Consumer Club

I used to work for Hotels.com, and while I worked there, I have the good fortune to get to know David Litman. Not only is he one of the best bosses I've ever worked for, I learned more about running a business from him than from anyone else in my life. And even though he's fabulously wealthy now because of the tremendous success he had with Hotels.com, David is as down-to-earth and real as anyone on the planet. (And Bob Diener is one helluva nice guy too, although since he was in our Florida office, I didn't get to know him quite as well as I got to know David.)

But together they have now launched what I consider one of the ultimate affiliate websites at http://www.consumerclub.com/, which is an online shopping mall offering rebates on every imaginable product in every imaginable category. One of the site's unique selling propositions is that you can elect to have your rebates sent directly to the charity of your choice.

I think that with David Litman and Bob Diener at the helm, Consumer Club is going to become a household name. It's not a unique business model, BUT no one else has made their online shopping/rebate site into a householde name. David and Bob not only have the capital to achieve this, they also have the skill and the know-how to achieve it.

I wish them every success with the site, and I'll look forward to watching the brand grow over the next couple of years.