YesGraph

YesGraph was a software company that provided tools for businesses to enhance user growth through optimized referral programs. Founded in 2012 by Ivan Kirigin and Logan Green, the San Francisco-based firm aimed to productize the complex growth strategies utilized by major tech companies. Kirigin, the CEO, brought significant experience to the venture, having previously led growth initiatives at Dropbox where he helped the company expand dramatically, and worked on the engineering team at Facebook. His background in driving user acquisition and engagement directly informed YesGraph's core mission.

The company's primary offering was an API that integrated into client applications and websites to power their user invitation and referral systems. Its key function was the use of machine learning and social graph analysis to predict and recommend which of a user's contacts were most likely to accept an invitation. This functionality, similar to LinkedIn's "People You May Know" feature, was designed to increase the conversion rate of referral flows by making the process smarter and more targeted. YesGraph provided a full toolkit, from the underlying API to user interface components and an analytics dashboard for tracking performance. Initially, the company also explored a product focused on employee referral recruiting, which similarly used social connections to source candidates.

YesGraph operated on a tiered, subscription-based business model, with monthly pricing for its services set at different levels to cater to startups and larger businesses. The company successfully raised approximately $2.2 to $2.4 million in funding over several rounds from investors including Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and Founder Collective. In August 2017, YesGraph was acquired by Lyft. The entire YesGraph team and its technology were integrated into Lyft to bolster the ride-sharing company's own driver and rider referral programs, a critical component of its growth strategy. Following the acquisition, the public-facing YesGraph API was deactivated.

Keywords: referral marketing, growth hacking, user acquisition, social graph analysis, machine learning API, invite flows, referral engine, user growth platform, Ivan Kirigin, Y Combinator, Lyft acquisition, viral marketing tools, app growth, referral analytics, contact recommendation, social referrals, recruiting tool, user engagement, customer referral program