Winter Spring is coming, and people from Westeros to Boston to everywhere in between are getting psyched for Sunday’s return of Game of Thrones season four at 9 p.m. (That, and the premiere of HBO entrepre-nerd comedy series Silicon Valley.)
But the fantasy book-series-turned-TV success holds a place in the heart of one Boston company in particular. The ‘KAYAK and ITA for buses and trains’ startup Wanderu had the chance to meet Maisie Williams (a.k.a. Arya Stark) at SXSW this year.
Williams was one of many celebs who made the trek down to Austin, Texas in February for the festival. As luck would have it, the young Stark child made a stop at Wanderu’s stand to get her picture taken with not dragons, not direwolves, but Mikie the Wanderu Monkey, the startup’s mascot.
According to Wanderu CEO and founder Polina Raygorodskaya, the team didn’t even recognize Maisie at first. Mikie the Wanderu Monkey actually ended up swiping Williams’ hat. “It was actually really cute,” Raygorodskaya told BostInno of the situation, laughing. Williams even blasted out the candid moment of hilarity in a tweet.
That’s the kind of serendipitous promotion that only happens at SXSW. Wanderu has historically had good luck at the three-week fest, starting in 2013 when the travel tech startup took home the top prize at the SXSW Interactive Accelerator. Check out other Boston companies that got their start at SXSW here.
Image via Wanderu
