VIPGift was founded in 2000 by A. Hamid Andalib, a Tennessee restaurant owner with an innovative spirit and a passion for serving others. Hamid’s journey started many years earlier in Iran where, as a young teenager, he risked his life in order to immigrate to the United States. Alone in a strange country and initially unable to speak the language, Hamid was nonetheless determined to assimilate into American culture, and in just a few short years, he not only earned two college degrees, but also worked his way up from dishwasher to owner of the largest restaurant in Tennessee. It was at this restaurant that Hamid discovered the co-branded credit card and incentive industry – a discovery that ultimately inspired the creation of VIPGift.

Less than five years after its inception, VIPGift’s innovative products and superior service catapulted VIPGift to the top of the incentive industry, establishing it as one of the fastest growing companies in America. This considerable success attracted the attention of private equity and venture capital firms, and in October 2008, Summit Partners and Bridgescale Partners purchased a majority stake in VIPGift. As part of the transaction, Summit Partners and Bridgescale Partners brought in Richard Char as President and Patrick Gildea as Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development.

With the financial support of Summit Partners and Bridgescale Partners, VIPGift now plans to further establish its leadership in the incentive industry while continuing to offer turnkey corporate incentive and consumer loyalty programs to an increasingly dynamic industry customer base.