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.

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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