A quick review on FOURSQUARE transition from a fun B2C app, into a leading B2B enterprise with 491% growth over 3 years.

1. Mini Case Study
Hamed Shams
Product Manager at

2. A quick review of FOURSQUARE
transition from a fun B2C app
into a leading B2B enterprise
with 491% growth over 3 years

3. 2009 to 2014
a consumer app, focused on data gathering
City Guide Friend Finder Social Game

4. 2009 to 2014
a consumer app, focused on data gathering
City Guide Friend Finder Social Game

5. At 2014 got split into 2 apps

6. At 2014 got split into 2 apps

7. 2014 to present
A location intelligence company

8. 2014 to present
actually, THE location intelligence company

9. 2009 to 2014 2014 to present
1. A consumer app
2. Business Model: B2C
3. No sustainable revenue stream
4. Only 3 business development
people on the staff
5. Employees were leaving
1. A location intelligence company
2. Business Model: B2B
3. 50% revenue growth each year
4. Hired many people for business
development, marketing, sales
5. Becomes one of the "Deloitte
Tech Fast 500" which is a list of
the fastest growing companies
for its 491% growth over 3 years
transition
from to….

10. How the transition happened?
o 2009
- Crowley, the founder and CEO could not monetize the business.
- He was following the local-business advertising route of YELP.
o 2012
- Crowley hired Rosenblatt (ex ads director of Apple) as the Chief Revenue Officer
to help him in monetization.
- The open culture of the company, let Rosenblatt to peek under the hood of every
part of the business rapidly. Using this access, he found the business opportunities
that was undiscovered.
o 2014
- Glueck joined the company as the Chief Operating Officer.
- The 2 new leaders started to focus on the valuable data, which they were not using.
- FOURSQUARE got split into 2 apps, in order to stay focused.
- It became a Location Intelligence Company, that focus on enterprise products.

12. References
o https://foursquare.com/about
o https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-the-first-pitch-deck-foursquare-ever-showed-
investors-2011-12
o https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/01/foursquare-splits-into-two-apps-but-will-either-
be-strong-enough-to-survive
o https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/290543
o https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/19/foursquare-is-finally-proving-its-dollar-value
o https://medium.com/foursquare-direct/foursquares-third-consecutive-year-of-50-
revenue-growth-or-better-adfca92d733