Gowalla founder Josh Williams on the creation of the company

TL;DR

The founder discusses the motivation and leap of faith in transitioning from a profitable services business to starting a location-based services startup.

Transcript

so uh you had the aha moment when you're looking at the leg and you see the stuff Say Hey I want to capture this moment in time and that sort of seems we'll get into the motivation of why people check in in a minute but how did you go from being uh you went back to your office and then you decided to build it when did you say I'm shutting down this... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 The motivation to start a location-based services company came from a specific moment of observation, leading to the desire to capture and share experiences.
• 😤 Prior experience in building products and games gave the team confidence in their ability to succeed in a speculative venture.
• 🙈 Relocating to a vibrant city like Austin was seen as essential for the success of the company and its potential growth.
• 😮 The impetus for the check-in trend was the rise of location-aware smartphones like the iPhone and Android devices.
• 🖐️ Facebook and Twitter played significant roles in making sharing and checking in ubiquitous and effortless.
• 👨‍💼 The decision to start a company involved taking a leap of faith and leaving behind a profitable services business.
• 😤 Sacrifices were made by the team to relocate, but the unanimous decision indicated the belief in the potential of the location-based services space.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the motivating factor behind starting a location-based services company?

The founder was inspired by a moment of observation and wanted to capture that experience in a product, leading to the decision to start a location-based services company.

Q: How did the founder transition from a profitable services business to a speculative startup venture?

It was a big leap, but the founder had prior experience in building products for themselves and saw potential in the location-based services space, motivating them to take the risk.

Q: Why did the company decide to relocate from Dallas to Austin?

After realizing the potential of their early version of the service at a launch event in Austin, the team unanimously decided that being in a vibrant city like Austin was crucial for the success of their company.

Q: How did the team react to the decision of relocating?

Initially, the founder brought up the idea and set a timeline to make the decision, but within three weeks, everyone realized it was the right move, despite the sacrifices that needed to be made.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The founder had an "aha" moment while observing a leg and decided to capture that moment, leading to the motivation to start a location-based services company.

• The company had prior experience in building products and games, and after launching a successful early version of their service, they decided to relocate from Dallas to Austin.

• The decision to relocate was made relatively quickly, with the majority of the team agreeing that it was the right move.