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Foursquare
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Researched profile. Starter Story's AI research system compiled this page from 61 public sources — the founder didn't write it. Automated research can misread or misattribute a source, so treat figures as best-effort. How this works →
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How Foursquare Makes Money

Location intelligence platform for businesses

How did Foursquare monetize?

Summary of the sourced claims below

Foursquare monetizes primarily through advertising revenue and usage-based fees. Its technology powers location-based features in various major apps and devices, and it has signed deals with companies like Apple, Twitter, and Pinterest to use its location data. The company also plans to charge for heavy use of its API by third-party developers.

Revenue sources

3 sources · grouped by how Foursquare makes money

  • Advertising revenue

    · 5 mentions · 5 sources
    “Foursquare's revenue reached $57.9M.”
    high
    Show 4 more quotes
    “The company has been inserting ads into its app for a little over two years now, and that taught it some critical details.”
    medium
    “Efforts to monetize the platform via ads in its app (now apps) have not made the grade.”
    medium
    “the bigger story is what we can do with the data the apps generate, and the technology we’ve built to enable that.”
    medium
    “Foursquare’s technology powers the geofilters in Snapchat, tagged tweets on Twitter; it’s in Uber, Apple Maps, Airbnb, WeChat, and Samsung phones, to name a few.”
    medium

  • Usage-based fees

    · 2 mentions · 2 sources
    “Glueck says that the Pinpoint and enterprise revenue lines now make up the majority — over 50% — of Foursquare’s revenue.”
    medium
    Show 1 more quote
    “it’s planning to start charging for heavy use of its API, which is much beloved by third-party developers”
    medium

  • Sponsorships & partnerships

    · 1 mention
    “He pointed to deals that Foursquare has signed with companies like Apple, Twitter and Pinterest to use its location data.”
    medium

How 1,917 businesses make money

Of businesses with mapped revenue sources, the share using each — Foursquare’s highlighted.
  • Recurring subscriptions
    55%
  • Services & consulting
    29%
  • Physical products
    28%
  • One-time / lifetime deals
    24%
  • Affiliate / referral commissions
    16%
  • Course / training sales
    13%
  • Add-ons & upsells
    10%
  • Usage-based fees
    10% ◀
  • Sponsorships & partnerships
    9% ◀
  • Advertising revenue
    9% ◀
  • Marketplace commissions
    6%
  • Licensing
    2%
  • Donations & tips
    2%
  • Setup / onboarding fees
    2%
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