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Mari Sheibley is a graphic designer in New York City. Say hello via email.
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Farewell Foursquare
In early December, 2008 I got an email from Dennis Crowley asking if I wanted to help him and his buddy Naveen out on a new “project”.
I said yes.
That “project” was called Foursquare. It was about recording where you’ve been, sharing with friends and discovering new places. For someone like me who used to record all the bars I had been to in a word doc, it was perfect. I could tell there was something special about Foursquare from the very beginning. The energy and excitement that Dennis and Naveen exuded was infectious and the product was addictive. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t pay me, I just wanted to be a part of something I believed in.
Almost four years later I’ve watched Foursquare grow from two guys working out of Think Coffee to a company employing over 150 people across three offices on two continents. In that time I’ve drawn hundreds of badges and icons, designed UI for web, Android and, most notably, iOS. I’ve watched the product evolve from a simple check-in service to a robust recommendation engine. I’ve designed t-shirts, hand cut fake tattoos, co-founded Tie Tuesday, and oversaw the design side of a massive company-wide app redesign. It’s been a wild ride, but like all good things, it must come to an end.
I’m so grateful to Dennis and Naveen for taking a chance on me. My time at Foursquare has been some of the most challenging, fun, and inspirational of my life. I’m grateful that every day I got to work alongside such smart and passionate people. It’s a bittersweet feeling to leave behind something that was so tightly woven into my life for so long, but at the same time, I’ve never been this excited for the future. I’m ready to tackle new problems and help other entrepreneurs bring their vision to life, just as I did with Dens and Naveen all those years ago.
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