Woofound is built upon personalization, and we believe that any good exercise in personalization not only recommends but reveals. That’s why we’ve created stamps, our way of helping Woofound users understand more about themselves.

As you play the Slider, Woofound not only calculates what experiences best fit your personality, but it also figures out your personality type (stamp). Currently, one of nine possible stamps can be displayed in your profile: Adventurer, Creator, Hero, Sage, Warrior, Leader, Dreamer, Nature Lovers, and Goal Setters. While every person is different, here is a brief description of what each stamp might say about you:

• Adventurers are thrill-seekers who are full of energy. They may enjoy riding a roller coaster at an amusement park or checking out a view from a high cliff.

• Creators are artistic and innovative. They may tend to visit art museums or take pottery classes.

• Heroes are compassionate and caring. They may appreciate businesses that are philanthropic or spend the day volunteering.

• Sages are intellectual and curious. They may visit a bookstore or attend a lecture.

• Warriors are athletic and competitive. They might spend an afternoon running on a trail or joining in a game of soccer at a park.

• Leaders are extroverts and are very sociable Their evenings might be spent going dancing or having a drink with friends.

• Dreamers are romantic and optimistic. They would enjoy attending a poetry reading or watching a classic Broadway musical.

• Nature Lovers are happiest when outdoors. They may spend their day fishing or strolling through a botanical garden.

• Goal-Setters enjoy hands-on experiences. They are ready for any sort of competitive experience or physical activity.

These nine stamps are only the beginning! As Woofound grows and learns more about its users, then you will be able to earn more stamps! If you have suggestions for stamps or would like to share why your current stamp fits you, feel free to email us at lauren@woofound.com.

You can live somewhere your whole life and still miss wonderful things that are right around the corner. Woofound Co-CEO Dan Sines and his girlfriend Katie Davis realized this a few weeks ago when they paid a trip to their state capitol of Annapolis, Maryland. By using Woofound to create an itinerary combining their personalities and interests, Dan and Katie were able to visit several places that they never knew existed.

Before embarking on their adventures throughout the city, Woofound suggested that Dan and Katie stop at the Dock Street Grill to fuel themselves with delicious food. As they sat and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Annapolis harbor, Dan felt that this restaurant was like an “old tavern” that would you visit “if you came in on a skipjack.” Dan found Dock Street Grill’s crabcake to be quite tasty, and once Katie tasted the “extra delicious” burger, she knew that the restaurant was just right for her, as she explained, “Cheeseburger is my middle name.”

Their next stop was the William Paca House and Garden. Dan was impressed by Woofound’s ability to find a venue that was steeped in history (Dan is a self-proclaimed “history buff”) and housed gardens that delighted Katie. According to Katie, you “never expected [this house] to be there,” and finding more and more “massive gardens hidden behind brick walls” constantly surprised Dan.

After enjoying their time exploring William Paca’s home, Dan and Katie were very excited to visit their next stop, the Hammond-Harwood House. They were disappointed when they arrived just after the last tour embarked, but the concierge graciously offered them a private tour! Dan was impressed by the architecture of the house and by the history of the home’s owner. Katie was touched by the concierge’s kindness and was thrilled when the guide made sure to point out frolicking rabbits in the garden.

The final stop of the day was the Maryland State House. Katie found the historical aspects of the State House to be very interesting, but Dan was truly in his element due to the mix of the history and politics in one building. He was honored to stand in a spot where President George Washington once stood, when Annapolis was temporarily the nation’s capitol.

By taking just a few minutes to teach Woofound about themselves, Dan and Katie were able to spend a wonderful day exploring venues in their own state’s capitol that otherwise they never would have thought of visiting. The smart yet simple Woofound application led this couple to a delightful day that they both truly enjoyed.

A little more than a week ago, Woofound launched its app for iPhone users, and the response has been amazing. iPhone users across the country now have the chance to experience their hometowns and places they wish to visit in a whole new way!

Several articles have been written about Woofound in the past week, and we could not be more honored at the compliments given by the writers. In his article for the Baltimore Sun’s blog Balt Tech, Gus Sentementes praises Woofound, calling it:

“a new twist on the age-old way of doing things.”

Sarah Perez from TechCrunch writes in her article:

“The game itself…is fun. You don’t feel like you’re training an AI (artificial intelligence) engine, even though that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

We are happy to report that the reactions to our app have been overwhelmingly positive! In response to the TechCrunch article, one user writes, “This is one of the most creative app ideas I have ever seen!” Another user deems the app to be “very innovative.” In the iPhone App Store, one user exclaims, “I absolutely love this app!!!” Reading comments of this nature make us so proud of our product!

Woofound currently includes experiences in 70 cities, and more cities are being added by the day! If you believe a city needs more experiences added, let us know, and our team will make sure that you have more results as soon as possible.

This is a very exciting time for Woofound. Each day, we are working diligently to make sure that Woofound leads you to the best and most personalized experiences. Keep an eye out for an update at the beginning of July, which will include many cool new features for the app. If you have any suggestions or ideas for Woofound, please contact us at lauren@woofound.com.

Woofound Launches App to Match People to Places Based on Personality

Mobile app enables users to find common interests among friends; plan events on-the-go

Baltimore, Md. (June 4, 2012)—Woofound, a Baltimore-based startup, today launched its mobile application for the iPhone that matches people to places and things to do based on their unique personality traits. Available in more than 60 U.S. cities nationwide, Woofound uses its signature “Me or Not Me” visual game to identify user’s personalities, and then recommends things to do, places to see, and restaurants to try in their city.

The personality test was developed in conjunction with in-house Head of Psychology, Noreen Honeycutt, PhD., psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, with more than 22 years experience and her own private practice.

“We truly believe that places and things woo you,” said Josh Spears, Woofound Co-CEO. “Woofound has a simple but smart mission: find what you love and share those experiences with your friends and family. It’s a completely new way to discover and plan life, and a tool for people to use to connect to each other and the world around them.”

Woofound also makes planning with friends and groups easy by allowing them to find things to do based on common interests and personality traits. With more than 10,000 businesses on the platform, users can:

• Create personalized itineraries for themselves or for groups of people
• Compile and share event details on their social networks
• Find fun things to do with friends based on common personality traits
• See who is attending events

Additionally, each user has a feed where they can see their friends’ plans, and join plans that are “open.” Woofound makes it simple to find things to do that everyone in the group will enjoy.

“Woofound grew out of our frustration with not being able to find great things to do that were personalized to who we are,” said Dan Sines, Co-CEO. “With a million and one options out there—restaurants, museums, events and everything in between—it was a real challenge to narrow down what we would actually enjoy, especially when making plans with friends. We built Woofound as a way to discover fresh experiences based on your unique personality and preferences, while also introducing new customers to businesses.”

Woofound has raised $1,175,000 in angel investment from a variety of sources and plans to continue expanding the platform nationwide. Later this summer, the startup will enable businesses to claim their profiles and create targeted offers. Woofound is also partnering with University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to develop a customized on-campus experience for students.

About Woofound

Baltimore-based Woofound provides users a way to discover new things to do and see in their cities. Woofound utilizes its signature personality game to provide targeted suggestions that best suit individual personalities and preferences. Founded in April 2011 by Joshua Spears and Daniel Sines, Woofound has grown to fifteen full-time employees and six interns. With more than $1,175,000 in angel investment raised, Woofound plans to continue expansion nationwide helping people rediscover their cities.

#  #  # 

For more information on Woofound, visit http://www.woofound.com. For media inquiries and screenshots of the app please contact Jessica Platt at Jessica@simplyevolve.com or (410) 790-5402.

If you’ve turned on the television, listened to the radio, or even eavesdropped on a stranger’s conversation this week, then you’ve most likely heard about the Facebook IPO.  Those who have jealously muttered, “Boy, if only I had a piece of that company” will soon be able to buy shares of Facebook and become a part of the company that pioneered social networking.

We at Woofound are very excited about this endeavor, as Facebook has paved the way for companies such as ours that allow Internet users to share information about their lives with others.  In an article on TechCrunch, Josh Constine quotes Mark Zuckerberg, “ Facebook was not originally created to be a company.   It was built to accomplish a social mission—to make the world more open and connected.”  Woofound’s mission is quite similar: we want people to connect by finding new places to explore and then sharing those places with others.

The announcement of the Facebook IPO is not only about people making money. It’s also allowing people to feel a connection to the company.  At Woofound, we strive to create connections with our users in addition to the users making connections with those who are important to them.  We connect with our users by introducing them to new events, restaurants and activities that they will love.  Users will not only find out places they will love, but our system can also find places that match the interests of you and your friends.  In addition, we encourage our users to connect with us and give us feedback on how we can improve.

The day that shares of Facebook will officially be available to the public will be a historic day in the technology world.  Clearly, this world is changing, and it is up to companies like Woofound to make sure that it is changing for the better.

In the 1980’s, the television sitcom Cheers acknowledged that “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.”  Since then, with the introduction of the World Wide Web, more and more people spend their days as anonymous Internet users.  Despite this fact, people still crave that personal attention and the acknowledgement of someone who “knows” them.  At Woofound, we understand this, and our mission is to provide you with things to do based on your distinct personality.

You start “getting personal” with Woofound the minute you first sign-up on the site.  It takes you to the Slider, where your answers to “Me or Not Me?” regarding different types of food, activities, pop culture icons and environments teach Woofound about you.  Woofound then gives you results that are unique to YOUR interests.  We are not interested in leading you to the most popular places or the most expensive places—we want to guide you to the experiences that will make you happy. 

Woofound also helps to foster your personal relationships with friends.  In addition to finding experiences that you will enjoy, Woofound also has the ability to lead you to businesses that match both your interests and your friends’ interests.  Woofound analyzes your personality and the personalities of the friends who would join you on an outing, and it provides you with a list of experiences that you would all enjoy.  If you want to spark your friends’ interests in a certain restaurant, business or event, you can share your search results with your friends, allowing them to comment on your plans or join you on your excursion.  By looking at your Feed, you also have the opportunity to join your friends as they experience new restaurants and activities.

While Woofound shows its personal knowledge of you in several ways, you also have the opportunity to show your uniqueness through your Woofound profile.  In addition to your profile picture, your bio in your profile can tell quite a bit about you.  Some users choose to describe themselves in their bios, while others include an inspirational quote, and still others make jokes.  Soon, the Showcase profile layout will be available, which will not only be more aesthetically pleasing, but it will also “showcase” your personality by displaying the aspects that you feel best define you.  The Showcase layout is another way that you can form personal connections with others, who may have interests that are similar to yours.

In life, there are fewer things that are more important than feeling as though people understand who you are.  At Woofound, we want to create a personal relationship with each user, so that we not only know who you are, but we want to lead you to the things that you love.

In Gotham City, Batman keeps all of his gadgets and technology in the Bat Cave.  At Woofound, we have the Dev Cave—a room that stores not only some very powerful computers but also the incredibly intelligent and creative developers that bring Woofound to life.

Carson Wright started working with computers when he was young but not entirely by choice.  While Carson was growing up in Vermont, if he and his brother wanted to play computer games, their father insisted that they fix a computer first.  After receiving his degree in Communications from Vanguard University in California, Carson returned to his innate gift of software development.  Eventually, he spoke to his college roommate Josh Spears about writing code, and Josh suggested that Carson use his talent to create websites for Josh and Dan Sines’s company, Retrofire.  When Dan and Josh thought of the idea for Woofound, they asked him to come to Maryland and lead the company’s Development Team. 

Shortly after Carson arrived in Maryland, Colin Murray became the Head of Core Development for the Development Team.  Colin started showing an interest in computers at the age of 7.  With the help of his mother and brother, who are computer scientists, and his high school computer classes, Colin was writing code before he entered college.  In April, Ken Holt, the Chief Financial Officer at Woofound, told Colin’s parents about a possible job opportunity on Woofound’s Development Team.  Colin graduated from Towson University with a degree in Computer Science.

Once Colin started with the Woofound crew, Jason Truluck joined the team.  He started working with computers when he was eight or nine years old, and he continued to be interested in them throughout the years.  According to Jason, computers were “cheaper than a car and just as exciting.”  After graduating from Towson University with a degree in Computer Science, Jason applied for a job at Woofound as the Head of Mobile Development, and he is now the Chief Technical Officer.

In the summer of 2011, Chris Presinger joined the Woofound family.  When he was young, Chris’s curiosity in technology was peaked as he played computer games with his brother.  Once Chris had earned his Computer Science degree from the University of Delaware, he received a tip from his former Physics Olympics teammate Jason that there was a job opening at Woofound.  Now Chris is the Head of User Interface, working diligently to make sure that everyone’s Woofound experience is the best that it can be.

When speaking to the members of the Development Team, I realized that they really are just that: a team.  While each member has his own title, the Development Team helps each other and works together to produce the smart yet simple product, Woofound.

If you are interested in becoming part of the Woofound team, please visit the Jobs section of Woofound: http://www.woofound.com/employment

Woofound prides itself as being “smart” and “simple,” which is why we offer our users the option to log into the site using Facebook Connect.  In fact, we encourage you to log-in using Facebook as there are many benefits to connecting your Woofound experience with your Facebook experience!

If you sign up for Woofound using your Facebook account, it saves you quite a bit of time during the process of creating your Woofound profile.  Any information that you have already entered into your Facebook profile will automatically be transferred into your Woofound profile.  And you won’t have to waste time searching for a profile picture, as the picture from your Facebook profile will be transferred over as well.  We want you to start finding the things you love right away, and signing-up through Facebook is a way to speed that process along.

The best part about logging into Woofound through Facebook is that you have the opportunity to share your planned experiences with your Facebook friends!  Imagine this scenario: you’re using Woofound, and you find a great new Italian restaurant that you want to try.  Since you’re new to Woofound, you don’t have many friends on the site yet, but you have many more Facebook friends who would love that restaurant, too.  All you have to do is check the box next to the Facebook symbol, and all of your Facebook friends will know that you’ve discovered a new restaurant—and they’ll know that you discovered it while using Woofound, which will hopefully encourage them to sign-up and become your Woofound friends, too!

With each passing day, Woofound is working towards making the experience of finding things you love simpler, more intelligent and more enjoyable.  If you already love Facebook, why not use it to find more things that you love with Woofound?