Besomebody, the platform for booking experiences like paddle boarding and yoga, is moving its core operations from Austin to Boston, founder Kash Shaikh told a Facebook Live audience Wednesday.
Shaikh said two of the company's four full-time team members will stay in Austin. And Shaikh said he's headed to Boston, himself, and cited three primary reasons for the move.
1.) Besomebody is adding partners and investors in the Boston area. He didn't provide details on what that may mean. But he said those partners are the "missing ingredients" to taking the platform to the next level.
2.) The company is focused on building the next step of its user base in the Northeast part of the country, which has dense population and a lot of market potential. "So much of the Besomebody is anchored in the Northeast," he said.
3.) Boston, home of Harvard and MIT, is an epicenter for education, and Besomebody sees itself as an alternative education format for people to learn from each other without college debt. "The best way to learn is in-person, passion-based experiences," Shaikh said.
Besomebody has raised $2 million in funding from angel investors including Austin construction mogul Fred Tillman. Last year it completed construction on a big play space near Hudson Bend on Lake Travis that has a dirt bike course, basketball court, climbing wall, demo kitchen and other spaces for Besomebody instructors to host experiences with paying users. The company's platform connects teachers and students, allowing skilled practitioners to make some money by teaching people what they know and giving users a chance to try something out without paying tuition or entering a long-term commitment with instructors.
"You can learn more about entrepreneurship grinding with us in the trenches with us Besomebody in two weeks than you'll learn in two semesters at a traditional college," he said.
Shaikh said his team has learned a lot in Austin, which has been its test market for more than a year.
"This is such an amazing city, and there's so much going on in this city," he said. "It's such an important time in this city. And there's so many debates going on, and there's so many things happening. Our innovation is being questioned, in some ways. And it's being championed. Disruption is being questioned and championed."
You can watch Shaikh's entire message below.
