Spreadly

Spreadly is the second weak startup idea Dan Siroker and Pete Koomen tried before Optimizely, discussed in Dan Siroker on Optimizely, Rewind, and Limitless AI. Unlike Carrot Sticks, it came from their own distribution problem, but Dan says the incentive model did not work.

The source uses Spreadly as an intermediate founder-fit lesson. Building from one’s own pain helped more than guessing a school product from the outside, but the product still needed behavior that users actually wanted to repeat. Y Combinator then helped the founders focus on the clearer A/B Testing For Marketers opportunity.

Connections

• Dan Siroker, Pete Koomen, Carrot Sticks, Optimizely, and Y Combinator - startup path.
• Founder Product Fit, Customer Pull, and Product Led Willingness To Pay - adjacent validation concepts.