to your soda by uploading any photo on your computer or provide the URL of a high-res photo available on a web site
• Choose a 6 pack or 12 pack
• Add a customized saying on the back of your soda.

Add Personalized Soda to your party and your guests will be very impressed. They also make a great favors for your next get together or company event.

I didn’t want to wait for my next party to make some personalized soda, so I ordered some a few weeks ago. They came in and they look great. The root beer is pretty good too! So what are you waiting for? Go order some MyPunchbowl Personalized Soda today!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Our most recent release includes a feature we’ve all been anxious to have on the site: fun RSVP styles! Now when you send an invitation you can choose or customize your own phrases and sayings for your guest RSVP responses. For example, let’s say you’re throwing your annual Talk Like a Pirate Day party (coming up on Sept 19th). You might want to use our Pirate RSVP style for your guest responses.

Here’s how it works:

1 - Create your event and design your Invitation

2 - When you get to the Invitation Options page, choose Yes under “Show the guest list and the responses on the invitation?“

3 - Click the RSVP Styles button

4 - Choose one of our preset RSVP Styles or write your own!

The interface includes a preview of what it looks like on your invitation:

Enjoy!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

We’re really excited today to announce our partnership with Excitations, the nation’s premier provider of unique experience gifts. Through this partnership, we now provide MyPunchbowl Experiences on our site.

Experience gifts, which range from hot air balloon rides to gourmet cooking classes, create memories for the recipient that will last a lifetime. They are exciting and unique, so it’s easy to see why these gifts are the newest way to celebrate milestone birthdays—including sweet sixteen, 21, 30, 40, and even 100.

MyPunchbowl Experiences offers an extraordinary selection of experiences that will engage the recipient’s personality and passions—ranging from skydiving, first flight lesson, helicopter tour, and stock car driving to model for a day, create your own wine, glass blowing and a private safari. The possibilities, like the memories they create, are endless—and there is something for every budget and age to enjoy.

MyPunchbowl Experiences is the latest addition to the start to finish party planning capabilities that are available on MyPunchbowl. Unlike other party planning sites that start and stop with the invitation, MyPunchbowl brings your party to life with ideas, invitations, party favors, gift registries, and even photo and video sharing, and more. With the addition of MyPunchbowl Experiences, you can now make your next party an unforgettable experience party.

Check out the official announcement and share it with your friends!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Our latest site update includes a welcome new feature for all the eCard senders out there. We’ve taken the “Dashboard” concept from our Party Planning site and applied it to our eCards site.

What does this mean? Sign in to your account to view all your past, present and scheduled ecards on your eCard Dashboard page! Here are the highlights:

• Save - Want to create an eCard but save it for later? Just sign in, design the card then save it. It will be saved and waiting on your Dashboard until you want to send.
• Add Recipients - Already sent an eCard but want to sent it to more recipients? Just click “Add Recipients” next to the card on your Dashboard and you’re on your way.
• Edit - Sent an eCard with an embarrassing mistake? Just click “edit” on the Dashboard to change the card. It will be updated for all future viewers.
• Share - Want to share your card on Twitter or Facebook? Click “Share” from the Dashboard.
• View - Just want to bask in the glory of past eCards? You can view them all on the new eCards Dashboard.

Check it out and let us know what you think!

This post written by Stephanie Fader, Marketing & PR Manager

A few weeks ago we launched a fun new section of our site called Reasons to Celebrate. In the few weeks since our launch we’ve already gotten some great feedback about the site. Bloggers have written about some of the quirky reasons to celebrate in July, including the math holiday, Yellow Pig Day (7/17).

People are also talking on Twitter and Facebook about some of these crazy days. Last Friday there was a great conversation on our Facebook page in response to Mutt’s Day (8/31). Check it out:

And there are plenty of great reasons to celebrate to look forward to in August: National Root Beer Float Day (8/6), S’mores Day (8/10), National Creamsicle Day (8/14), and National Banana Split Day (8/25). Good luck getting through August without gaining a few pounds!

Want in on the fun? Get daily updates on the day’s Reason to Celebrate by becoming a fan of MyPunchbowl on Facebook or following us on Twitter.