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Findery was a London, England-headquartered location-based social network and travel platform that allowed users to discover and leave digital notes about specific geographic places worldwide. The application functioned as a centralized repository for sharing local knowledge, hidden secrets, and personal travel experiences before ultimately shutting down its primary consumer service. Operating as a registered micro-enterprise in the United Kingdom, the corporate entity maintained a financial profile characterized by an annual turnover of under £1 million and a balance sheet totaling less than £500,000. Following its operational closure, the organization relocated its registered corporate headquarters to Margaret Street in central London during late 2025 under the leadership of company director Olga Mantsiou. While the original consumer platform operated for several years prior, the current corporate entity was officially incorporated in July 2025 by Olga Mantsiou.
Findery has raised $8.0M across 1 funding round.
Findery has raised $8.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Findery has raised $8.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Series A in February 2012.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1, 2012 | $8M Series A | — | Bedrock Venture Partners, Imagination Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Redpoint Ventures, JIM Pallotta | Announced |
Findery has raised $8.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Findery's investors include Bedrock Venture Partners, Imagination Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Redpoint Ventures, Jim Pallotta.
Findery is a location-based social discovery app that enables users to share photos, notes, and stories tagged to specific places on a global map, fostering user-generated knowledge about locations worldwide.[1][2][3] Founded by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, it serves travelers, locals, and explorers seeking authentic, personal insights into places, solving the problem of generic travel guides by crowdsourcing diverse perspectives like local lore, hidden gems, and personal anecdotes.[1][2][3] The app targets a global audience from all 195 countries, with availability on iOS, Android, and Windows, and has achieved early traction with tens of thousands of notes at launch, growing to millions of users.[1][2][3]
Findery was founded by Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr and Hunch, with a background in participatory and social media systems.[1][2] Initially named Pinwheel, the idea emerged from Fake's interest in user-generated discovery, launching in private beta in February 2012 and public beta in October 2012 after nearly eight months of development.[1] Backed by investors like Redpoint, Betaworks, and Obvious, it quickly populated with global content; native iOS and Android apps followed in March and September of that year, respectively.[1][2] Pivotal early moments included Fake's personal discoveries in her San Francisco neighborhood and Reid Hoffman's launch philosophy of iterating post-release, emphasizing continuous tweaks.[2]
Findery rides the early 2010s wave of location-based social media and crowdsourced discovery, coinciding with smartphone ubiquity and the rise of apps like Instagram and Foursquare.[1][2] Its timing leveraged post-Flickr mobile photo-sharing trends and investor interest from firms like Betaworks, positioning it amid map enhancements like Google’s Panoramio acquisition.[1] Market forces favoring it include the shift to user-generated content over curated info, enabling hyper-personalized travel in a globalized world, and influencing the ecosystem by pioneering "stories about places" that prefigure modern platforms like Google Maps contributions or TikTok travel reels.[1][2][3]
Findery's path forward likely involves deeper AI curation of notes, expanded multimedia (e.g., video embeds), and integrations for AR exploration, capitalizing on enduring demand for authentic place-based storytelling amid rising experiential travel.[1][2][3] Trends like ubiquitous mapping and social discovery will propel it, potentially evolving into a core "place knowledge" layer if it scales community contributions. As a Caterina Fake venture, its influence may grow by inspiring participatory apps, circling back to its roots as a friendlier, more human alternative to impersonal maps—turning every location into a shared story.
