GroupSpaces (stylized in
lowercase
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally '' minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing system ...
as groupspaces) was a
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based online company that provides technology to help real-world clubs, societies, associations and other groups manage their membership and activities, and promote themselves online. Founded by
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
students David Langer and Andy Young, the company was launched in the United Kingdom in 2007
and then since expanded into the United States and over 30 other countries.
The company has been inactive since 2013.
Revenue and funding
GroupSpaces generates revenue via a combination of premium accounts, targeted advertising and transaction commission from payments made through the site. The company also generates revenue by allowing graduate recruiters to advertise their campus activities and promote their opportunities to a highly employable community of students throughout the whole academic year. Campaigns can be targeted to specific universities and audiences such as fraternities, hobbyists and entrepreneurial clubs.
Since 2007, GroupSpaces has worked with over 70 graduate recruiters including
Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy LLP was a British multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in London, England. The firm has 590 partners and over 5,800 employees worldwide. In 2023 A&O reported an increase in revenue to GBP2.1 billion ...
,
Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance LLP is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of leading London-based multinational law firms.
In 2022-2023 Clifford Chance was the third largest law fir ...
, Slaughter & May, Freshfields, BCG,
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
,
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...
, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, Citi, JP Morgan, Barclays Capital,
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...
, Bank of England, Deutsche Bank,
Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...
, RBS, UBS, Lloyd's of London and the NHS. GroupSpaces also works with many of the leading recruitment agencies in the UK including Euro RSCG Riley, SAS Design, Thirty Three, TMP Worldwide, Stafford Long, Work Communications, Mediacom and City & Law.
The company raised a small amount of angel finance from Avonmore Developments in January 2008.
In June 2010 it secured a $1.3 million (£860,000) investment round from
Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a European venture capital firm with headquarters in both San Francisco and London. It invests primarily in tech companies.
History
Index Ventures has its origins in a Switzerland, Swiss bond (finance), bond-trading firm cal ...
and a leading angel investor consortium including
Dave McClure
David "Dave" McClure is an entrepreneur and angel investor based in the San Francisco Bay Area, who founded the business accelerator 500 Startups (now 500 Global) and served as its CEO until his resignation in 2017. He founded Practical Ventur ...
,
Chris Sacca
Christopher Sacca (born May 12, 1975) is an American venture investor, company advisor, entrepreneur, and lawyer. He is the proprietor of Lowercase Capital, a venture capital fund in the United States that has invested in seed and early-stage ...
, Simon Levene, Meagan Marks, Ariel Poler and Quincy Smith of CODE Advisors. The previous backers, Stephen Bullock and Simon and Michael Blakey, of Avonmore Developments, also participated in the round.
The funding has been used to expand both the technical and marketing teams in both the United Kingdom and United States. In the first few months of operation in the United States, top schools such as
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
,
Yale
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
,
Princeton
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
,
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
and
Stanford
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
signed on with GroupSpaces.
In April 2013 Andy Young walked away from Groupspaces and by July 2013 it had become a "ghost operation" with no customer support and no development. The UK Companies Registry started compulsory winding up against the company in April 2013, and although this was withdrawn, as of 3 November 2013 the company was again overdue with required filings.
Awards
On 13 April 2011 GroupSpaces was named the winner of the Social Networking and Collaboration category of the Startup 100 awards.
Closure
On 2 January 2021 GroupSpaces announced its closure with effect from 2 April 2021.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Online advertising services and affiliate networks
Digital marketing companies of the United Kingdom
Groupware
Companies based in London
Online companies of the United Kingdom