Reach.ly was an analytics tool for e-commerce sites providing actionable customer behavior patterns. It engaged in a real-time analytics infrastructure, which allowed e-commerce sites to engage with their customers through customized messages. Their websites tailored to uncover customer behavior and enable real-time customization. It helped the site owners understand sales and conversion rate comparison between various channels. The customers’ behavior patterns were uncovered by deploying machine for recognizing patterns and learning.
Reach.ly had purposed two objectives before its closure in 2015. Its iterations were behavioral analytics for e-commerce and Twitter mining solutions for hotel industries. The company, by the CEO own admission, failed because it mixed up ideas and models of the previous business into the new venture. Reach.ly did not start afresh but kept all the previous undertakings in operation. It lacked room for other investors and only survived on the CEO shares. Secondly, technology failed them terribly. It started out big but it did not scale up, the regret was that it could have started with a simple stack to test the idea. The free hosting received from Soft layer led the company to spend too much on technology without a single customer or a working prototype.
Lack of proper market feedback and pilot client was also a setback. It did not create appropriate tracking solution and their data set had loopholes. Without any consultation, they switched to another platform called Shopify with standardized API and app marketplace. It turned out that the Shopify players were smaller than expected and thus failed to serve Reach.ly goals. Lastly, the initial team recruited was heavily technology-centric and lacked teamwork, passion and business vision. A big part of the team eventually left the firm or was let go; precious time and resources were spent to find a new committed and talented team. Had this been done from the beginning the company might have has a better chance of succeeding.
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