4 Lessons I Learned From The Founders Of Foursquare
This week I will analyze the collaboration between Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. Dennis and Naveen are the two guys that brought us Foursquare, a location-based social networking service. Today the service has 55 million users worldwide, it is safe to call this a successful collaboration. But not all success stories have a happy ending. We will take a look into why these two men worked together and what we can learn from their choices.
Who Are They?
Crowley is from Medway, Massachusetts. He studied at Syracuse University and New York University’s Tisch School. After his time at Syracuse, Crowley worked for Jupiter Communications. In 2000, he started working for the mobile app provider Vindigo as a product developer. Crowley co-founded Dodgeball with fellow student Alex Rainert in 2003 while attending New York University. Dodgeball was subsequently acquired by Google in 2005.
Naveen was born in Chennai, India. Selvadurai graduated in 4 years from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Computer Science in Worcester, MA. He went on to work with Lucent, Sony, Nokia and Sun Microsystems.
How They Met And The Beginning Of Foursquare
It was in 2007 that Dennis and Naveen met for the first time. Crowley, who left Google, joined a company called Area/Code. Naveen worked for a different startup in the same office space, he had a desk around the corner from Crowley.
It was through the suggestion of mutual friends that they would eventually meet up. They shared an interest for location based services, the foundation of their collaboration. Crowley recalls, “He was the one guy who knew how to make iPhone stuff. He liked hacking city apps. I was doing a lot of mobile work and I also liked city stuff and we just started working together.”
Naveen recalls, “When Dennis and I finally became friends and started chatting, we realized that we could combine our ideas into a single app that would guide people’s real-world experiences and encourage them to try new things and explore new places.”
The first 5 months the pair worked together, Naveen focussing on the iPhone app and Crowley on the website and the back-end. They developed a second version of the original Dodgeball service called Foursquare in late 2008 and launched the service at SXSW in 2009. Foursquare had over 6 million users worldwide as of January 2011.
Foursquare, Naveen and Dennis In 2015
Dennis still runs Foursquare as the CEO, Naveen is no longer part of the daily operations, he left the company in 2012 but is still a board member. Why Naveen left is unclear, but it was not by choice as an interview reveals.
Naveen tells that he wanted to stay in an interview with Fast Company. Naveen says the following, “It was definitely a surprise. I wanted to stay, it were definitely some of the most difficult times at the company. I truly feel like an orphan.”
It is clear that Naveen was not happy with him leaving the company, but why he had to leave is still up for debate. The press saw the leaving of Naveen as an indication of the company’s internal struggles. It was clear that Naveen was pushed out, but also that it wasn’t an easy decision for Dennis, as a source close to both parties discloses.
Probably the reason why Naveen had to leave was that the CEO position was the only one he could take, and that was of course occupied by Dennis. Crowley stated that a company has to grow, and with growth changes have to be made. It something that happens to all companies, to be able to grow, companies need to attract talent. With these kind of dynamics it is hard for people who’s function is not clear within a company to keep a strong position. Naveen is a victim of growth and expantation, a clear downside of success.
Naveen worked hard for Foursquare putting a lot of time and effort in it and ended with stocks and a position on the board, he might not be happy but it is for sure something. As for Dennis it is clear that he will do whatever he can to make Foursquare grow, and that is reasonable when you think of it. He has been sculpting this idea for more than 10 years and it is truly his baby.
When asked if he’s on good terms with Crowley, Selvadurai only says, “We haven’t talked in a long time, since that last conversation.”
4 Lessons That Can Be Learned
The collaboration between Naveen and Dennis might have ended on a less positive note, but it provides us with some interesting lessons.
Having a shared interest was the basis of this collaboration. It might be common knowledge for some but without being utterly passionate about something you will not succeed. Both Naveen and Dennis were very interested in the location based social applications, it was the reason why they eventually ended up working together. A good collaboration doesn’t work if you work together because the other person is just good at their job, it should be a shared passion and a shared vision that drives your collaboration.
Introductions are important, make them and accept them. Naveen and Dennis were introduced to each other through a third party. Even though they sat so close to each other, it took other people to introduce them. What I find interesting about this point is that it is something I found out myself as well, a lot interesting contacts in my life are ones that other people suggested to me. The story of Naveen and Dennis confirms what I am a firm believer of: The valuable connections in life are not made by you thinking you want to meet someone, but by other people knowing that both parties have a common interest/vision and then introducing them.
Shared office spaces are an ideal place for meeting like-minded people. Open doors are there to be kicked in, but still this is a very true lesson. Shared office spaces are known for its collaborative environment and innovative people. I experienced first hand that joining a shared office space helps grow your network and in Foursquares case (and mine) can be the place where you meet your co-founder.
Be true to your dream, even if it hurts others. This sounds weird, maybe, but please stick with me. Dennis Crowley had an idea, more than a decade ago, and his idea is now a 55 million users reality. You might feel bad for Naveen, you may think it was not nice of Crowley to force a co-founder out of a company, but without Crowley’s vision and decisiveness there wouldn’t be a Foursquare. You have to respect the fact that Crowley dares to make decisions like these. And if that is what it takes to realize your dreams, it is a price you have to be willing to pay.
