Flok

Short description: American tech startup based in New York City

flok

Type| Subsidiary
Industry| Mobile, Apps, Chatbots, Loyalty Programs
Founded| 2011; 15 years ago (2011)
Defunct| }}
Headquarters| New York City
Parent| Wix.com
Website| flok.com

Flok (formerly Loyalblocks)[1] was an American tech startup based in New York City that provides marketing services such as chatbots/AI,[2] customer loyalty programs, mobile apps and CRM services to local businesses.[3][4][5][6]

In January 2017, the company was acquired by Wix.com.[7][8] Around March 2017, Flok ceased communication.

On October 1, 2019, Flok communicated via email stating that Flok is shutting down on March 1, 2020.[citation needed]

On March 1, 2020, Flok communicated via email stating that Flok has officially shut down.[9]

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 2 Services
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Background

Flok was founded in 2011 by Ido Gaver and Eran Kirshenboim and has offices in Tel Aviv, Israel.[10] In May 2013, Flok secured a $9 million Series A Round from General Catalyst Partners with participation from Founder Collective and existing investor Gemini Israel Ventures.[11] In total, Flok has raised over $18 million in venture capital in three rounds.[12][13]

In May 2014, Flok announced a self-service loyalty platform for SMBs to build their own programs with beacon integration. At that time, approximately 40,000 businesses were using the service.[14] In 2016, Flok released a turnkey chatbot service for local businesses,[15][16] and was featured in AdWeek for developing the first weed bot chatbot for a California cannabis business.[17]

## Services

Flok offers an eponymous customer-facing app[18] that consumers use to receive rewards and deals from partner businesses,[19] and a Flok business app for merchants to manage the platform.[20] Both are available for iOS and Android operating systems.[citation needed] Flok's main products center around customer loyalty and rewards. The platform offers a digital punch card, proximity marketing, push messaging and CRM services in addition to its chatbots and AI features.[21]

Flok provides partner businesses with beacons that can locate customers and verify store visits.[22] As of July 2016, Flok had a 4-star rating on Merchant Maverick review site.[23]

## References

1. ↑ "Your next loyalty 'punch card' will be driven by AI". VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/07/your-next-loyalty-punch-card-will-be-driven-by-ai/. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
2. ↑ "Flok uses Bluetooth and chatbots to lure people inside thousands of small businesses". VentureBeat. 26 July 2016. https://venturebeat.com/2016/07/26/flok-uses-bluetooth-and-chatbots-to-lure-people-inside-thousands-of-small-businesses/. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
3. ↑ Forbes Communications Council. "How Conversational UX And The Internet Of Things Are Changing The Way We Communicate". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2016/07/06/how-conversational-ux-and-the-internet-of-things-are-changing-the-way-we-communicate/#60c8184a249e. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
4. ↑ "Should Your Business Create an App?". American Express OPEN Forum. 25 March 2016. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/business-create-an-app/. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
5. ↑ "Small Business Loyalty Programs : flok". Trend Hunter. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/flok. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
6. ↑ "Loyalty Is Not Enough — It's All About Customer Relationship Management Now". Geomarketing. 7 June 2016. http://www.geomarketing.com/loyalty-is-not-enough-its-all-about-customer-relationship-management-now. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
7. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (19 January 2017). "Wix buys Flok to add loyalty and mobile CRM to its business tools". https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/19/wix-buys-flok-to-add-loyalty-and-mobile-crm-to-its-suite-of-business-tools/.
8. ↑ "Wix acquires Israeli CRM co flok - Globes" (in he). 22 January 2017. http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-wix-acquires-israeli-crm-co-flok-1001173124.
9. ↑ "Is Flok Closing Down or Being Discontinued?". 22 November 2019. https://stampme.com/is-flok-closing-down-or-being-discontinued/.
10. ↑ Zimmerman, Eilene (16 September 2014). "LoyalBlocks Simplifies Mobile App Creation for Small Merchants". The New York Times. http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/loyalblocks-simplifies-mobile-app-creation-for-small-merchants/?_r=1. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
11. ↑ "LoyalBlocks Nabs $9M for Its Automated Mobile Loyalty Program". 23 May 2013. https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/05/23/nyc-based-loyalblocks-raises-9m-for-its-automated-mobile-loyalty-program/#gref.
12. ↑ Taylor, Colleen (23 May 2013). "LoyalBlocks Lands $9 Million Led By General Catalyst To Scale Out Its Mobile-Based Loyalty Program". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/23/loyalblocks-9-million-funding/. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
13. ↑ "Your next loyalty 'punch card' will be driven by AI". VentureBeat. 7 April 2016. https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/07/your-next-loyalty-punch-card-will-be-driven-by-ai. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
14. ↑ "LoyalBlocks Adds Beacon to Self-Serve Loyalty Platform for SMBS". http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/225373/loyalblocks-adds-beacon-to-self-serve-loyalty-plat.html.
15. ↑ "Flok uses Bluetooth and chatbots to lure people inside thousands of small businesses". 26 July 2016. https://venturebeat.com/2016/07/26/flok-uses-bluetooth-and-chatbots-to-lure-people-inside-thousands-of-small-businesses/.
16. ↑ "Flok wants to bring chatbots to the small business masses". 27 July 2016. http://marketingland.com/flok-wants-bring-chatbots-small-business-masses-186056.
17. ↑ "This California Marijuana Dispensary Is Using Bots to Understand Customers' Preferences". Adweek. 24 June 2016. http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/california-marijuana-dispensary-using-bots-understand-customers-preferences-172238. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
18. ↑ "flok - get rewarded on the App Store". App Store (iOS). https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flok-get-rewarded/id376560037?mt=8. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
19. ↑ "Startup LoyalBlocks helps small businesses zap deals and rewards to customers' smartphones". 7 September 2012. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/startup-loyalblocks-helps-small-businesses-zap-deals-rewards-customers-smartphones-article-1.1154135.
20. ↑ "flok business on the App Store". App Store (iOS). https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flok-business/id1102450236?mt=8. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
21. ↑ "Flok Launches Chatbots to Bolster Customer Engagement for Local Businesses | Street Fight". 26 July 2016. http://streetfightmag.com/2016/07/26/flok-launches-chatbots-to-bolster-customer-engagement-for-local-businesses/.
22. ↑ "Beacons 101: What Smart Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Need to Know | Payment Week". Payment Week. 17 May 2016. http://paymentweek.com/2016-5-17-beacons-101-what-smart-brick-and-mortar-retailers-need-to-know-10534/. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
23. ↑ "Flok Review - Merchant Maverick". Merchant Maverick. https://www.merchantmaverick.com/reviews/flok-review/. Retrieved 26 July 2016.

## External links

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