more sharing won’t earn the user discounts, he adds. “If you’re getting something in return for giving a friend a promotion, then we think there’s a little mis-incentive. We want to make sure people are sharing [the app] because they really like this product, not because they get a discount” on food.
“All this is designed to find out whether or not we’re making people happy and they’re liking this so much that they’re promoting this product,” he continues. “That’s really the essence of a great product, is listening to people.”
—On building consumer tech companies in Boston: Although Boston has generally had more success in churning out enterprise software startups, Sheeley doesn’t buy the narrative that it’s harder to nurture a consumer tech company here than, say, Silicon Valley.
“I hear that ‘Boston versus the Valley’ type of thing all the time,” he says. “There’s been big companies that have been built in Boston that are consumer, and big enterprise companies that have been built in the Valley. It’s more about following your passion and finding a team of people that have similar passions—and finding an idea that everyone gets really excited about.”
