You’ve heard of software-as-a-service, infrastructure-as-a-service and platform as a service, but who knew there was also dogsitting-as-a-service?
Seattle-based dog-sitting-as-a-service vendor Rover.com had difficulty finding enough developers, so they came up with a clever promotion–they would give away a puppy to anyone who referred a software developer that the company actually hired. Well, actually, they would give away $1,000 that the referrer could use to buy a puppy, and they would throw in $1,000 worth of dog-sitting.
The promotion generated about a dozen referrals, but Rover hired only one of the recommended developers. “I have been told that the referrer bought the puppy, but I have not met it yet,” said Rover.com’s Scott Porad.