A couple of good friends of mine, two of the warmest and most giving people in the Australian startup community got a big wet kiss – and a big cheque – after their startup, Tjoos.com, was acquired by Los Angeles based Internet Brands overnight.

Founded by the necessity of globe-trotting lovers needing to sort out visa issues to stay together (one a Dutchman, the other a girl from Atlanta), Tjoos.com allows people from all over the world to find deals – usually through digital coupons and promotional codes – which save them money.

In the midst of a pretty massive global recession, Tjoos managed to grow at more than 150% in the last year. Obviously, this kind of success and the strong cash generated by their transaction based traffic led to a very compelling offer from Internet Brands. The details are confidential, but suffice to say Bart and Kim don’t need to work another day in their lives if they don’t want to.

Bart and Kim have contributed so much to the Australian Startup Community over these last few years. They’ve been the energy behind Startup-Australia.org, as founding members of Silicon Beach Australia, and their sweat, tears and sleep deprivation have bought numerous Startup Camps’s to reality around Australia (along with Brian Menzies and many other supporters).

Outside the hard work and innovation in a competitive market to build a successful business, they deserve this on a ‘karma’ level more than almost anyone else I can think of in our community. They give so much, and it is great to see them get back their generosity, with interest.

I’m really really really really happy for Bart and Kim, and you can be sure of one thing: their success is only going to speed  up their contributions to building a greater startup community here in Australia, something Bart has been so strong in the last few years that he was awarded Startup Person of the Year by Technation.

Congratulations Bart and Kim!