Blueboard

Blueboard operated an experiential rewards and recognition platform that allowed employers and managers to reward employees with curated experiences rather than cash, gift cards, merchandise or plaques. Managers sent a reward through Blueboard's platform, recipients selected the experience most meaningful to them from a catalog, and a concierge service handled booking, payment and logistics. The catalog spanned activities from short local classes and lessons to large travel-based experiences such as skydiving, behind-the-scenes zoo tours and northern lights trips.

The company positioned itself around research and messaging that traditional recognition programs were impersonal and transactional, and that non-cash rewards representing roughly 1–2% of company payroll, or more than $70 billion annually, could be redirected toward experiences. By September 2020 it offered more than 4,000 experiences in over 70 countries, and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic it added more than 130 in-home and virtual experiences for distributed workforces. Blueboard reported roughly 150 employees globally in 2021 and about 500 customers at the time of its closure.

Blueboard shut down on March 12, 2024 after failing to secure further funding, with its secured creditor forcing the closure. The company entered an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, and its website and applications were taken offline.

Founding story

Co-founders Kevin Yip and Taylor Smith, who met as children in the Bay Area and later lived together, started Blueboard in 2014 after a period in which they each committed to regular lessons and activities and found the experiences meaningful. The concept crystallized when Smith, then at Accenture, received a $500 gift card after months of intense work on a client project and found the reward impersonal; the founders concluded that gifts of time and experience, arranged on the employer's behalf, would be more meaningful. Yip had begun his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers after graduating from UC Davis; both quit their jobs early, moved back in with their parents when they could no longer pay San Francisco rent, and continued building the company.

Business model

Blueboard sold a software platform plus fulfillment service to employers, which used it to run recognition, incentive and gifting programs for employees. Beyond the platform, the company operated a high-touch concierge function that handled bookings, payments and logistics for each redeemed experience, and it maintained a global network of experience providers.

Blueboard served companies that purchased and ran employee recognition, incentive and gifting programs on its platform; customers included large enterprises and Fortune 500 clients.

Traction

Blueboard reported 608% revenue growth between its 2018 fundraise and 2020, ranked No. 785 on the 2020 Inc. 5000, served hundreds of companies with more than 4,000 experiences across over 70 countries, and had roughly 150 employees in 2021 and about 500 customers at the time of its 2024 closure.

Latest developments

Blueboard notified users on March 8, 2024 that it was ceasing operations effective immediately and shutting down its website and applications, and formally closed on March 12, 2024 after its secured creditor acted. Co-founder and CEO Taylor Smith described the wind-down as abrupt and uncoordinated and apologized to clients and reward recipients. The company entered an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, with the assignee working with multiple parties on a possible sale of company assets. Competitor Terryberry announced a $2.5 million reserve to support affected Blueboard clients.