Last week another Austin-based flash buying Groupon competitor launched, named Spreadsy. They join other Austin competitors Adealio, Localiter, eDealTickets, and coming soon a similar offering from ValPak (the people who mail you those blue envelopes with coupons). There’s a handful of these companies in Austin, and around 100 more similar websites around the country.

Spreadsy has a unique twist though. Get some friends to buy the daily deal, and yours is free. This is what they call the “spread.”

We had a chance to talk with David Mathews, CEO and Co-Founder of Spreadsy, and ask about his thoughts on the market, competitors, and the company.

Q: You have a unique feature with the “spread” idea, but if it’s successful, how long before someone copies it? How do you maintain a competitive advantage?

One of the driving forces behind Spreadsy is the desire to be innovative and to push the social commerce space forward. We’re not merely interested in exploiting an opportunity to make a quick buck like so many other Groupon clones appear to be doing, but rather to push the notion of word-of-mouth marketing to an entirely new level. We’re obsessed with the idea of someone coming to our site, shooting out a few links, and being rewarded with a free deal. Can it be easily copied? Yes of course it can. However, like Groupon did in the “Group Buying” space, Spreadsy seeks to leverage the “first mover” advantage in whatever space we’re currently forging. To ward off other competitors, we’re pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy which will presumably bring in more money to  use for further expansion. Furthermore, Spreadsy is looking into many other vendor verticals for future innovation instead of featuring solely deals from local businesses. Instead of being merely a digital cityguide as Groupon seeks to be, Spreadsy wants to be the spot on the Interwebs where someone can actually get free deals. Think a “Products” section on Spreadsy with vendor like Wal-Mart needing to clear out older inventory. Basically the sky is the limit.

Q: What happens when you are too successful, and retailers no longer want to offer deals, like at Philz Coffee?

Though this is undoubtedly the case with some retailers, I would argue that it is the exception and not the rule. Most retailers realize that social media interaction is the future of marketing and social commerce sites like Groupon and Spreadsy are excellent solutions. Plus when it’s all said and done, it probably provides these businesses with a better ROI than traditional forms of marketing … and it’s measurable!

Q: So what’s the future of this business model, in your opinion?

Like Ron Conway, I truly believe that the social commerce/flash marketing space is a megatrend that’s here to stay. As far as Groupon’s model is concerned, I think that they will start to feature more big box businesses (if they don’t Spreadsy will!) like Chick-fil-a, Starbucks, etc. Other companies will come and go and evolve their models. We plan on making Spreadsy a more competitive, game-like website ourselves. Though Groupon’s been around for a year now, I truly feel that this space is still in its infancy. Until my grandmother starts getting daily deals to her inbox, I think it’s safe to say that this trend has not completely gone mainstream.