GetUpside
GetUpside is a company.
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Leadership Team
Key people at GetUpside.
GetUpside is a company.
Key people at GetUpside.
Key people at GetUpside.
Upside (formerly GetUpside) is a mobile app and platform that delivers cashback rewards and personalized discounts on everyday purchases like gas, groceries, restaurants, and more, primarily targeting consumers seeking savings on essentials.[1][3] It serves individual users, small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), local retailers, brands, and advertisers by connecting them in a marketplace that boosts consumer purchasing power while driving incremental profit for brick-and-mortar businesses without altering their operations.[1][2][3] The company solves the problem of high costs in physical retail commerce by bringing digital personalization—typically seen in e-commerce—to offline transactions, enabling users to earn cashback (e.g., $200 million distributed to date) and retailers to gain measurable profit growth (e.g., $1 billion in incremental profit).[3][5] Growth has been rapid, with billions in annual commerce volume, doubling yearly, expansion to 35 million consumers, multiple offices, and Series D funding.[3][5]
Upside was founded in late 2015 by Alex Kinnier (CEO), Joanna Kochaniak, Tom Vaughan, Wayne Lin, and Rick McPhee, with Kinnier bringing expertise from product leadership roles at Opower, Google, and Procter & Gamble.[1][5] The idea emerged to revolutionize savings in brick-and-mortar commerce, starting with gas stations amid consumer needs for convenient cashback.[1] Key milestones include closing a Series A in November 2015, official launch as GetUpside in January 2016, first gas stations onboarding in May 2016, followed by expansions to groceries, restaurants, hardware stores, and offices in Austin, Chicago, and New York; it rebranded to Upside after Series D funding, adding mobile payments.[1][3]
Upside rides the trend of hybrid commerce, blending e-commerce personalization with physical retail to counter online giants, especially post-pandemic when communities faced economic strain and inflation hit essentials like fuel.[2][5] Timing aligns with rising consumer demand for savings amid economic pressures (e.g., Fed rate cuts boosting purchasing power) and merchants' need for profitable growth tools.[2][5] Market forces favoring it include offline retail's scale (billions in U.S. commerce), data-driven marketing shifts, and sustainability mandates, positioning Upside to level the playing field for SMEs against digital disruptors.[1][3][6] It influences the ecosystem by fostering economic harmony—empowering local businesses, consumers, and even civic engagement (e.g., 75,000 users in 2020 elections)—while proving tech can drive real-world profit and impact.[2][5]
Upside is poised for accelerated expansion via mobile payments, deeper personalization, and sustainability scaling, potentially surpassing current $6B+ commerce volume as economic recovery amplifies demand for value-driven retail tech.[3][5] Trends like AI-optimized offers, inflation resilience, and "1% for the Planet" momentum will shape it, evolving its influence from cashback app to comprehensive economic enabler for communities.[2][3] With General Catalyst backing and a customer-first ethos, expect broader merchant adoption and global reach, advancing its mission to empower real-world economies.[5]
