'They want to copy 7 years of failure at @foursquare'
During the Mobile World Congress I saw the interview from Gray Stewart with Dennis Crowley. I met Dennis myself for a foursquare research back in the summer of 2011. From that time (okee from 2009) I follow foursquare closely.
Below you'll find 'the speech' of Crowley during the WDDBCN interview:
Foursquare will come up with more like advice services within 6 month.
Make people part of the story, that they can feel a sense of ownership and that they feel proud of it.
We didn't pretend to be a big company, we just wanted people to be part of it.
I use Evernote and write do's and don'ts for myself.
Top 3 tips for startups on pitching: 1) be clear about problem and product, 2) be passionate about it, and 3) talk is cheap: build it.
We got 32 no's before the first yes from an investor. We have been very patient and methodological about it.
Life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster inside of a roller coaster.
Got to be focussed on what your roadmap is and stick to that. Ignore people who get inspired or even copy from you.
Dont get distracted by Yelp, Facebook checkins, and competition. Keep focused on your roadmap and your own passion.
Startups are about making staff that makes u happy.
Our road so far was 6-7 years of failure.
People can copy what you’ve done, but not the vision of what you want to do.
yup, it was the best way to start at the end ;)
My lessons learn from that interview:
learn by your mistakes and capture those mistakes in a note. Read them back once in a while and learn from the mistakes.
if you start a startup write down what you are, what you are building and what you are not. Write everything on a whiteboard so that everyone can see it clearly. Make your brand manual (free tip Dens)!
[Update] MWC 2013 Keynote 7: Mobile as a platform for innovation.
Social maps make cities come alive. Static maps are boring.
We´re slowly becoming the location layer for the internet.
20% of users who use Explore to discover a place end up checking in to that place.
Venues that spend 100$ in Foursquare will get 50 loyal new customers
3bn checkins/day, adding 5m/day. Massive data from living maps. The location layer for mobile for everything
It's survival of the fittest: You build something great, people download it. It's easy.
Foursquare's MWC14 dream: We all use Google Glasses and get rec feeds by foursquare. We are inventing future of contextual aware computing.