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The most surprising for me in this post was to learn that Foursquare apparently has 150 employees. It's an incredible contrast to the low revenues of $2M this y

by molf 14y ago

The most surprising for me in this post was to learn that Foursquare apparently has 150 employees. It's an incredible contrast to the low revenues of $2M this year. [1] [1]: http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-2012/ http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/foursquare-revenue-2-million-...

jgalt212 14y ago
It is sort of mind boggling that revs are so low with 150 employees, and having been around as long as they have. They should definitely be able to make sizable coin through partnerships with retailers offering deals or discounts when their customers announce their presence in a retail location via a check-in. This seems like a lay-up for both four square and retailers. Why are they not doing more biz in this arena? Retailers pay to track customers in the on-line world, why can't foursquare grab money for tracking them in the offline world? Are their structural impediments?
snake_plissken 14y ago
yeah i thought this was about foursquare shuttin' her down and then i see they have 150 employees. does anyone even use foursquare anymore?
- NathanKP 14y ago
  Foursquare is integrated into a lot of other products. For example Instagram and Path both use Foursquare to get nearby locations when uploading an image, and I'm sure there are numerous other services that do the same thing. There is still a tremendous amount of API usage even if it doesn't seem like such a huge "buzzword" app from a direct user point of view.
  - jbigelow76 14y ago
    Looks like their path to sustainability is in their infrastructure and API and the Foursquare app is just a gimmick to keep users pumping in up to date location data.
graue 14y ago
News about Foursquare has been pretty bleak lately. I tried using it to find restaurants but their search results page was a disaster on mobile: tiny text and it wouldn't allow zooming in. They just updated the Android app but it has a bunch of reviews along the lines of "doesn't work": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna.foursquared&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna... All this when they apparently have only 20M users, which seems low for how long they've been around. Any HNers with an optimistic view, and/or use Foursquare and think it's awesome?
- tarr11 14y ago
  Funny, I re-started using it again last year after ignoring it for several years. I've noticed I get lots of little freebies when I check in via foursquare. Ie., $5-$10 off a meal if i use my amex, a free dessert etc. Lots of local businesses seem to have these hidden deals but they don't publicise them.
  - pavel_lishin 14y ago
    I think the Foursquare app lets you see nearby businesses that have specials.
- jspthrowaway2 14y ago
  > only 20M users "Only" 20 million users? "Only"? The HN commentary is an interesting place these days.
  - hnriot 14y ago
    Once (a couple years ago) I'd see foursquare stickers and offers of discounts for checking in and people would use it, but I don't know any of those 20M anymore - within my world (SF, SOMA) foursquare seems to have dropped off the map.
    - graue 14y ago
      Right, that's my thinking... based on how much I used to hear about Foursquare years ago, I would think they'd have more users by now if they're on a path to success. When I looked at some business reviews on Foursquare (while traveling— was in Washington, DC area) it was disconcerting how a large majority of reviews seemed to be from 2009-10.
antr 14y ago
All the news and data seems to show that Foursquare peaked some time ago. Naveen one of the founders left; several pivots (remember that a pivot is done when things are not working out); well known employees leaving (Morgan Missen, Tristan Walker, and now Naveen's partner); declining use of the app; down round; etc. This company is now burning Series D cash raised on November, I guess there is no more fun and games here.

by molf 14y ago

jgalt212 14y ago

It is sort of mind boggling that revs are so low with 150 employees, and having been around as long as they have. They should definitely be able to make sizable coin through partnerships with retailers offering deals or discounts when their customers announce their presence in a retail location via a check-in. This seems like a lay-up for both four square and retailers. Why are they not doing more biz in this arena? Retailers pay to track customers in the on-line world, why can't foursquare grab money for tracking them in the offline world? Are their structural impediments?

snake_plissken 14y ago

yeah i thought this was about foursquare shuttin' her down and then i see they have 150 employees. does anyone even use foursquare anymore?

NathanKP 14y ago
Foursquare is integrated into a lot of other products. For example Instagram and Path both use Foursquare to get nearby locations when uploading an image, and I'm sure there are numerous other services that do the same thing. There is still a tremendous amount of API usage even if it doesn't seem like such a huge "buzzword" app from a direct user point of view.
- jbigelow76 14y ago
  Looks like their path to sustainability is in their infrastructure and API and the Foursquare app is just a gimmick to keep users pumping in up to date location data.

graue 14y ago

News about Foursquare has been pretty bleak lately. I tried using it to find restaurants but their search results page was a disaster on mobile: tiny text and it wouldn't allow zooming in. They just updated the Android app but it has a bunch of reviews along the lines of "doesn't work": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna.foursquared&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joelapenna... All this when they apparently have only 20M users, which seems low for how long they've been around. Any HNers with an optimistic view, and/or use Foursquare and think it's awesome?

tarr11 14y ago
Funny, I re-started using it again last year after ignoring it for several years. I've noticed I get lots of little freebies when I check in via foursquare. Ie., $5-$10 off a meal if i use my amex, a free dessert etc. Lots of local businesses seem to have these hidden deals but they don't publicise them.
- pavel_lishin 14y ago
  I think the Foursquare app lets you see nearby businesses that have specials.
jspthrowaway2 14y ago
> only 20M users "Only" 20 million users? "Only"? The HN commentary is an interesting place these days.
- hnriot 14y ago
  Once (a couple years ago) I'd see foursquare stickers and offers of discounts for checking in and people would use it, but I don't know any of those 20M anymore - within my world (SF, SOMA) foursquare seems to have dropped off the map.
  - graue 14y ago
    Right, that's my thinking... based on how much I used to hear about Foursquare years ago, I would think they'd have more users by now if they're on a path to success. When I looked at some business reviews on Foursquare (while traveling— was in Washington, DC area) it was disconcerting how a large majority of reviews seemed to be from 2009-10.

antr 14y ago

All the news and data seems to show that Foursquare peaked some time ago. Naveen one of the founders left; several pivots (remember that a pivot is done when things are not working out); well known employees leaving (Morgan Missen, Tristan Walker, and now Naveen's partner); declining use of the app; down round; etc. This company is now burning Series D cash raised on November, I guess there is no more fun and games here.