Startup Topics


For a few people at Boomerang, this is the only company they’ve known since graduating college. They lucked out. For most of us, we found our way here by navigating career paths that meandered through various industries, companies, and roles. Our common experience was that at some point we came across Boomerang and saw something special that warranted a move. This is the story of my journey to Boomerang and my experience since joining...

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During my last two weeks as a summer intern at Boomerang, there was a running joke about how I cried every day. While this may seem a bit ridiculous, the truth is that I could not imagine my summer and my time at the company ending. Unlike any of my previous work and research experiences, this internship allowed me to both grow as an engineer and gain confidence in my own abilities. Here are only a few of the reasons why my summer was...

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Word of mouth recommendations are among the most effective ways to get new users. But they can be an elusive element of a marketing mix. Aye Moah (our Chief of Product) wrote a piece a few years ago on how Boomerang uses the paywall to have a positive interaction with users. But we also use it to encourage customers to tweet about Boomerang in exchange for more message credits (which allow users to snooze or schedule emails for...

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When we started Baydin, we wanted to build a company that included charitable contributions as part of its DNA. Four years ago, we decided that we would donate a portion of our profits (if we ever generated any) to advance education in Myanmar. One of our company’s founders is Burmese, and the name of the company, Baydin, is a Burmese word that means foretelling the future through magic. So it felt right to plan to someday help people...

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When Software Jumps the Shark

When Software Jumps the Shark


Posted By on Oct 6, 2011

Are you one of the million hipsters clogging my stream with Tweets about Arrested Development’s reunion for a half series and a following feature movie? If so, did you ever think that the right time for Arrested Development to end might have been when it did? This blog post was triggered by a discussion among my friends about how TV producers never have the sense to realize when a story has been told, and wrap it up at an ideal...

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The $100K Taxi Ride, One Year Later

The $100K Taxi Ride, One Year Later


Posted By on Sep 2, 2011

I can’t believe that it’s already been a year since a 45-minute trip in a rented Chevy Cobalt changed everything. On September 1, 2010, we had 50,000 Boomerang downloads. I had $4000 in the bank, $3000 in credit card bills, and needed to loan the company another $2000. We’d tried and tried again to raise a seed round in Boston, to no avail. Every east coast angel and VC we could reach passed on the deal. We had a shelf life of about...

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