CEO David Shim Resigns From Foursquare As Of Jan. 1 In Wake Of Factual Merger

Foursquare CEO David Shim is reportedly stepping down Jan. 1. He will be succeeded by Gary Little, a member of the company’s board and managing director of the Raine Group.

Shim told The Wall Street Journal that he is leaving to pursue new opportunities. He has been managing location-based data businesses for a decade, Shim added.

Last spring, the New York-based location intelligence company merged with data-location provider Factual. Shim stayed on as CEO of the combined company, which retained the Foursquare name.

Foursquare was launched as an app a decade ago. At that point, it simply allowed users to share their location with their friends and show them where the users were headed. The company has since grown to be a marketing platform that relies on location data and provides software to businesses as well.

Last year, Foursquare acquired the company Placed from Snap Inc. at a time when Foursquare was flush with $150 million in new funding — from the Raine Group.

That’s when Shim, who founded Placed, joined Foursquare.

At the time, Foursquare said in a release, “This equity financing signifies Raine’s belief that the location space has enormous growth ahead over the next decade, not only for marketing” but in such industries as retail, dining and real estate.

Shim told the Journal that he made the decision to step down in the early fall, following the integration of Placed and Factual into Foursquare. He said Foursquare is well-positioned for its next stage of growth, but that leading it would be a long-term endeavor.

Executives said Foursquare and Factual together generated more than $150 million in revenue in 2019, the Journal reported. Foursquare had its first profitable quarter with the fourth quarter of that year, the company said at the time of the merger.

The CEO said Foursquare has the “opportunity to take that next step.” But, he added, “that requires a certain level of commitment” from a CEO.