An interview with Tony Lam from GoodNews.com

I recently had a chance to ask Tony Lam (from GoodNews.com, one of the local group buying startups) about GoodNews.com. Here are Tony’s responses to my questions. Also, on Thursday (e.g. today) GoodNews.com will have a great promo (see below).

1.- GoodNews.com almost sounds like a site to promote, actual good news. Why did you guys come up with that name for a group buying site?

We thought it was a great name because we felt our business is about more than daily deals. “GoodNews” should make every visitor and partner feel….good! The name highlights our commitment to doing good in the
community – we’re giving consumers great deals, businesses get exposure and new customers, and local causes get donations and added awareness.

2.- There is a myriad of group buying sites, and many launching in Vancouver. Why GoodNews.com and why now? How do you see the competitive landscape?

All of us that work at GoodNews.com love saving money, but we wanted to create a company that was more than just about offering local deals, which is why we made social responsibility a core business value. We all wanted to contribute to the community that we live in.

The landscape is competitive because group buying sites are providing a service and a product that both consumers and merchants want in the current economic environment. Despite the growing number of entrants in the space though, the idea of social shopping is still just emerging, with a lot of room for evolution. This is a new and effective marketing channel for merchants and it’s also offering people an exciting way to experience and support their community.

3.- What does GoodNews.com offer that other sites don’t?

The main difference between GoodNews.com and other daily deal sites is our commitment to giving back to the community. With GoodNews.com, we’re making it even easier and more seamless for people to exercise their social responsibility by automatically donating 10% of their purchase amount. It’s a powerful and accessible way for someone to save money and contribute to their community at the same time. We’re extremely proud of raising nearly $6,000 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank in September.

Locally, the second major difference is that our parent company also owns Vancouver.com and that allows us to provide local merchants with an extra marketing channel to increase awareness of their business.

4.- Would you work together with other group buying sites? What would be your requirements for that?

Although we share a similar model with other group buying sites, we’re not sure if we share the same focus and core competencies. That being said, we would certainly be open to working with other sites that wanted to partner together to enhance the community. A few of the other group buying sites are based in Vancouver and it would be great to take any opportunity to make our city better.

I also learned about their deal on Thursday with ReUp $1 for a pulled pork sandwich, with the $1 going to a charity (see below).