Despite her commendable tenure as the first female engineer at Google and as the former CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer’s recent foray into the tech world, Shine, seems to be off to a rocky start, as reported by numerous sources.
Designed and developed under the umbrella of Mayer’s startup studio, Sunshine, Shine is a photo-sharing app aimed at making the sharing of images at events a seamless experience. However, the app’s launch has been met with criticism and a lukewarm response, with just over a thousand downloads reported since its unveiling.
Mayer’s vision for Shine was clear from the outset. She envisioned an app where users could effortlessly share photos at group events, with the images automatically uploaded into a gallery accessible by all attendees. However, the implementation of this idea seems to have been hampered by a slew of challenges.
The app’s design and functionality have been under fire since its launch. Users have criticized its bare-bones design – a result of Mayer’s management of the engineering team assigned to the project. The app also reportedly has several bugs, which is disconcerting given the $20 million raised in seed funding from investors, including Mayer herself.
Interestingly, Mayer’s vision for Shine was heavily influenced by the now-defunct photo-sharing app Color. Like Shine, Color was designed to aggregate photos and videos taken by friends and family at events into a singular gallery. But Color failed because it allowed strangers in close proximity to the event to view the pictures, leading to some users uploading inappropriate images. Mayer, however, believed that with the implementation of nudity filters, Shine could avoid the pitfalls that plagued Color.
However, Mayer’s leadership style has reportedly caused friction within the Shine team. Employees have complained about a lack of direction from Mayer, who often makes decisions based solely on her experiences using the app. This attitude towards decision-making has reportedly led to delays in workflow, with Mayer expressing a preference to answer queries in person rather than through Slack.
Shine’s troubles do not end there. The app’s tracking mechanism, which is supposed to monitor users’ locations, is also reportedly flawed. This resulted in photos being shared with unintended recipients, causing further disappointment among users.
Amidst these challenges, the departure of Enrique Muñoz Torres, who co-founded Sunshine with Mayer and worked with her at Google and Yahoo, adds to the turmoil. His exit, along with the app’s teething problems, puts Shine at a critical juncture.