Use case: "Oh shit it's February 14th!"
Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
11–20 of 57 posts
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#12I don't know how Bloomthat works, but I'm a little suspicious of anything that offers pre-arranged bouquets without any consideration to which flowers are in season. San Franciscans who like flowers might like http://farmgirlflowers.com/ : locally farmed flowers with beautiful arrangements and home delivery.
(Disclaimer: I have no connection to Farmgirl beyond being a happy customer. I feel like every time I carry my bouquet home I end up gaining them another customer though because people always ask me where I found such nice flowers!)
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#13This is great. I've ordered many bouquets and it's always been somewhat stressful. I used to be in a long distance relationship, and so ordering a bouquet online required finding 1) reputable florists that could 2) deliver on time to the 3) region I want. So something like this is more than welcome.
I would suggest that Bloomthat also expand their offerings. Don't limit yourselves to flowers and bouquets. Gift delivery goes way beyond that -- chocolates, stuffed animals, etc.
I can see a new market emerging from a service like this. A market of people who engage in daily on-demand gift delivery. Someone did something nice to you this morning? Send them some flowers after lunch. Wife text you about her bad day at work? Have flowers at her desk in under an hour. Normally this wouldn't happen considering all the research and logistics involved, but this could spur an entire back-and-forth gift-giving frenzy!
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#14I like this idea. The flower delivery market has plenty of players, but also plenty of room for disruption. I can't think of a time when I've needed flowers in the next 90 minutes, but if you want flowers even in the next week, you tend to get gouged by e.g. 1800 Flowers, so it's nice to see a new offering there. If/when they try to spread to a new city, I wonder if the community will welcome them, or the establish e…
Hi, thanks for the comment! Trust me, we asked ourselves the same question when we first launched our MVP. Do people really need flowers in 90 minutes? The answer has been surprising - YES!
On multiple occasions we've delivered flowers to people in places and at times we never would have imagined. In June we delivered flowers to a person studying for the bar exam in a coffee shop. On Mother's Day we delivered several bouquets right to the brunch table.
It's very rewarding for us to see people use the service in ways never thought possible.
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#15This is interesting, and they appear to be having a valid business plan, but how 'tech' is this startup really? It seems to be about flowers and logistics. Sure, that doesn't matter for the business, but I wonder if these guys would've been on sites like tech crunch and hacker news if YC hadn't taken them on.
Hi, thanks for your comment! What you see online now is the MVP we used to validate demand. We're working on some pretty cool tech too.
In fact, technology is what allows this to be possible today. Our API routes orders by zip code to guarantee quick and efficient delivery. Our vendor dashboard displays orders in real time to our floral and delivery partners. We'll also be releasing a mobile app soon that I hope you're able to checkout and provide feedback.
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#16This is great. I've ordered many bouquets and it's always been somewhat stressful. I used to be in a long distance relationship, and so ordering a bouquet online required finding 1) reputable florists that could 2) deliver on time to the 3) region I want. So something like this is more than welcome. I would suggest that Bloomthat also expand their offerings. Don't limit yourselves to flowers and bouquets. Gift delive…
Hi Kyro, thanks for the comment! These are great ideas. Expanding our offering to include gifts is a great idea and we'll definitely consider as we continue to grow. Thanks!
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#17I don't know how Bloomthat works, but I'm a little suspicious of anything that offers pre-arranged bouquets without any consideration to which flowers are in season. San Franciscans who like flowers might like http://farmgirlflowers.com/ : locally farmed flowers with beautiful arrangements and home delivery. (Disclaimer: I have no connection to Farmgirl beyond being a happy customer. I feel like every time I carry my…
Hi evmar, we really appreciate your feedback. We rotate our arranged bouquets seasonally and we're big proponents of supporting local flower growers and local brick and mortar florists.
At any time, about 80% of our flowers come from California, and the majority of those are grown within a couple hundred miles of their final destination. Thanks for your comment!
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#18I now use Bloomthat for everything (YC and personal). The arrangements are always charming. It's also so easy (and immediate) that I find myself sending flowers to friends and colleagues much more often -- just for little reasons/thankyou's.
Thanks for using BloomThat! The impact of sending flowers in the moment just to say thanks is really powerful. It's great to see people use the service for things other than the twice annual obligatory flower sends.
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#19"Indeed, while there are your typical use cases like boyfriend-forgets-anniversary"
What about girlfriends sending flowers to boyfriends? I'll bet that majority of purchases to a significant other are made by a male, which is not really gender equal.
I've never given a SO flowers, such a practise seems pretty silly. It's like paying for caring.
Re: Magic Does Exist With “Uber-For-Flowers” Startup Bloomthat (YC S13)
#20Nice idea but holy crap don't do this:
> One intrepid friend of mine suggested: “Find two people you think clearly should be banging and send them each flowers addressed from the other.”