Benja Gets Active

It's SUMMER! We love Summer here at Benja and we also have some seriously preferred ways to stay active. We're pretty different but we do drag each other to our own favorite places when we get together. 

Our CEO Andrew loves to spin, run, and is starting to get into kiteboarding! It's important to note he's faithful to ONE cycling chain (Flywheel) and don't you dare try to convince him that, for example, SoulCycle could even be comparable. 

Andrew, and this racoon, make it look easy (it's not).

Kiteboarding is a surface water sport combining aspects of wakeboarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Andrew has already taken this interest to Hawaii and Antigua, while also tooling around some of the great spots in the Bay Area.

Kiteboarding in Antigua.

Our CTO Tommy is into two things: Ultimate and Disc Golf. You may be thinking "hey! those both require a frisbee!", which only means you're onto his scheme to be practicing for one sport while he's playing the other and vice versa. Here's a real life action shot of Tommy playing Ultimate:

Go Tommy go!!

Our CMO, Morgan, is game for anything with the exception of running. As of late, the group class she's into is OrangeTheory. It's got something to do with Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (or EPOC), and you wear a heart rate monitor that you can track on the screen throughout the class. Sounds cool (but exhausting). She's also into hiking, being a SoCal native her favorite spots tend to be lined by the ocean.

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve hike.

What's your favorite way to stay active? Tell us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Why "Benja"?

Today, we're going to tackle two of the main questions we get; why did you name the company Benja? And, if your company name is Benja, where does benjamin come into play? We've been stopped mid-pitch to answer this question, at the beginning of meetings, the end, through e-mail, through text and many other ways. So let's break it down.

Enter Benjamin Franklin. Mr. Franklin is, as you may know, featured on the $100 bill. As you may also know, it's "all about the benjamins," and we're stoked to help you save as many of those as possible. Further, the majority of our offerings will cost you less than a benjamin. So that's pretty neat.

When we launched our mobile app, benjamin: sixty-second deals, that worked. But when we started to grow into other areas (like online display advertising), we discovered the need to speak about each of these things individually. We decided that the -min in benjamin could stand to mean "the one minute deal app," (which is why our logo includes a clock) and the rest could call under the umbrella of Benja. 

Have you ever noticed the clock actually counts down 60 seconds each deal you swipe through on the benjamin app? It's true! If you don't buy or pass on a deal in the app within 60 seconds, it will automatically swipe to the next deal. 

So you could still argue we should have stuck with one name, but if you browse around our website you'll see we have multiple facets to our business. We work with vendors to get the best deals, we work with publishers so you can shop the benjamin app deals inside the confines of a display ad, we send irresistible deals via e-mail (sign-up here) and we even have something brewing called The B List.

At the end of the day, it's all about the benjamins.

Bonus Fact: we actually started with a different name altogether .... Ephecom Inc. Which stands for Ephemeral E-Commerce Incorporated. We changed it. You're welcome.

Benjaversary

We're three!!!

Today is our 3rd anniversary of existence and we're pretty excited about it! Instead of giving you a whole blog post to read through after the extended holiday weekend, below is a compilation of some of our favorite gif's ... enjoy! (Oh, and scroll to the bottom for a treat).

We couldn't have gotten this far without you, so use the code BENJAVERSARY to get $10 your next purchase on the benjamin app. Code expires Sunday, July 9th. 

Don't have the app? Download now!

Fourth of July+Summer Must-Haves

The holiday weekend is here and for many this is the unicorn of holiday weekend's; the 5-day weekend! Just a couple weeks ago Summer officially kicked off, and many even wait until the 4th to really start their Summer living. Here, we want to show you all our must-haves for the 4th, that are appropriate (and encouraged) all Summer long. 

The key for the gents; swim trunks! For guys still wearing trunks down to their knee's step out of your comfort zone and show a little leg. These trunks will take you through beach days, pool parties and so much more.

WUAMBO Men's Sports Running Swim Board Shorts with Pocket, Mesh Lining

Ladies, just give into the pool float trend. It's hard to fight something that isn't going anywhere so if you can't beat em', join em'! There's the classic swan float, the unicorn float, the donut float but we're really into the pineapple float this Summer. Get yours now so you can throw pool parties or just bring it to everyone else's. 

BigMouth Inc. Giant Pineapple Pool Float

Summer can be hot, and the best people at any gathering are those who bring the cold goods. Don't get caught with tiny ice packs around beer or flimsy cooler bags. Travel with the Yeti Roadie cooler and help everyone chill out.

YETI Roadie 20 Cooler

Must. Stay. Hydrated. Pick your "poison" to rid of the actual poison, but our Summer favorite is Hint water. Try this variety pack that contains 3 bottles each of crisp apple, watermelon, pineapple, and blackberry flavors. You're welcome.

Hint Fruit Infused Water Variety Pack, 16 Ounce (Pack of 12)

Fun fact: you're 80% more likely to lose your sunglasses during Summer than any other season. Ok, we haven't verified those statistics outside of our own team but it has to be true. Don't take your favorite Ray-Ban's to the beach, leave your Prada's at home, get this 10-pack of sunnies and stop stressing over lost/broken shades. 

UNISEX 80'S RETRO STYLE BULK LOT PROMOTIONAL SUNGLASSES - 10 PACK

What are your Summer must-haves? Tweet, Facebook or Instagram us the things you can't live without! 

Everyone enjoy this holiday weekend and make it a Summer for the books.

Day Drinking

Today, we're here to talk about day drinking otherwise known as drinks you sip on during the work week.

We thought it was pretty interesting that our CEO, CTO and CMO all prefer different morning drinks... none of which are a regular cup of joe. 

On any given day our CEO, Andrew, can be caught at a juice bar. This guy loves fresh juice. When he's in San Francisco you can find him at Raw Juice where his drink of choice is the Motherload. If he's in Boston, he will swing by Revolution Juice for the Sweet Beet. Finally, if he's zooming through NYC you can catch him grabbing Charcoal Lemonade at Pressed Juicery.

Our CTO, Tommy, is less complex as his go-to drink of choice is... water! We're not here to knock water, the health benefits are amazing and he's making a much better financial choice. However, we admit the team has tried to get him to expand his horizons (to no avail). Naturally, we had to inquire about his favorite places to grab water: 

Our CMO, Morgan, cares about one thing; caffeine. Her number one go-to when she needs to hit the ground running is a doppio with a splash of chocolate. Don't know what a doppio is? It's two straight shots of espresso, and one way to say "good morning!". Next up, sugar-free redbull. She claims this is a once a week thing when she really wants to buckle down, but sometimes we're sure she's sneaking a few more in.

So what's your morning drink of choice? What snaps you into gear during your afternoon lulls? Let us know on any of our social channels; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Mother's Day Prep

Mother's Day is two weeks away, and we want to first, remind you, and second, make sure you're prepared. We've got some pretty awesome mom's across the Benja crew and we've put together a list of all the things they want, hoping they'll help you out too.

1. Dogeared "Mom" I Love Mom Necklace
Unless you know your mom already has a staple necklace that she refuses to ever change, this is a great option. Even if you've never seen your mom wear a necklace, safe bet that she will start wearing one if you send it for Mother's Day. Dogeared has a lot of great products, but this one is our favorite.
 

$42, Sterling silver necklace featuring a genuine pearl in the center.

2. Nambe Cheese Block with Knife and Spreader
If your mom is the hostess with the mostess help her out with some more great pieces to have when guests show up. We love Nambe products and the magnetic tools on the side of this cheese block are always a unique conversation piece. Not to mention, you know mom has everything to entertain, so you don't want to get her a piece that's hard to store. 

$70.55, Acacia-wood/stainless steel.

3. Dear Mom Mug
If you've got some competitive siblings, or maybe you're the competitive one, this gift is for you. There are quite a few options out there, but this one spoke to us. We're always fighting for the #1 spot with mom, don't kid yourself, so let her be reminded of you each morning when she sips on her coffee/tea.

$10.49, Safe for Microwave and dishwasher.

4. Fitbit Alta HR
Our mom's love tracking their steps. Some of them go on long walks each morning and want to know exactly how far they went and also want to beat the previous day if only by a few steps. If you want to go above and beyond, get two and start competing. Fitbit's are always a win, and the Alta has tons of interchangeable bands to accessorize with. 

$129.95, Automatically track your steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes with up to 7 days of battery life.

5. Seasons of Life Note Card Assortment Pack
We'll end with our top sentimental choice, stationary. If you want to do it up big, order this set directly to you, keep half of the cards (and envelopes) and send the other set off to mom and include 12 postage stamps. This will take a tiny bit of continued work, but you can send the first note with her set and promise to write each other once a month for the next year. She will swoon, and you'll have won Mother's Day. You're welcome.

$13.99 4 7/8 x 3 1/2 folded. 

Order now and make sure mom has something to open up on Mother's Day! If you need more ideas, send a message to support@benjaminapp.co and we'll help you find the right gift.