How it started

BlueInsights was originally founded in 2007 by Sharon Mombru and Ammy Vogtlander, as a venture company specialized in optimizing information discovery. We build on existing collaborative models and advanced search and social technologies to develop a pioneering concept with the aim to improve knowledge sharing in online communities.

This was the time Facebook had started to become mainstream; Twitter had just launched and most organizations had started to experiment with social media.  

We believed that the strengthening and expansion of connections through online social networks enabled individuals and organizations to tap into the collective knowledge in ways that had not been possible before

The venture

We developed an online knowledge platform for medical specialists worldwide. We called it MyPeerinsights.com. Our vision was to take information discovery to the next level: merging search with network characteristics and leveraging the trusted network of users as an information delivery channel.

The online knowledge platform enabled medical specialists to discover relevant information through their peer network. The platform aimed to reduce the time specialists spend searching for and evaluating information online (on average 10 hours per week and increasing) by leveraging the user’s trusted network as an information filter.

Specialists could use the service to manage their own information (articles, procedures,
images, etc.) in their personal library and selectively share items with their peers.
It supported specialist’s daily knowledge management needs related to patient
care and medical research. 

How it ended

We developed the core search technology; a full functioning prototype and conducted extensive market research and user testing to complete the proof of concept. We worked really hard, but unfortunately did not succeed in getting funding needed to launch the tool globally.  Perhaps timing wasn’t right – the financial crisis hit months after we started.  The venture folded after 3 years.  We look upon it as one of the most rewarding times in our lives.