Careers at Ibotta

Mission

Ibotta's mission is to transform the shopping experience by making it easy for consumers to earn cash back on everyday purchases through a single smartphone app.

History

By any measure, Bryan Leach was leading an interesting life when he launched Ibotta in 2011. By his early 30s, Leach was a high flying partner at Bartlit Beck, an international law firm. Prior to this he had clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. A Marshall Scholar and a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Leach was born into a British family in Nairobi, Kenya. After relocating to the United States his father founded Harbinger, an e-Commerce firm that was sold for $1.2 billion in 2000. This experience would later inspire Leach to turn his business idea into an obsession.

Unsatisfied with his legal career, Leach increasingly became interested in the possibilities of e-commerce and particularly, the potential for mobile devices and data to transform the retail and advertising industries. With the idea of connecting brands, retailers and consumers through a mobile app, Leach set out to raise money and interest. Former legal partners, friends from university and family connections would form the bulk of angel investors in his new business. But it was through the help of Larry Sonsini, who was introduced to Leach through his wife, that he raised the first million dollars of Ibotta’s $3 million seed funding.

The appeal of Ibotta was clear. Customers could unlock rewards by responding to polls, watching videos, reading about new products, or doing other game-like activities.  Users got access to special rebates after completing tasks. They redeemed the rebates after shopping, verifying their purchases by taking a picture of their receipts using their smartphones or tablets. The money they saved was then sent to their PayPal or Venmo accounts. Advertisers too found the app appealing, as Ibotta only charged them if their ads ended in a sale.

In 2013, Ibotta raised $7.9 million in its first round of funding. In 2014, the company raised $20 million in its Series B round with the help of Netscape founder Jim Clarke. In 2015, Clark led the Series C round which brought in $40 million. Today, Ibotta claims to have 1.9 million users, who have viewed 1.5 billion offers and earned more than $7.5 million from rebates. Some of its clients include Walmart, Target, Costco, Whole Foods and Safeway.

Benefits at Ibotta