A great addition to Oklahoma City's growing business diversity.

Google, AOL veteran chooses Oklahoma City for startup | News OK (http://newsok.com/google-aol-veteran-chooses-oklahoma-city-for-startup/article/3796054?custom_click=pod_headline_financial-news)

Very great addition, indeed.

As an aside, I really love these I2E columns that the Oklahoman does. They offer some cool insight into a side of things a lot of citizens don't hear or read about anywhere else. I've learned about several very cool things going on in OKC from these columns that weren't reported anywhere else and many of these things are awesome. It'd be cool if stuff like this got more focus in OKC. I'm all about positive PR for the city.

A great addition to Oklahoma City's growing business diversity.

Google, AOL veteran chooses Oklahoma City for startup | News OK (http://newsok.com/google-aol-veteran-chooses-oklahoma-city-for-startup/article/3796054?custom_click=pod_headline_financial-news)

That's pretty cool. I don't know how someone with that kind of background (at Google and AOL) ended up here in OKC (the article doesn't really explain the move). But it's great to have another tech startup in town.

Here's their fearless leader, Daniel Maloney

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/601183_463156157089089_1462424847_n.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=463156157089089&set=a.463156123755759.1073741825.321762217895151)

That's pretty cool. I don't know how someone with that kind of background (at Google and AOL) ended up here in OKC (the article doesn't really explain the move). But it's great to have another tech startup in town.


"Oklahoma has an extremely passionate and rapidly growing technology industry. People have been very welcoming. It's easy to collaborate. We are finding high-quality talent. "
All pretty good reasons to be here.

It's great that we've got smart guys building their company, PinLeague, in Oklahoma City, but isn't it risky building a company around a company that could become tomorrow's MySpace? I've never understood the allure of Pinterest. What are people's thoughts about its longevity?

I think the feature that's most likely to differentiate Pinterest from other social media whims is it's eye to the future. MySpace, Facebook, etc. attempt to capture who we are at this moment in time, with little attention paid to what we might become or how we will surely evolve. Pinterest's focus on aspirations gives it a greater chance at longevity I'd think because people want to see these things on Pinterest come to fruition (trips, renovations, designs, recipes). It's not just highlighting ****ty music or emo photos, but things you'd like to see through to completion, albeit some on a much longer term.

"Oklahoma has an extremely passionate and rapidly growing technology industry. People have been very welcoming. It's easy to collaborate. We are finding high-quality talent. "
All pretty good reasons to be here.

I'm sure OKC has a good environment for tech startups, but how did Maloney know that? That's what I was curious about.

As I was reading the article I kept expecting some explanation -- as in, he grew up here, or had family here. Or maybe he just happened to visit the city a few times while attending some conventions or trade shows and met some people here who impressed him with what was going on in OKC. I don't know. It's was quite a change in venue, which is a story in itself. I mean, he's working at Google and AOL, which are some of the top tech companies around -- i.e. he's right in the thick of it -- and then suddenly moves thousands of miles away to OKC to start a company, which hardly anybody would consider a high tech hub. Even if he was interested in the general area, then why not Austin or Dallas?

Anyway, it's not that big of deal. Just thought it was strange no mention was made as to how he ended up in OKC. But I'm glad he's here and wish him luck. And I hope others follow suit.

It's great that we've got smart guys building their company, PinLeague, in Oklahoma City, but isn't it risky building a company around a company that could become tomorrow's MySpace? I've never understood the allure of Pinterest. What are people's thoughts about its longevity?

I think it's risky building a company... period (of any kind). :)

The software industry has always seemed kind of vaporous to me. As in, they build profits off of stuff that could seemingly disappear or be replaced overnight. Very trendy, very fad oriented. And yet it's obvious that companies that know how to exploit the latest wave can make bucket loads of money. So I guess if you know what you're doing, there's gold in them thar hills.

I didn't forsee the twitter craze that started, what, 5 or 6 years ago? And I didn't see the facebook craze coming right after that. So I haven't the foggiest what will become of Pinterest. This social media thing is not something that I understand all that well. I do see the appeal -- I just don't know where it's going. It's so darn fluid and trendy.

Hi Praedura (& everyone else!)-

Just came across this post and first I wanted to say thank you for the encouragement! Our whole team appreciates it!

To answer your question: I do also have a personal connection to OKC. My wife grew up here and her parents and sister live in OKC. When we decided to move here, we were considering a number of factors, but being closer to family was definitely one of them. It was also a great environment for both PinLeague and my wife's company (she's an entrepreneur as well) to grow, so it seemed like a good choice all-around.

-Danny

Hi Praedura (& everyone else!)-

Just came across this post and first I wanted to say thank you for the encouragement! Our whole team appreciates it!

To answer your question: I do also have a personal connection to OKC. My wife grew up here and her parents and sister live in OKC. When we decided to move here, we were considering a number of factors, but being closer to family was definitely one of them. It was also a great environment for both PinLeague and my wife's company (she's an entrepreneur as well) to grow, so it seemed like a good choice all-around.

-Danny

Great! Thanks for the answer! And happy to see you on the board. Seems like everyone passes through this site at some point, if they have anything to do with OKC.

Good luck with the biz. Even though I don't really understand what it's all about. :)

PinLeague has changed its name to Tailwind and has acquired rival company PinReach:

OKC startup acquires rival, plans expansion | i2E - Innovation to Enterprise (http://www.i2e.org/news/okc-startup-acquires-rival-plans-expansion)