GemShare

GemShare operated as a mobile-first platform designed to facilitate the exchange of recommendations for local services among a trusted network of friends and groups. The company was founded in 2012 by Maryam Mohit and Claudine Ryan, with Jonathan Xu also mentioned as a co-founder. The idea originated from a personal frustration shared between Mohit and Ryan about the difficulty of finding reliable service providers, like a physical therapist, even after consulting their immediate circles. Mohit, an early Amazon.com employee and former VP of Site Development, and Ryan, a seasoned startup veteran with a background at companies like LookSmart and Chow, leveraged their experience to address this inefficiency.

The San Francisco-based company positioned its iOS application as an alternative to platforms like Yelp, emphasizing that recommendations came from known contacts rather than anonymous strangers. The service was free for users, who could create a profile to find, ask for, and share “Gems”—recommendations for a wide array of services including doctors, tutors, childcare providers, and home improvement professionals. The core value proposition was built on the premise that a personal endorsement from a trusted source holds more weight than numerous anonymous online reviews. Users could pose questions to their network, and the app facilitated responses, boasting a high answer rate during its beta phase, which involved over 1,000 Bay Area testers.

GemShare secured $1.2 million in seed funding in April 2014 from investors including Greylock Partners and Second Avenue Partners, with participation from notable angel investors like Rich Barton (founder of Zillow) and Ellen Levy (former LinkedIn VP). At the time of its nationwide launch, the company's focus was on user experience and growth, with monetization strategies to be explored later. PitchBook data indicates the company was acquired in March 2015, less than a year after its public launch.

Keywords: local service recommendations, trusted network, social recommendations, mobile app, peer-to-peer recommendations, community-based reviews, service provider discovery, Maryam Mohit, Claudine Ryan, Greylock Partners, personal referrals, parent groups, home services, healthcare recommendations, professional services, iOS app, social network, friend recommendations, service discovery, beta launch, seed funding, San Francisco startup