Unconfirmed, that doesn't amount to much. And if true and they said 'no' they must have had their reasons, it all depends on the total package, not just on the amount. It most likely wasn't 80 million in cash, no strings attached.
I wonder how many actual active users they have. I know I downloaded their apps and did a couple activities but quit pretty quickly. Also, I originally tried them based on a piece of print advertising I saw somewhere, which makes me think they are spending a lot per user acquired.
Yes this is one of the ideas that only survive if they have a fast exit. It`s a neat idea but it does not scale. The whole "coupon" space is tainted by groupon
Take the money say "Thank you" join Facebook stay there for a while and get exposed to totaly new ideas and leave with a team after the IPO.
Scvngr always struck me as more of a Foursquare competitor than Groupon.
Honestly, I thought they had a lot of really good ideas, and they leveraged game mechanics in a really interesting way, but, unfortunately, they just didn't ever have the user base that makes that sort of service feel worthwhile.
Scvngr was able to present itself as beng in the running for a certain type of unproven service that was sexy for a very limited time and Foursquare, with many years and multiple incarnations before that was and is able to corner that particular and still unproven market. Scvngr looks like it tried to leapfrog its way ahead with their pivot but I haven't heard any news from them in awhile.
The difference between the two companies, if I would sum it up for myself, is that Den and Naveen actually believe in what they are doing is for a limited amount of people to really enjoy and not a be-all for everyone scaling across every knook and cranny of the country. It really is a social service for certain type of people, mechanics and all. Scvngr, on the other hand is what? A copy cat app producer headed up some kid relying on Trevor, who while a good developer, is just another guy. No passion for what they're doing, no story, no originality, no insight, no humanity.
Foursquare for all its warts is trying to solve a problem for people and enhance their lives; Scvngr is just trying to make a buck an I don't think that's lost on anyone.