CouponCabin Founder Scott Kluth Journey: Business Struggles, Growth & Relationship Timeline

If you are a savvy online shopper, you probably know about Scott Kluth. Kluth is the founder of CouponCabin, an online coupon platform, helping numerous online buyers in grabbing discounted deals.

He focuses on providing authentic deals and offering real value to budget-conscious shoppers. His customer-first approach helped him turn his website into a widely recognized and reliable coupon-listing platform.

Besides the business world, he is known for his relationship with a reality TV show personality, Tinsley Mortimer. While he got more public attention when he started dating Tinsley, his real fame is because of his business venture.

In this guide, I am going to discuss Scott Kluth’s business journey, his business struggles, funding and growth.

Who is Scott Kluth?

Scott Kluth is an American entrepreneur best known as the founder of CouponCabin, a popular online platform that helps shoppers find verified promo codes, cashback offers, and discounts from thousands of retailers.

Born in Ohio, he developed an interest in saving money at a young age by learning how to use coupons from his mother. After gaining experience in retail and logistics while working at Sears, Scott identified a gap in the market for a trustworthy online coupon website.

Biodata of Scott Kluth

Early Life and Education of Scott Kluth

Scott Kluth was born on August 13, 1979, in Lakewood, Ohio, US. He grew up in a middle-class household, living in a small town outside of Cleveland. Belonging to a working family, Scott learned how to use the coupons from his mother at an early age.

The CouponCabins founder received his early education in his local town. Later, he attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Operations Management and Information Systems in 1999.

Scott Kluth Early Career and Founding of CouponCabin

Scott Kluth started his professional career at Sears, where he gained insights into shopping and logistics behaviors. He was among the early employees and was assigned to buy different items from the company’s competitors at a discounted price using coupons.

Scott mentions in an interview with adrinkwith.com that in late 2002, Sears had grown to 350 employees and had become heavily organized. However, with the growth in the workforce, the company had also become prone to red tape and corporate politics.

Meanwhile, he noticed that there were no online platforms listing coupon codes at that time. Seeing this opportunity, Scott decided to leave his corporate job and invest his personal savings, around $30,000, along with a small loan from his mother.

At just 25 years old, he launched CouponCabin with a simple goal: provide authentic, working coupons that actually help users save money. Despite facing early financial struggles, his customer-first approach laid the foundation for what would later grow into one of the most trusted coupon websites in the industry.

He says to himself:

 “Why not try and start a coupon site?”

So, this market gap that Scott analyzed at that time led to the creation of Couponcabin.com.

Scott Kluth’s Business Struggles

When he started the CouponCabin in 2003, he was 25 years old and had a capital of $30,000. This investment included all of his savings and an amount of $5000 that he had borrowed from his mother.

But problems began to pile up for Scott when this investment lasted only four months. He took more loans from his parents, and he reached a point where he even sold his car to finance his business. 

He stated that his business journey was quite hard, and if it were easy, everyone would do it.

Business Growth and Major Milestones 

Overlooking the investment struggles, Scott continued with a user-centric approach, which gained huge traction for his website.

The company consistently verifies the listed coupons and ensures that the user gets those coupons that are valid to date. If a user reports a coupon that is no longer working, CouponCabin gives a $25 gift card to the user.

The CouponCabin had a big breakthrough in December 2006 when it was listed in top magazines like Good Morning America and USA Today. These huge features added to the fame of the platform, establishing its reputation as a trusted coupon site.

According to Reuters, in 2010, CouponCabin generated more than $500 million in online retail sales, marking a major growth in business.

Scott Kluth Business Fundings

In 2011, CouponCabin received a whopping $54 million equity from the JMI, a private equity firm. According to the CEO of CouponCabin, Scott Kluth, among other initiatives, this funding was intended to:

• Grow its operations
• Expand the company’s local, grocery and printable coupon offerings
• Build better online customer relationships 
• Build strong partnerships with retailers

Resultantly, CouponCabin had reportedly posted more than 100,000 offers from 3500+ stores in the same year. 

As of today, the company has established partnerships with over 6000 retailers, including major brands like Amazon, Dell, Best Buy, Nike, and many more. It offers gift cards, promo codes, and cashback offers across these merchants, helping millions of frugal shoppers to save money.

Media Recognition and Magazine Features

CouponCabin has gained several media coverages and magazine features, which resulted in more recognition for the platform. Some of the most notable pieces that ran for this company are:

• Good Housekeeping: Featured as one of the reliable platforms for finding discounted deals.
• SmartMoney: Listed CouponCabin among the best coupon sites. 
• The Wall Street Journal: Featured the huge $54 million financing of CouponCabin in 2011 and also listed CouponCabin’s office as the workplace of the week.
• Crain’s Chicago Business: CouponCabin ranked 6th on the Fast Fifty list.
• Forbes: Reported the CouponCabins’ response to Illinois’ proposed internet sales tax. Scott warned that his business, which drew 8.8 million visitors in November 2010, would move away from the state

Scott Kluth Philanthropy Work

Although Scott has a net worth in millions, he also loves giving it back. Kluth serves as the executive director at the Kluth Family Foundation, a mission set to improve the lives of Chicagoans in need.

The foundation funds the local Chicago-based charities to change the lives of deserving people. They offer a sum of $5000 to individuals who are suffering financial crises and need money to re-establish their financial footing.

Moreover, Scott also partnered in the Troopons program under the Support Our Troops, a non-profit organization. This initiative helped military families both at home and abroad by providing them with access to expired and active coupons.

How Rich is Scott Kluth?

Scott Kluth has an estimated net worth of $20 to $25 million. However, this is his estimated individual net worth. His business ventures and other things are worth more.

We can estimate that he has made millions of dollars through the success of his company. He makes money via affiliate and cashback programs from retailers and advertisements displayed on his website.

Final Thoughts

Scott’s business venture is an example of how someone should understand the market gap to build something big and awesome. Starting with a few thousand-dollar investment, he scaled his business into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

Despite facing early investment struggles, he showed that a true businessman just focuses on financial growth. He showed that if you are dedicated to your business and use the right strategies, it’s always a win-win situation. 

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