CASE STUDY 3
HomeRun.com: Breaking into a Saturated Market
SUMMARY AND AUTHOR’S NOTE
HomeRun was the brainchild of Jared Kopf and Matt Humphrey, two entrepreneurs who met in
San Francisco in October 2008. Kopf was the former co-founder of digital content publisher
Slide, and Chairman of the self-service advertising platform, AdRoll. Humphrey was a Carnegie
Mellon prodigy and founder of the social gaming company, Kickball Labs. Kopf and Humphrey
became friends while working for Internet companies that shared office space in early 2008. The
two met up again in November 2009, when both were looking for new ventures to launch. Over
lunch, Kopf and Humphrey discovered their mutual interest in group buying.
HomeRun.com went live in late January 2010 in the local market of San Francisco and offered
the following products:
• Daily Steal: One amazing thing to do in the city every day.
In June 2010, the team expanded to include account managers, sales representatives, content
writers, and developers. Soon the demand for sales and customer service staff outweighed the
existing manpower, so Kopf hired Bob Olson, the legendary sales guru of GoDaddy.com. Kopf
decided that sales and customer service teams would relocate to Arizona where Olson would run
the office and where the costs of doing business were considerably lower.
Although the market is over-saturated, there is still an opportunity for a strong group buying
Case 3: HomeRun.com 88
WHERE TO USE THIS CASE
• Chapter 1: Use to discuss current trends in entrepreneurship, including the Internet and
social media.
CASE ANALYSIS
This case addresses a number of issues surrounding the Internet, social media, and e-commerce.
Differentiation in a Saturated Market
Simply offering a daily deal isn’t enough in a saturated market where consumers trade brand
Customer Service
Customer service is a critical opportunity for differentiation in this market space. In June 2010,
Virtual Marketing and Social Media
Viral marketing is inherent in the group buying paradigm and offers another critical opportunity
89 Case 3: HomeRun.com
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What criteria should the HomeRun team use in selecting among the many strategic
possibilities for the company?
They should focus on their core markets, business owners and consumers, with an eye on
2. Should HomeRun expand its merchant pages to allow merchants to run their own deals,
similar to the Groupon Stores idea, or should the company differentiate itself by diving
deeper into social gaming and membership rewards?
Opinions will vary, but the discussion should focus on effective strategies for
3. Should HomeRun continue to diversify by entering the global market or concentrate on
national partnerships with large corporations?
Generally, answers should reflect an understanding of the relative competitive market and
4. Given the saturation in the market and difficulty maintaining brand equity, does it make
sense to create a self-service platform that other companies can use to run their own
proprietary deals?
While answers may vary, low brand loyalty and a saturated market may make a self-service