Buyapowa

The problem

Recommendation from a friend is the oldest form of marketing and, online, one of the hardest to organise. Buyapowa set out to give brands and retailers a way to run refer-a-friend programmes at scale: to reward existing customers for introducing new ones, and to measure precisely what those introductions were worth.

The approach

The company was founded in 2011 by Gideon Lask, who had previously run the online business of a major British retailer. It began with a social-commerce product, in which groups of shoppers could unlock better prices by buying together, and evolved into a referral-marketing platform used by telecoms operators, retailers, banks and utilities. Buyapowa sells software as a service; its customers run their referral programmes on its platform and pay for the results.

Roles

Dan was Buyapowa's founding chairman from January 2011 and Bright Station Ventures was among its earliest investors. TechCrunch reported in May 2015 that Bright Station Ventures had invested $4.6 million in 2013 and was participating in the company's $3 million Series A. Dan stepped down as chairman in September 2018. This is the most clearly documented example of Bright Station backing another founder's company at the start.

Outcome

Buyapowa has grown as an independent company. It has raised further institutional funding, acquired RewardStream, a Canadian referral-marketing business, and continues to release new products, most recently Community Referral in January 2026. Gideon Lask remains chief executive.

Today

Buyapowa is privately held and independent of Bright Station. Whether Bright Station retains any shareholding is not disclosed here and should not be assumed. Status checked 24 September 2026.