BillShrink

Former Color Co-Founder Peter Pham Heads to Former Myspace CEO’s L.A. Tech Studio (Video)

Kara Swisher in News on November 21, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

The well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur joins Mike Jones at Science.

Will the Next Groupon-Killer Be Your Bank or Even a Hotel?

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on August 3, 2011 at 4:31 am PT

Just about every company wants to get into the daily deals space. Soon you may start getting offers from your bank, hotel chains or airlines.

New Loyalty Programs Crop Up That Will Give You Cash Back Directly in Your Bank Account

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on May 11, 2011 at 12:01 pm PT

New forms of loyalty programs are cropping up to eliminate the need to carry a plastic card for every grocery store, coffee shop and department store you go to. The debate is not over whether it will change, but which model will dominate in the future.

Chances Are You're Paying Way More for Mobile Than You Need To

John Paczkowski in News on February 3, 2011 at 12:24 pm PT

Does your wireless plan suit your needs? Truly suit your needs? Because if it doesn’t, you’re potentially wasting hundreds of dollars. According to a yearlong BillShrink survey of more than 230,000 wireless users, people waste an average of $336 annually by miscalculating their voice and data needs.

Series Seed Documents–With an Assist From Andreessen Horowitz–To Help Entrepreneurs With Legal Hairballs

Kara Swisher in News on March 1, 2010 at 9:03 am PT

Series Seed Documents, templated term sheets for entrepreneurs to use for seed-stage deals, will be launched today, part of an effort by Silicon Valley lawyer Ted Wang and pushed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The point: So new entrepreneurs don’t waste time and money negotiating often unnecessarily complex term sheets.

Behind the Scenes at D@CES Event and Party (Including a Geek Chat With Punky Brewster!)

Kara Swisher in News on January 11, 2010 at 3:25 pm PT

Here’s a lovely video BoomTown did behind the scenes at our interview event and after-party at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last Friday, including interviews with Cisco Flip unit head Jonathan Kaplan, Billshrink’s Peter Pham, Consumer Electronics Association head Gary Shapiro and–drum roll–former “Punky Brewster” star Soleil Moon Frye, who was there for Kodak. Yippie! Grossaroo! Holy Macanoli! Punky Power!

Kara Visits The Lobby Party on Sand Hill Road (As Opposed to the Sandy Beaches of Hawaii)

Kara Swisher in News on June 12, 2009 at 4:55 pm PT

Last night, BoomTown went to a lovely party thrown by David Hornik, the August Capital VC who also runs The Lobby conference in his spare time. He threw the event because those who attend the annual invitation-only gathering in Hawaii wanted to get together again during the year in Silicon Valley for even more schmoozing. I went to the first Lobby in the fall of 2007, so Hornik let me in to have some pizza and beer at August’s offices on Sand Hill Road and use my Flip video to ask those in attendance where they thought the digital sector was in terms of the economy and innovation.

BillShrink's Pham Speaks About the T-Mobile Deal, the Econalypse and More!

Kara Swisher in News on May 20, 2009 at 6:00 am PT

Last week, BoomTown paid an economically-minded visit to the Redwood City, Calif., offices of BillShrink, a Silicon Valley start-up aimed at helping consumers find cheaper prices on gas, cellphones and plans and credit cards via a Web-based comparison and alert system. Launched about a year ago and armed with about $9 million in funding from Bessemer Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, it has aims of moving into a range of other money-saving arenas too. But today, it got a major boost in its existing business by inking a deal to be part of a huge national advertising campaign by T-Mobile aimed at boosting price awareness among consumers, an apt message for these econalyptic times.

Kara Visits Burda's DLD Luncheon in Silicon Valley!

Kara Swisher in News on September 17, 2008 at 3:23 am PT

Germany’s Hubert Burda Media threw a big luncheon in Palo Alto yesterday, which was stuffed full with Silicon Valley types. It was hosted by the company’s Steffi Czerny and Maria Burda, the wife of CEO and owner Hubert Burda, as well as well-known Israeli investor Yossi Vardi. Burda runs an annual digital conference in Munich, called DLD (Digital, Life, Design), even though the media giant is best known for its old-line magazines about fashion, cooking and crafts. So here’s the video!