How Boosted Boards is like Apple

World class companies built on small gestures

I went to Portland, Oregon to do installations for my company, Density. We distribute door-mounted sensors to popular places (like Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco), we monitor how busy it is, and then notify people when it gets quiet. To get around the city efficiently, I use a Boosted Board.

So, when asked to install in Portland, I brought my board. Using a centrally-located Airbnb as headquarters, I’d be able to cover most of Portland’s downtown without renting or hiring a car.

A lifelong Boosted customer

I had 40 pounds of Density gear. I brought backups for everything: sensors, components, wiring, etc. I even had a soldering kit and 3rd arm. I didn’t realize until I had boarded the plane but the one thing I forgot was my Boosted charger.

Since Boosted is based in Mountain View, California and their hardware is custom, I couldn’t just buy a new charger once I landed. Before takeoff, I posted on Boosted’s subreddit, figuring, greater internet miracles than this have happened…

Help, Portland Boosted—On a 3 day trip […] forgot my charger. Can anyone in the area lend me a charge?

Boosted saw the post, emailed their Portland customers, and 40 minutes later, a generous lawyer and early Boosted backer said,

“Certainly. I can help!”

Between SFO and PDX, Boosted made a small gesture and they won a lifelong customer.

Apple

This was Apple when I was in high school. If you were a supporter, you probably remember: when an iPod broke, they would replace it for free; when a laptop died, they’d spend 3 hours troubleshooting at no cost and smile the whole way.

Once in college, during an hours-long process of restoring a backup to a new computer, I remember an Apple tech who stayed on the phone with me start to finish just to make sure everything went smoothly. He was an older, seasoned developer. He’d seen the industry in its infancy and was watching it go through a more modern renaissance. This was circa 2007. He was one of the first experienced developers I had talked to at length. During the restore, in the interstitial moments, we talked about the history of computing, Apple’s origins, and where everything might one day go.

I learned more about that company and what it meant to build a great company, when things went wrong.

Not obvious

It’s easy to praise Boosted—they have an incredible product—but world class companies are built on something less obvious. They’re built on a series of small gestures.

So… instead of an edible arrangement for helping me out in Portland, this is my public thank you.

Big thanks to @_DanFriedman and the whole team over at Boosted Boards.