SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 3, 2014) - GemShare, the first service focused on sharing high-quality recommendations with people you know and trust for the services needed to manage busy daily life, today announced the nationwide availability of GemShare for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The free app, available only on the App Store, is the easiest and most dependable way to ask for and store the "best" local services - or "gems" - shared among one's own trusted friends and networks.
Founded by two busy working moms, GemShare focuses on important daily needs where taste, trust and personal endorsements matter - everything from home improvement services, SAT tutors, and orthopedic surgeons to marriage counselors, music and language instructors, trusted childcare, and much more. Transforming the frequent exchanges that already happen when people ask "Does anyone know a good...?," GemShare organizes this information and "best of" recommendations in one simple, searchable place.
"When it comes to your home, your health and your kids, reviews from anonymous strangers often don't cut it. There's never been an easy way to gather and organize the informal personal tips that are our best sources of trusted recommendations, so we created GemShare to solve this problem," said Claudine Ryan, co-founder and CEO of GemShare. "GemShare is built on the premise that two thumbs-up from a friend is worth far more than 40 4-star reviews from people you don't know."
GemShare was specifically designed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to give users easy access to all the local services they need, wherever they are. Membership is free: people simply create a profile and connect with friends within the network. They can then find and share gems with friends, friends of friends, and groups. Features of the app include:
- "Get Gems" - Search or browse gems to find recommendations or inspiration. No more digging or scrolling through an unending stream of information to find what you need.
- "Ask for a Gem" - One of the most dynamic way to use GemShare, where community members can easily poll their network
- "Give Gems" - Answer questions from friends in need and add the services you love into the shared knowledge pool, where you and others can easily access them anytime.
- Users can join pre-selected Groups or create their own based on geography, association or interest.
- An Activity feed lets users easily track what's happening in their network.
"We're all so busy juggling life, kids, and work and we need to get stuff done, but we have no easy way to tap the incredible resource we have in our friends and networks," said Maryam Mohit, co-founder and head of Product, GemShare. "GemShare makes it easy to get great answers fast. It's a magical communal Rolodex with our friends' best endorsements, right in our pockets."
Based in San Francisco, GemShare has been in private beta since September 2013, where more than 1,000 Bay Area members have been testing the service and sharing and asking for recommendations. During the beta period, thousands of businesses and services have been recommended. More than 70 percent of users contribute content, and each question posted by members receives an average of four answers. In addition to the accolades received from beta users, service providers are also lauding GemShare for driving highly qualified leads to their businesses.
GemShare has raised $1.2 million in seed financing from Greylock Partners and Second Avenue Partners. The company is also backed by a number of seasoned tech entrepreneurs including Rich Barton (founder of Expedia and Zillow), Mika Salmi (CEO of creativeLIVE, former MTV exec), and Ellen Levy (managing director of Silicon Valley Connect, former vice president of LinkedIn).
The GemShare App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone or at http://www.AppStore.com. More information on the app and on GemShare is available at www.gemshare.com.
About GemShare
GemShare is the first service focused on gathering the best recommendations for the things you need to manage your daily life, all from your trusted network. Founded in 2013 by busy working moms, GemShare on iOS is the easiest and most dependable way to ask the people and groups you know for the "best of" local services. GemShare is based in San Francisco and backed by venture capital and angel investors, including Greylock Partners and Second Avenue Partners. Visit www.gemshare.com or follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.
