When was the last time you made plans to hang with someone without a hitch? The fact is that in our mobile-dependent culture, more often than not, our busy schedules make it nearly impossible to meet up without a lot of back and forth. Someone gets stuck on the subway. Or they have to run back home for an umbrella. Or maybe their ride is running late. Wouldn’t it be a hell of a lot easier if you just knew the other person’s location in real-time, rather than having to play an endless game of text and phone tag?
That’s where Beam comes in. The free iPhone location sharing app, which just launched on the App Store earlier this month, allows two people to privately share where they are, with continual updates in 15 second intervals. Nothing creepy here: The only person who sees you is the person you’ve Beamed, and you both have to agree to see each other's location.
It just takes two taps to request to Beam, and once the other person is on board, you can watch each other move for the next hour, or until you meet. Beam requests are simple and straightforward: “Pick me up,” “I’m here,” “let’s meet here,” “on my way” or “where are you?” Users can suggest a meeting place with a pin drop, sharing their location and alerting someone when they’re on their way or when they’ve arrived. And Beam still works while someone is traveling, as long as they have access to a WiFi or data connection.
Beam cofounders Milenko Beslic and Suzanne Lilley both formerly worked at Cheapflights.com. Beslic was a founding member and the CTO, while Lilley served as Global Head of Product. The company has five full-time and two part-time employees, and is self-funded to date. CFO and advisor Bethe Palmer was previously the CFO for Karmaloop, The Echo Nest and Zipcar. Soon, they plan to hire across two areas: marketing/user acquisition and UX.
The idea for Beam grew out of Beslic's personal frustration while driving his teenagers to and from extracurriculars, friends' houses and parties, among other places. After he joined forces with Lilley, the duo did some research on apps in the space and identified a gap. And through discussions with others, they quickly realized there was a big need—and thus, an opportunity.
“Our mission is to bring maps to life,” the cofounders told BostInno in an email. “Seeing both people and things (way beyond just you and me) move in real-time on a map is our vision.”
Over the past six months, Beam has had over 200 beta testers. Based on the feedback they’ve collected, the team is currently looking at adding several features, including Group Beams and Custom Beams. Additionally, they’ll soon be launching the Android app and the Beam API, which will give developers an opportunity to explore what else can be shared on a map between Beamers.
All photos courtesy of Beam.
