Meghan, Anne, and Tara like happy hour. They like it so much that they built HappyHourBoulder.com.
This June, they got tired of hitting all the same places after work. Sure, they googled and found lots of information, but most of it was outdated or not nearly detailed enough. So, with just a few bucks and and a vision, the girls built the resource they wanted. It’s a comprehensive, focused, and up to date resource about Happy Hours in Boulder. The site launched on September 1st and already is seeing more than 700 unique visitors each day.
Currently, the site is just a hobby for the team. All three still hold down day jobs, and hope to build the business into a full time gig. Presently, the revenue model is to sell ads but there are plans to add other revenue streams in the future.
While this will obviously not turn into a huge business, I like what HappyHourBoulder is doing. Like a miniature version of Dogster (Toy Poodlester?), Thoos, and similar highly focused socially oriented sites, HappyHourBoulder reaches a very specific point on the long tail quite effectively. Advertisers will happily pay to reach such a focused audience. They know exactly who they’re talking to, and exactly what to say. Compare this to placing an ad on Adwords and going for volume.
I spoke with one of the founders, Meghan McCarthy today to hear more.
“We launched in just two months with pretty much no capital.” said Meghan.
I wanted to know more about the future plans for the site. Meghan indicated that plans for growth include the addition of social networking features and expansion into cities other than Boulder.
Meghan explained: “We’re trying to prove the business model in Boulder first, then we’ll expand. In the big cities, the sites are overwhelming and include shopping, nightlife, restaurants, and everything. We won’t go in that direction. We don’t want to be everything to everyone. Happy hour is it’s own cool phenomenon. We want to help build the happy hour community.”
Although HappyHourBoulder is not actively seeking investment, they’re full of future ideas. Meghan summed it up by saying “If the right thing came along and we could get to our big ideas sooner, we’d consider it.”
Congratulations to HappyHourBoulder for following their passion, building it with next to no money, and producing a high quality site in such a short timeframe. You can tell from one look, it’s a site coming from some talented and professional people.
