Rajen Ruparell

Rajen Ruparell
Born	(1983-06-06) 6 June 1983 (age 41) Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Alma mater	University of Toronto Imperial College Business School
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor

Rajen Ruparell (born June 6, 1983) is a Canadian entrepreneur, investor, board director and philanthropist. He is best known as the Founder and Chairman of Endy and as Co-Founder of Groupon International via acquisition of his company Citydeal.

Personal life

Ruparell was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He pursued his undergraduate at the University of Toronto and holds an MSc in Management from the Imperial College Business School in London. ^[1] Prior to founding Citydeal, Ruparell worked in his family business of auto dealerships and real estate, and had a brief career in venture capital at Oxford Capital Partners, before leaving to pursue his own Internet ventures. Ruparell serves as Executive Director of the Rajen Ruparell Foundation, focusing on major donations in education, basic child needs, the arts, and women empowerment. ^[2] In 2017, he was reported to have paid $100,000 at a fundraiser charity auction for a private magic session with David Blaine, in support of children’s education in Haiti. ^[3]

Career

Ruparell is the Founder of Endy, which was sold to Sleep Country in November 2018 as one of Canada’s largest-ever e-commerce acquisitions, and a Co-Founder of Groupon International via the acquisition of his company Citydeal which was acquired in 2010 in Groupon’s largest acquisition to date. ^{[4] [5] [6]} Ruparell was called one of the “Best Young Entrepreneurs in the World” in an interview with Larry King in 2017, the same year he was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He has been featured in various publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Reader’s Digest, ^[7] CBC, The Globe & Mail and Fortune. Ruparell serves on the board of Clearbanc ^[8] and was a pre-IPO investor in Twitter and Spotify.

Endy

In 2015, Ruparell co-founded and financed Canadian mattress brand Endy, where he served as Chairman, Founder, and Majority Shareholder. In under four years, Endy became Canada’s leading online mattress retailer and was sold in 2018 for $89 Million to Sleep Country Canada. ^[9] Ruparell serves as the Executive Chairman of the newly formed joint entity created through the acquisition. The company has generated over $500m in sales and has won numerous awards including being named Fastest Growing Retailer in Canada by Maclean’s and Canadian Business. ^[10]

Groupon

Citydeal, also referred to as Groupon International, was a European-based deal company co-founded by Ruparell in the United Kingdom and Groupon’s entry into Europe. ^[11] It was a startup funded by the Samwer brothers, Rocket Internet, and Holtzbrinck Ventures which Ruparell joined early in its development. The company was acquired by Groupon in 2010, ^{[12] [13]} just five months after its launch. Although no confirmed figures were released of the deal, it was reported that the sale of Citydeal was between $100M USD and $300M USD. At the time of acquisition, Citydeal employed 600 people and had a presence in 80 cities in 16 countries. ^[14] In 2011, ahead of Groupon’s IPO, Ruparell and his co-founders moved to the Chicago headquarters to spearhead growth in Groupon’s North American business. He was charged by the board with founding Groupon Goods, which diversifies from their core local business Groupon. ^{[15] [16] [17]} At the time of Ruparell’s announced departure, Groupon Goods generated billings of nearly $1.5 Billion USD. ^[18]

References

1. Guttormson, Kim (November 12, 2011). "Calgarian becomes key player in daily deal giant" Calgary Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
2. "Rajen Ruparell '01: Thinking outside the box" Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School Alumni News. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
3. "Helen Mirren drops the B word at TIFF fundraiser" The Star. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
4. Bhattacharjee, Nivedita (October 23, 2011). "Groupon taps Citydeal team to boost sales" Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
5. (September 14, 2012). "Groupon looks to expand global business" Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
6. "Groupon Sales Chief Steps Down" Recode. Retrieved 2015-2-4.
7. "6 Brilliant Business Tips From One of Canada’s Top Entrepreneurs" Reader's Digest. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
8. "A month after raising $70M, Clearbanc raises $50M fund to front startups ad money" TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
9. "Canadian mattress company Endy to be acquired by Sleep Country Canada in landmark $89 million deal" Bloomberg. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
10. "Endy named Canada's fastest growing retail company, 4th overall, on the 2018 Startup 50" Markets Insider. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
11. "Groupon Expansion Strategy" Inc. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
12. (August 24, 2012). "Groupon’s National Sales Chief Out" The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
13. Fowler, Geoffrey (May 17, 2010). "Shopping Site Groupon Buys Germany's CityDeal" The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
14. (May 16, 2010). "Groupon acquires German clone CityDeal" Tech Crunch. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
15. (September 28, 2011). "Groupon gets into online retailing with Groupon Goods" The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
16. (August 23, 2012). "Groupon senior sales executive leaving" Reuters. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
17. Pletz, John (August 24, 2012.) "What the departure of Groupon's national sales exec means" Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
18. Lardinois, Frederic (November 8, 2012). "Groupon Reports Q3 2012 Earnings" Tech Crunch. Retrieved 9 November 2012.