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GyftGram
Techstars '24New York City, US · Founded 2020 · 9 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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GyftGram provides a QR code-based digital gift card platform for restaurants, allowing them to sell branded eGifts through their websites and social media that customers redeem by scanning codes at dining locations.
Also known as Gyftgram
Founders & leadership
GyftGram was founded in 2020 by Marisel Polanco.
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026GyftGram operates a digital gift card and contactless payment platform aimed at restaurants and hospitality businesses. Merchants sell branded eGift cards through their own website, a white-label checkout page, or social media channels; buyers can attach a personalized message, and recipients redeem the gift by scanning a QR code from a mobile device at the merchant's location. The company positions the product as both a payment instrument and a promotional tool, emphasizing that no additional hardware or complex integration is required to start selling.
Alongside the gift card product, the platform includes a CRM layer that gives merchants first-party data and real-time KPI metrics, including sales tracking, detailed order history, transaction monitoring and monthly statement reports, intended to support promotional campaigns targeting new and repeat customers. GyftGram also assumes liability for fraudulent transactions, stating that clients are not held responsible for chargebacks and disputes, and handles customer service inquiries related to gift cards on the merchant's behalf.
The company describes itself as an early entrant in frictionless QR-code digital gift cards for restaurants and says it is developing an additional application focused on how restaurants connect with diners. A Techstars job board profile characterizes GyftGram as a GenAI hospitality technology platform that helps restaurants better understand their customers.
Founding story
Public listings identify Kevin Malley and Marisel Polanco as co-founders of the New York City-based company. Malley, listed as Co-Founder/CEO, has a background in marketing and promotional campaigns, high-growth SaaS and consulting, and served as a brand ambassador for Raise Marketplace, a US secondary digital gift card exchange; he holds a BA from Penn State University. Polanco, listed as Co-Founder/COO, spent over a decade in hospitality as a restaurant and event manager, working at New York restaurants and joining the management team at BondST before launching GyftGram, and holds a BS in marketing and international trade from FIT in New York.
Business model
GyftGram supplies restaurants with a hosted digital gift card sales and redemption system, offering enterprise-capable solutions while positioning its service as personalized and fully managed, including customer support for end users. Merchants retain funds from gift cards purchased through their own website or social channels, and those balances are redeemable only at the issuing merchant's locations. Pricing details are referenced on a dedicated pricing page but not specified in the available material.
Traction
The company reports internal analytics indicating that guests who pay with a digital gift card spend 72% more than those using a regular payment method. A Techstars job board profile lists company size at 1-10 employees.
Latest developments
The company says an additional application beyond digital gift cards is in development and invites merchants to join at launch. Its website carries a 2025 copyright notice.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
GyftGram describes itself as one of the pioneers of frictionless QR-code-based digital gift cards for restaurants and cites industry statistics on digital gift card adoption, including that digital cards accounted for nearly 20% of holiday gift card sales and that 46% of consumers are likely to purchase a digital gift card within six months.
The company emphasizes that funds from gift cards sold through a merchant's own channels remain with that merchant and are redeemable only at its locations, contrasting this with other platforms. It also assumes fraud, chargeback and dispute liability rather than passing it to merchants, provides end-customer support, and requires no additional hardware, paper or plastic, which it frames as part of an environmental sustainability objective.
Technology
The platform converts digital gift cards into mobile-redeemable instruments using QR codes scanned at the point of service, removing the need for physical cards, printed vouchers or additional hardware at the merchant location. Customers pay directly from their mobile devices rather than handing over a phone or transcribing a gift card number. Merchant-facing functionality includes a CRM with real-time metrics, order history, transaction monitoring and monthly statements. A Techstars listing describes the platform as using generative AI for hospitality customer insight.
Go-to-market
Merchants sign up directly through the company's website and can be operational without integration work. Setup options are tiered by merchant readiness: a customized white-label checkout page linked to social media for merchants without a website, a matching checkout page for merchants with an existing site, and a fully handled setup for merchants who prefer the company to manage everything. Distribution of gift cards runs through the merchant's own website and social media platforms.
Restaurants and hospitality operators of varying sizes, including those without an existing website, those wishing to embed a gift card checkout page matching their current site, and enterprise customers seeking a fully managed setup.
Geography
Based in New York City, with locations listed at Battery Park City and Union Square in New York, NY.
History
The company launched a QR-code-based digital gift card product for restaurants and subsequently positioned itself around broader digital gift card and contactless payment technology. It states that it is developing a further application intended to change how restaurants connect with diners. A Techstars job board listing gives a founding year of 2022 and classifies the company across hospitality, mobile payments, SaaS and software.
Risks & controversies
Sourced records diverge on founding year, with a Techstars job board listing stating 2022. The company assumes chargeback, dispute and fraud liability on behalf of its merchant clients, concentrating that exposure on itself.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- GyftGramgyftgram.io · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does GyftGram do?
- GyftGram is a New York-based platform that lets restaurants sell branded digital gift cards redeemed by QR code.
- Who founded GyftGram?
- GyftGram was founded by Marisel Polanco in 2020.
- Who are GyftGram's investors?
- GyftGram's investors include Techstars.
- Where is GyftGram headquartered?
- GyftGram is headquartered in New York City, US.