We are incredibly excited about news today that involves two Galvanize community member companies.
Purch, a leading digital content and services company, has announced the acquisition of Active Junky, a loyalty and rewards platform and we at Galvanize couldn’t be more excited for everyone involved.
The relationship between Active Junky and Galvanize runs deep. Galvanize was one of the first investors in Active Junky, and the company later recruited Ellie Schneiders, a Galvanize graduate and full stack developer to the team. We can speak with confidence that Purch is getting a fantastic team in this acquisition.
In 2012 when we opened the doors of our first campus, Active Junky was the very first Galvanize community member company. The founders, Kevin McInerney and Danny Efron, started building their business out of Galvanize’s temporary HQ in a small, second floor office on the corner of 15th and Wazee in Denver. That “office” was Jim Deters’ personal lab to create what eventually became Galvanize. Kevin and Jim talked strategy over ping-pong and beers daily, and when Galvanize was preparing to open the Golden Triangle campus, Active Junky was the first company to commit to being anchor community members.
Shortly after that, serial entrepreneur Justin Sanger (an early Galvanize member) introduced Galvanize co-founder Lawrence Mandes to Doug Llewellyn, who at the timewas running corporate development for Manta. Doug and Manta quickly signed on to become community members, and when Doug joined the Galvanize community, he emailed Lawrence, “…the vision you have for the Galvanize community is awesome…I look forward to actively participating.”
Doug quickly delivered on this promise by meeting Kevin and Danny October 18, 2012 over beer and pizza. That was the first day Galvanize members moved into the Golden Triangle campus at 11th and Delaware. Doug and the Active Junky team continued their relationship, and when Doug joined Purch as Chief Operating Officer in 2013, he began to see synergy between their two businesses.
This is exactly the type of thing we hoped would happen when we founded Galvanize. We’ve been repeatedly surprised and amazed by what can happen when great people come together as part of a community. Working closely with the Active Junky team over the past three years has been such an enriching experience, and it’s been a privilege to consider them both personal friends and Galvanize community members.
The Galvanize team wishes Purch and Active Junky all the best as they move forward together. I’m looking forward to more financings, acquisitions, and job placements for Galvanize community members and students across our six campuses in Colorado, San Francisco, Seattle and in early 2016, Austin. There’s certainly much more to come!
