Bloomsnap

Feb 3, 2014

Des Moines February 3, 2014 by Megan Bannister Bloomsnap helps users order flowers online, without the hassle of a bouquet not meeting expectations. With the year's number one flower purchasing holiday just around the corner, the search is on for the perfect Valentine's Day bouquet. But sometimes ordering flowers online isn't reliable. Maybe the bouquet you selected didn't end up looking like the picture or it didn't get to the recipient on time. Enter  Bloomsnap , one of Des Moines newest startups and a platform that simplifies ordering flowers online. Lyndsay Clark  and  Shawn Harrington  first began building out their idea last April when they were part of the team that  won Startup Weekend Ames  with a product that was then called Stinky Flowers Co. With the tagline, "Cheap flowers that make your girlfriend say: 'At least he remembered,'" the team—which also included two Iowa State University students—set out to connect "economical flower shoppers" with florists who need to dispose of expiring inventory. The resulting service would help potential last-minute flower shoppers snag a bouquet at a discounted price. In the months after Startup Weekend and as they spoke with more florists, however, their focus began to change. "The florists we talked to started giving us the idea that they have all of these fresh flowers that customers aren't ordering because they're ordering online," Harrington told Silicon Prairie News. "We’re putting bouquets together that don't look like the pictures and it's hurting our reputation. " With bouquets ranging from $40 to $120, Bloomsnap allows customers to boil down their flower online ordering decisions to the customer budget, the occasion or recipient's personal preferences. "We're trying to take the process you have in your head and put it on the screen in front of you without the photo," Clark said. "We basically want to mimic the process you go through when you call up a florist. " Clark says Bloomsnap also alleviates a pain-point on the service end as well, as florists aren't tied to an online photo they may or may not have the inventory to fill. Harrington adds that an open order also allows the florist to be a little more creative. "It's allowing them to be artists," he said. "And usually what you’re getting is a bigger, better, fresher bouquet than you would have if you were ordering from a picture online. " While both have other full-time obligations—Harrington as the general manager of the downtown Des Moines Regus and Clark with Hatchlings—Harrington says having experienced the hassle of ordering flowers online firsthand motivated them to continue working on the project. Clark and Harrington will present Bloomsnap at 1 Million Cups - Des Moines on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Credits: Product photos courtesy of Bloomsnap. Lyndsay Clark photo courtesy of Clark. Shawn Harrington photo courtesy of Harrington. Share