Key Takeaways
- • Foursquare co-founder and former CEO Dennis Crowley said in a new blog post that equity holders, including preferred and common stockholders, received no returns from the company's acquisition by advertising company Infillion.
- • The acquisition, completed last month at an undisclosed value, followed a 2019 private equity raise and a 2021 leadership change that brought in the banker who led that raise as CEO.
- • Crowley attributed the final outcome to management's inability to preserve or create new value after the transition, and said he was disappointed by the result.
- • Foursquare had raised over $411 million in funding according to PitchBook data, and had reported consecutive years of more than $100 million in revenue after pivoting to enterprise business.
Summary
Advertising company Infillion acquired location-data platform Foursquare last month at an undisclosed valuation, according to TechCrunch. In a new blog post, Foursquare co-founder and former CEO Dennis Crowley said the sale delivered no returns to investors. Crowley referenced a post by an angel investor and inferred that neither preferred nor common stockholders received any value from the transaction, writing that he was "heartbroken by this ending."
Crowley said the company performed well after shifting its focus to enterprise business, posting consecutive years with more than $100 million in revenue. In 2019, Foursquare raised capital from a private equity firm, and in 2021 it appointed the banker who led that raise as chief executive. Crowley blamed the final outcome on this transition, stating that management was unable to preserve or create new value. He apologized to the company's roughly 1,600 former employees over its 17-year history, writing that the outcome made "our collective efforts [seem] worth … nothing."
Foursquare had raised more than $411 million in funding, according to PitchBook data, and eventually shut down its app in 2024. Users who responded to Crowley's post said the service was valuable for discovering new places in their cities and had inspired ideas for new apps. TechCrunch noted that startups such as Zenly and Jagat, along with Instagram and Snapchat, have since explored social mapping features.
Crowley said the company performed well after shifting its focus to enterprise business, posting consecutive years with more than $100 million in revenue. In 2019, Foursquare raised capital from a private equity firm, and in 2021 it appointed the banker who led that raise as chief executive. Crowley blamed the final outcome on this transition, stating that management was unable to preserve or create new value. He apologized to the company's roughly 1,600 former employees over its 17-year history, writing that the outcome made "our collective efforts [seem] worth … nothing."
Foursquare had raised more than $411 million in funding, according to PitchBook data, and eventually shut down its app in 2024. Users who responded to Crowley's post said the service was valuable for discovering new places in their cities and had inspired ideas for new apps. TechCrunch noted that startups such as Zenly and Jagat, along with Instagram and Snapchat, have since explored social mapping features.
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