Foursquare’s angel pitch deck

ABOUT

• Year: 2009
• Raised: Over US$1.3 million
• Investors: O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, SV Angel, Joshua Schachter, Union Square Ventures, Kevin Rose, Jack Dorsey, Alex Rainert, Chad Stoller, Sergio Salvatore

Previously, Foursquare was a search and discovery app where users could regularly check in and share their locations to friends. While the social networking features have since been transferred to the company’s companion app, Swarm, Foursquare itself has pivoted and become an enterprise locational data company. It now works with over 150,000 partners globally, including Uber, Apple, Spotify, and Tencent.

It’s interesting to see how the firm has evolved over the past decade. Above, the 2009 angel pitch deck, which helped Foursquare raise over US$1.3 million, feels like a callback to the days when social gamification was prevalent – company logos, friend-finding functionalities, point mechanics, and all.

How is the deck compelling?

• There’s a clear definition of the company’s functions – friend finder, social city guide, and social game – which is supported by visuals of the app.
• It presents examples of the merchants who were the app’s early adopters.
• The deck extensively illustrates the app’s gamification mechanics and ties it with Foursquare’s advertising-based revenue model.

SOURCE

Deck: Rami Al-Karmi
Copy: Eric Oandasan