Earlier this year, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss started Winklevoss Capital, their own private venture capital firm. Shortly after that, the two purchased an $18 million, 8,000 sq ft mansion in Los Angeles, reportedly signifying an expansion of the firm to the west coast (they already have offices in NYC). In September, Winklevoss Capital made its first major investment. They put $1 miilion into a four-year old startup called SumZero that just happens to have been co-founded by Divya Narendra. Yes, that Divya Narendra that was a part of the now famous lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.
Now, the Winklevii have made their second major investment.
This time, the twins have invested $750,000 in Hukkster, an online shopping helper that lets you save your desired items and then notifies you when the price drops.
“Hukkster is simply a button that lives in your browser. So it’s always there when you shop online,” says the company.
The startup allows users to “Hukk” products as they find them through everyday browsing. If you see and item you like, a home accessory, pair of paints, cool new electronic device – Hukk it and you’ll receive a notification (via email) when the product goes on sale. Hukkster is still in its invite-only phase as of right now, but it can already boast 10,000 users.
According to the New York Times, Hukkster was founded by two former retail consultants, Katie Finnegan and Erica Bell. Apparently, the startup has already had success with some big retail chains including J. Crew and Bloomingdale’s.
don’t get Hukked, Hukk! http://t.co/T7nRYt3d
“We started digging in and using the site,” Cameron Winkelvoss told the NYT. “We then had dinner with Katie and Erica and within a couple of weeks we had a deal confirmed.
“It’s the pull rather than the push – that’s the key. You’re only getting a notification if you’ve asked for it.”
That’s how Hukkster wants to separate itself from other services that email users will daily deals. Users only get an email notification when the price drops on a product they’ve already “Hukked.” It’s not a daily deal and it’s not a coupon, just a notification that it may be a good time to buy that product you already want.
With this investment, the Winklevoss Twins take another step away from the long, bitter litigation that kept them in the news for a couple of years.
Welcome to the family @Hukkster! — Winkleii Lead Investment in Shopping Site Hukkster http://t.co/J9TYyJki@dealbook@nytimesbusiness
@SumZero@Hukkster@dealbook@nytimesbusiness thanks guys!! excited to join you.
For more on the various adventures of the Winklevii, check here.
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