San Francisco – Entrepreneur Danielle Morrill recently acknowledged the past closure of her former startup, Referly, with a concise social media post stating, "> RIP Referly," as shared on her Twitter account. This brief message serves as a retrospective on the company, which ceased operations around 2013, ultimately leading to the founding of her subsequent successful venture, Mattermark. The tweet underscores a significant turning point in Morrill's entrepreneurial journey.
Referly, launched in 2012 and backed by Y Combinator (S12 batch), aimed to be an online referral system that tracked shared links and rewarded users for their friends' actions. Despite its innovative concept and early backing, the platform struggled to gain significant traction and resonate with its target audience in a competitive market. The startup's initial promise did not translate into sustainable growth or widespread adoption.
The decision to shut down Referly was made by Morrill and her co-founders around 2013, after realizing the business model was not viable. Morrill has previously described this period as a challenging but necessary restart, emphasizing that Mattermark was not a mere "pivot" but a complete rebuilding from scratch. This difficult choice highlighted the realities of startup challenges and the need for strategic re-evaluation.
Following Referly's closure, Morrill, alongside co-founders Andy Sparks and Kevin Morrill, channeled their experience and remaining resources into a new endeavor: Mattermark. Launched in 2013, Mattermark evolved into a deal intelligence platform, providing data and analytics on private companies for investors and business development professionals. The company leveraged data analysis skills honed during the Referly period to build a more robust and market-aligned product.
Mattermark went on to achieve considerable success, securing significant funding rounds and establishing itself as a key player in the venture capital data landscape before its acquisition by FullContact in 2017. Danielle Morrill has often spoken candidly about the pain and lessons learned from Referly's shutdown, framing it as a crucial experience that ultimately paved the way for Mattermark's success and her continued impact in the tech industry.