As fast as the daily deal industry took shape, Group Commerce is trying to establish itself as publishers' best resource for getting in on the action. Rather than a daily deal service itself, "it's banking on building a platform that other media companies can leverage," reports eMoney.

Founded by former Google and DoubleClick executives David Rosenblatt, Jonty Kelt, and Andrew Glenn, the start-up has now raised $8 million from Spark Capital, Carmel Ventures, Lerer Media Ventures and Bob Pittman. Right out of the gate, Group Commerce is already powering group-buying services for DailyCandy, Meredith Corporation, Thrillist and The New York Times. "We believe collectively that publishers have the strongest advantage," Rosenblatt tells eMoney. "They have the audience and the brand loyalty, but they are missing the mechanics and industry expertise."

Group Commerce is not just offering a technology platform, as eMoney notes, but also is sourcing the deals for its media partners, and finding a large audience and wide range of demographics for the merchants across publications.

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