TheFind.com
Encyclopedia
TheFind.com is a discovery shopping
search engine
targeting lifestyle products such as apparel, accessories, home and garden, fitness, kids and family, and health and beauty.
search for lifestyle products. TheFind.com is a privately-held company in Mountain View
, California
and received initial funding from Redpoint Ventures
, Lightspeed Venture Partners
and Cambrian Ventures. In 2007, they received an additional $15 million in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures.
search engine
, in contrast to a Comparison Shopping Engine model more commonly used for computers and electronics. According to the company's website, the search database includes over 320 Million products from over 500,000 stores and online merchants. Products are added to the search via crawling as well as merchant feeds. The search results are ranked using an algorithm based on relevancy and popularity, rather than a pay-for-placement ranking.
Clicking on a product from a search results page takes the user to the merchant's site where the product can be purchased directly from the merchant.
Since its re-launch, TheFind.com has announced several additional features including color search
and find similar items
Comscore Media Metrix shows TheFind to be the 2nd largest shopping search engine with 20+ million visitors per month as of May 2010.
On August 29, 2007 TheFind.com acquired the women's fashion shopping site Glimpse.com. TheFind.com now powers shopping results at Glimpse.com.
charity Doctors Without Borders. In the campaign launched in April 2007, searches that contained the color pink netted $1 per user per day for the breast cancer research organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure
.
consultant
Charles Knight named TheFind.com to his list of The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, . To be included on the list, search engines must demonstrate superiority to Google for that site's search specialty. TheFind.com has remained on this list for each monthly update and is the only search engine listed in the Shopping Search category.
In April 2007, Red Herring magazine named TheFind.com as a finalist for the Red Herring 100, a selection of the top private companies based in North America that play a leading role in innovation and technology. TheFind.com was also nominated for a 2007 Webby Award in the Best Retail
category.
TheFind has been mentioned on several industry related blogs and social communities, including ComparisonEngines.com and eCommerceOptimization.com. The company continues to generate buzz surrounding their services by announcing new features which include their mini-malls, virtual shopping districts and local search capability. Siva Kumar, company CEO, has also conducted interviews with industry professionals.
Discovery shopping
Discovery shopping is a type of online shopping that emphasizes the browsing aspects of the shopping experience. Discovery shopping search offers shoppers guided queries for more personalized results...
search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
targeting lifestyle products such as apparel, accessories, home and garden, fitness, kids and family, and health and beauty.
History
TheFind Inc, was founded in 2005 as FatLens Inc., initially specializing in event tickets search but later expanding to product search. On October 31, 2006 the site was re-launched as TheFind.com with an emphasis on discovery shoppingDiscovery shopping
Discovery shopping is a type of online shopping that emphasizes the browsing aspects of the shopping experience. Discovery shopping search offers shoppers guided queries for more personalized results...
search for lifestyle products. TheFind.com is a privately-held company in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and received initial funding from Redpoint Ventures
Redpoint Ventures
Redpoint Ventures is a prominent venture capital firm focused on investments in early stage technology companies. The firm's partners include Allen Beasley, Jeff Brody, Satish Dharmaraj, Tom Dyal, Tim Haley, Brad Jones, Nety Krishna, Chris Moore, Lars Pedersen, Scott Raney, John Walecka, Geoff...
, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a venture capital firm focusing on early stage investments in IT companies.The firm is based in Menlo Park, California and has raised approximately $2 billion of investor capital since inception across eight venture funds....
and Cambrian Ventures. In 2007, they received an additional $15 million in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures.
Business model
TheFind.com positions itself as a discovery shoppingDiscovery shopping
Discovery shopping is a type of online shopping that emphasizes the browsing aspects of the shopping experience. Discovery shopping search offers shoppers guided queries for more personalized results...
search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
, in contrast to a Comparison Shopping Engine model more commonly used for computers and electronics. According to the company's website, the search database includes over 320 Million products from over 500,000 stores and online merchants. Products are added to the search via crawling as well as merchant feeds. The search results are ranked using an algorithm based on relevancy and popularity, rather than a pay-for-placement ranking.
Clicking on a product from a search results page takes the user to the merchant's site where the product can be purchased directly from the merchant.
Since its re-launch, TheFind.com has announced several additional features including color search
and find similar items
Partnerships
TheFind.com has content partnerships with several established web and media properties including PayPal and Glam Publishers Network, as well as several blogs such as Celebrity-Babies.com, Popgadget.net, and ConnectingMoms.com.Growth
On March 28, 2007, TheFind.com announced that it has experienced a 540% increase in unique visits since its launch on October 31, 2006, and a change from 141,625 visits in November 2006 to a run rate of over 900,000 visits in March 2007. They also reported a monthly traffic growth rate of over 35% for Q1 2007. Quantcast.com, the leading media measurement service, shows TheFind.com at 7 million visitors per month as of Nov 2008 (http://www.quantcast.com/thefind.com)Comscore Media Metrix shows TheFind to be the 2nd largest shopping search engine with 20+ million visitors per month as of May 2010.
On August 29, 2007 TheFind.com acquired the women's fashion shopping site Glimpse.com. TheFind.com now powers shopping results at Glimpse.com.
Charitable campaigns
TheFind.com periodically runs "Color for a Cause" campaigns to raise money for charities. During each campaign, TheFind.com donates $1 to the selected charity each time users run a search that contains a designated color. In the first campaign launched on January 2007, TheFind.com donated $1 per user per day for searches that contained the color red, raising a total of $10,000 for the humanitarian aidHumanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
charity Doctors Without Borders. In the campaign launched in April 2007, searches that contained the color pink netted $1 per user per day for the breast cancer research organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, often referred to as simply Komen, is the most widely known, largest and best-funded breast cancer organization in the US....
.
Industry recognition and awards
In January 2007, SEOSearch engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
Charles Knight named TheFind.com to his list of The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines, . To be included on the list, search engines must demonstrate superiority to Google for that site's search specialty. TheFind.com has remained on this list for each monthly update and is the only search engine listed in the Shopping Search category.
In April 2007, Red Herring magazine named TheFind.com as a finalist for the Red Herring 100, a selection of the top private companies based in North America that play a leading role in innovation and technology. TheFind.com was also nominated for a 2007 Webby Award in the Best Retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
category.
TheFind has been mentioned on several industry related blogs and social communities, including ComparisonEngines.com and eCommerceOptimization.com. The company continues to generate buzz surrounding their services by announcing new features which include their mini-malls, virtual shopping districts and local search capability. Siva Kumar, company CEO, has also conducted interviews with industry professionals.
See also
- Online shopOnline shopOnline shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce...
- Price comparison servicePrice comparison serviceOn the internet, a price comparison service allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products. Most price comparison services do not sell products themselves, but source prices from retailers from whom users can buy...
- Search engines
- Vertical searchVertical searchA vertical search engine, as distinct from a general web search engine, focuses on a specific segment of online content. The vertical content area may be based on topicality, media type, or genre of content. Common verticals include shopping, the automotive industry, legal information, medical...
- List of search engines