The official blog of rewards acceleration leader Rakuten Loyalty
Posted by tom on October 18, 2012 under Company News | 
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Want to work at one of the fastest-growing tech companies in Boston? We’re hiring here at FreeCause!
Learn more about what it’s like to work here and see what positions we’re currently recruiting for. Interns, software engineers, sales – we’re looking for talented professionals to join our team and if you’re one of those people, we want to talk to you!
Check out our listings and apply today!
Posted by tom on October 2, 2012 under Company News | Be the First to Comment
What are you doing next Tuesday between 6-8PM? If you’re free, why don’t you swing by our office and meet our team.
Next Tuesday, 10/9 between 6-8PM at our office (located a block from the Downtown Crossing train station) we’re having an informal Mixer where people can tour our office, meet our team, and learn more about what we do. It’s a casual and low pressure way to introduce yourself to us and meet some cool people. Plus we’ll have food and drinks on hand!
Looking forward to seeing you on the 9th!
Posted by tom on September 28, 2012 under Company News | Be the First to Comment
FreeCause has some big plans for the future. Using the experience and expertise gained from helping more than 300 major brands and loyalty programs launch successful loyalty solutions, we have aspirations to change the way people are rewarded for their online behavior. To accomplish ambitious goals like this, it requires having the right team of technical talent in place. Fortunately for us, we have the team of engineers to accomplish this – one of them being Greg Langlais.
Greg joined FreeCause in December 2011 as one of our Software Engineers, overseeing a number of core scalable software solutions for us. Since joining FreeCause, Greg has helped shore up our current systems and technology for clients, while also helping begin re-architect our technology platforms for future rewards technology. In the little free time Greg could find, he even recently taught himself node.js (which our technology sits on) and helped fellow teammates learn the software system. Impressive to say the least!
Currently Greg is immersed in some of the higher level priorities for FreeCause, including a re-architecture which will allow us to offer more solutions, services, and data for our clients. The re-architecture will enable us to continue to offer the fastest and most reliable solutions available in the industry. Greg is also involved in updating our transaction reporting system, allowing us to process a far greater number of transactions than currently capable of, manage fraud systems, and provide improved internal and external reporting. Lastly, Greg distributed a new processing system for running big data algorithms and jobs which in turn offers data with better behavior predictions and accuracy.
Since his early childhood years Greg has had a lifelong love of flying, reinforced by family trips to Europe and countless hours in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Believing he wanted to be a fighter pilot, Greg attended Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he studied in Aeronautics and Traffic Control. Though his love for flying only continued to grow, Greg realized a career in it was not for him. Lucky for us, he then refocused on his other passion – computer programming.
When not helping build the future of FreeCause’s technology, Greg likes to remain active – be it shark diving, hiking, cycling, running, swimming, and not surprisingly flying.
Posted by tom on under Brand Loyalty, General News | Be the First to Comment
Each month we read a slew of interesting articles about developments in loyalty programs, eCommerce, and technology. Below are a few of the interesting ones from the past couple of weeks.
With Halloween right around the corner, we have holiday shopping (and candy corn) on the mind. We came across the following Experian data about Halloween eCommerce and marketing trends. Did you know that 67% of all Halloween sales revenue last year came 3 or more weeks prior to Halloween?
The next couple of months can make or break a company’s year. According to eMarketer, online holiday shopping will increase 17% this year, with total spending expected to exceed $54 billion. Time to finalize those marketing plans and prepare to take advantage this holiday season!
Loyalty programs are always trying to outdo one another, offering new and innovative perks to drive loyalty. In this Los Angeles Times article, you can learn more about Loews Hotels & Resorts’ newest addition to its loyalty program – free access to faster security lines at airports.
FreeCause, and our Codinization Project, also made the news recently. Computerworld published an extensive spotlight on our Codinization Project – where each employee is learning JavaScript this year.
Posted by tom on September 24, 2012 under Company News | Be the First to Comment
Career Fairs can be a great way to meet and attract top talent to your company. They can also be a waste of resources if not properly managed.
Our Director of Human Resources, Mellissa Santos, provides some helpful tips in this BostInno article on how companies can best utilize career fairs to provide a higher ROI and a steady stream of candidates.
Posted by tom on under Company News | Be the First to Comment
Today the Boston Business Journal and Mass High Tech named their 2012 Innovation All Stars. We are thrilled to announce that our CEO Michael Jaconi was named one of the awards’ “Rising Stars”.
Winners in this category were chosen for “doing remarkable things within their industries.” Jaconi, along with the other winners, will be honored at an awards reception on Wednesday 11/14 at the House of Blues in Boston.
Congratulations Mike on this well deserved honor!
Posted by tom on September 18, 2012 under Company News | Be the First to Comment
Want to meet the FreeCause team and learn more about the exciting opportunities we have on our team?
Stop by the FreeCause Mixer Tuesday, 10/9 between 6-8PM at our office (Downtown Crossing). We’ll have food and drinks for you to enjoy and you’ll have the opportunity to tour our office space, meet the team, and tell us more about yourself.
We look forward to seeing you on 10/9!
Posted by tom on September 17, 2012 under Rakuten | Be the First to Comment
As reported in AllThingsD today, our parent company Rakuten is the lead investor in a Series B round of funding for online marketplace Daily Grommet.
Daily Grommet, whose motto is “fresh finds, true stories”, each day features a new product and the story behind its origin. The site utilizes video, social, and discovery tools to connect consumers with smaller retailers.
Daily Grommet is Rakuten’s second recent investment in US online companies, having led a major round of funding in May for social bookmarking website Pinterest.
Posted by tom on September 13, 2012 under Company News | Be the First to Comment
Yesterday we announced the winners of our “Shugi Award” which is given out each month to the employees who went above and beyond that month to help their teammates and FreeCause succeed.
For August we are proud to award two Shugi Award winners, Kyle Gifford and Greg Langlais.
Kyle is our Implementation Team Manager and was recognized for his willingness and ability to take over a mountain of additional responsibilities, ensuring as an exceptional Scrum Master that each sprint runs as effectively and efficiently as possible. Kyle is always very agile, able to pick up any task and see if through to exemplary completion.
Greg is one of our Software Engineers and on top of his regular busy workload, also took the time on teach himself node.js. In only a couple of weeks, Greg was able to pick up the software system to the extent that he was also able to begin teaching others on the team. His initiative, drive, and leadership made him an ideal winner of our Shugi Award.
Posted by tom on under Company News | Be the First to Comment
The FreeCause team is heading back to college this fall. As part of our extensive recruitment efforts to put together the most talented team in the industry, we’re taking advantage of the wealth of opportunities the Greater Boston area has to offer.
We’ll be attending the following Career Fairs this fall and we’re excited to talk to area students about both what makes FreeCause special and also all of the opportunities and perks we have to offer.
9/19 Worcester Polytechnic Institute
9/20 Boston College
9/12 MIT
9/28 Tufts University
10/19 Harvard University
We’re in the process of adding more Career Fairs, so keep an eye out for more updates soon.