Please welcome On Me, the personalized digital gifting platform

Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

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Meet On Me, the latest addition to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio.

HQ: San Francisco, CA

Founders: Darragh Meaney and Sitar Harel

The problem: Gift cards as we’ve known them for the last several decades are out of step with today’s hyperpersonalizable digital environment. They’re also inconvenient: easy to lose, challenging to use, vulnerable to fraud, and significant contributors to plastic pollution. In 2023, gift card-related fraud accounted for approximately $217 million in losses, according to the Federal Trade Commission. And in 2021, $3.4 billion plastic gift cards were sold in the US, resulting in 37.5 million pounds of non-biodegradable waste. For consumers, they’re inconvenient and inaccessible. We need a modern gifting solution that allows recipients more choice in what they receive, in a secure and sustainable way.

On Me’s solution: On Me is advancing the traditional gifting industry from the magnetic swipe technology pioneered in the 1980s to sleek, modern mobile wallets, with Apple Pay and Google Pay integration, that provide consumers with the ability to purchase and checkout seamlessly with just a few taps on their phone. On Me enables a focus on hobbies and interests of the recipient, instead of single stores or items, which ensures you are gifting the person a gift they truly love, and making the whole experience hyperpersonalized and intentional for recipients. The company’s platform offers more than 70 gift cards, each tailored to a specific hobby or interest, and more than 2,000 curated, affiliate retailers. On Me’s platform is also built on a modern digital payment infrastructure and integrates Two-Factor Authentication across all transactions, resolving the security gaps of traditional gift cards.

Origin story: Darragh and Sitar first connected when they were product managers at Google. Five years later, they met in a New York cafe to discuss gift cards. For years, Darragh had struggled to find alternative ways of sending presents to his siblings, who were scattered around the world. Nothing worked well. Digital gifting platforms, he found, lacked personalization tools, and the gift card industry, which was still reliant on magnetic, single-swipe plastic cards, felt antiquated. At their meeting, he and Sitar — who has always been passionate about building technology that works to connect rather than distance people — hit on an idea that they would ultimately develop into On Me, a gift platform for the digital age.

Why we’re betting on it: On Me is in touch with today’s consumer, who is accustomed not only to the vibrant and media-rich experiences offered by content platforms, but also to having optionality. Research shows that Christmas alone generates $16 billion in gifts that go straight to the landfill, with nearly one in four Americans receiving a gift they don’t actually want (we’re even suspicious of that figure, and expect it’s far higher). On Me’s digital gift cards open up a new frontier of gift giving that ensures a responsible gift giving experience and deepens personal connections — something consumers are eager for in today’s atomized world. We’re excited to partner with Darragh and Sitar as they improve gift-giving for the benefit of human connection and sustainability.

Our take: With the global digital gift card market projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2032, On Me is well-positioned to lead the evolution to digital gift giving and, with their five-year partnership with Mastercard, build a lasting market advantage. For the last 15 years, we at LH have operated and invested in enterprise and consumer businesses of all stripes. On Me is a great example of a consumer business that is using technological advances to reimagine consumer experiences. They’ve created a practical and joyful platform that embraces people’s individuality, interests and relationships.

Further reading:Mastercard-backed startup On Me wants to disrupt the $200 billion gift card duopoly” via Fortune

Check out On Me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

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Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

Published in Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital fund founded and operated in New York City. We invest in good people with great ideas who redefine categories — and create new ones entirely.

Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau

Written by Lerer Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau is the most active early-stage venture capital fund in New York.

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