Entertainment.com

Retool the local coupon book (Entertainment.com)

Sam pitches reviving the local coupon-book model. Entertainment.com did ~$100M in revenue at its peak, was bought by PE for $135M cash, and Sam's twist is to act as the middleman who forwards cash to local vendors immediately—a lifeline during the cash crunch.

“I actually think that someone can retool these coupon books and build something super interesting. The way that I would angle it is I would say I don't— I would have to work through this model. I think it's— I think it's doable, but I would have to work through the unit economics. I think what you could do is do some type of deal where you as the middleman get your fee, but you can kind of forward your money to the vendors right away.”

Steal thisBe the middleman who pre-pays local vendors today against future coupon redemptions to solve their immediate cash crunch.