If you find traditional methods of exchanging contact information a bit lacking, Bump offers an updated alternative. Bump is an app that allows users to automatically exchange contact information—along with photos and other items—after bumping fists with smartphones in hand. Although it seems like the information passes between the phones, the trick is that it actually goes up to the cloud after being triggered by the phone’s accelerometer.
In his first Founder Stories interview with host Chris Dixon, Bump co-founder and CEO, David Lieb relates how he conceived the idea for Bump one week into business school at the University of Chicago. He met co-founder, Jake Mintz at the same time and along with their third co-founder, Andy Huibers began building on “nights and weekends” during “the fall of 2008.” By spring of 2009 Bump launched, and has since been downloaded more than 60-million times, he says, with 10 to 12 million active users in the last 30 days.
Lieb admits his team caught a lucky break during Bump’s early days of attracting users. “We were the billionth app [downloaded] and that got us kind of promoted by Apple.” It “started this word of mouth distribution engine that just won’t stop.” He goes on to say that “70% of our downloads come from direct word of mouth.” The company has “spent a total of $42 on marketing.”
Make sure to watch the entire video to hear additional insights, including Lieb’s pointed views on viral marketing and why he fled corporate America.
Past interviews of Founder Stories featuring David Karp, Fred Wilson, Mike McCue, Laren Leto and many other leaders are here.
Episode II of this interview is coming up.