Facebook gifts come to real life with new alum start-up

Give Real, founded in 2007 by one-time roommates Patrick Ledbetter ’06 and Adam Ludwig ’06, has a facebook.com application and a website that allows one to buy drink credits for friends. These credits can then be exchanged for a real drink at any bar or restaurant in the country.

Ledbetter said the idea of linking the online and offline worlds was “revolutionary.”

“Facebook allows you to keep in touch with the people in your life. Give Real helps you strengthen those relationships by connecting with real-world experiences,” Ledbetter said. “Our service enables you to bring real value to virtual gifts.”

He added that the large number of places that honor Give Real’s credits differentiates it from similar businesses. The company’s wide reach is primarily due to its use of on-hand payment schemes.

“Our system is tied to the pre-existing credit card infrastructure,” Ledbetter said, adding that “similar services tend to work directly with [bars and other] establishments.”

In addition to its $0.90 transaction fee for each drink credit purchased, Ledbetter said the 10-employee start-up company makes money by “lining up paid sponsorships with beverage brands, so friends can share their favorite brands through givereal.com and on Facebook.”

Ledbetter added, however, that the details of these corporate sponsorships are “still in the works.”

The start-up was funded by Battery Ventures and Hillcrest Management as well as individual investors Brian O’Kelley ’99, co-founder of Right Media, and Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook. Though the start-up has not yet made a profit, Ledbetter was optimistic about the company’s prospects.

“We hope to be a profitable company very soon,” he said, adding that the project is “definitely” long-term.

“We wish to evolve over the next five to 10 years,” Ledbetter said. “We easily see [having] 100 employees over the next five years.”

Ledbetter also noted that the gifts’ flexible price range — from $1 to $99 drink credits — will help the service attract a wide consumer base.

Aside from the two founders, three other Princeton alumni — William Macreery ’06, Brian O’Kelley ’99 and Caroline Lau ’06 — are part of Give Real’s 10-employee staff. The company also employs Carter Cleveland ’09 as an intern. Lau is a marketing coordinator at Give Real.

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“We lived in the same entryway in Holder freshman year and became good friends,” Lau explained.

William Macreery ’06, a developer for the company, is also a close friend of the founders. “I was actually roommates with Adam [Ludwig] in senior year,” he explained.

Ledbetter said the alumni’s nostalgia for their days at Princeton inspired them to start the company.

“We wanted to relive our senior year, when we would go out and buy drinks for our friends when they turned 21,” Ledbetter said. “When we all graduated and spread out geographically, we were no longer able to celebrate with everyone in person. Sending a drink through Give Real is the next best thing.”