GoParti: Pandora For Nightlife Events

At some point everyone has experienced the dilemma of desperately wanting to go out on the town, but being stunted by the difficulty of finding out what exactly there is to do. GoParti, a startup based out of St. Louis, is working hard to make sure you always know what night life events are happening in your city. GoParti offers an online resource where locals can see the full list of hot parties and events happening every night in their area. Even if you’re not sure what exactly you’re in the mood for, the service can provide recommendations based on favorite music, venues, and even wine selection, so you can always find a fresh event to keep you and your friends entertained. The St. Louis startup was founded in 2010 by Rasheed Sulaiman and Antione Brown. Sulaiman came up with the idea for a centralized service for nightlife listings while searching for upcoming parties with a friend, finding the whole process to be a frustrating mess. Three months later, Sulaiman and Brown realized the potential for a resource specific to city nightlife and decided to pursue the venture. GoParti eventually launched a closed beta program in St. Louis and its surrounding areas in the Spring of this year. Since then the website has seen more than 600 active users and received 3,000 Facebook likes on its company profile. Sulaiman said that the startup has received invaluable feedback for improvements during the beta that will help drive GoParti to its full release. The hardest part of building the platform, according to Sulaiman, has been narrowing down which features are most vital to shaping GoParti’s identity. “Knowing what makes you unique enough to stand out today, and sharp enough to puncture your market, is the key to mastery,” said Sulaiman. To help him focus on those essential features during development, the co-founder admitted that he took inspiration from Twitter creator and fellow St. Louis entrepreneur Jack Dorsey, who said, “Make every detail perfect and limit the number of details to perfect.”

The company is currently seeking out seed funding in St. Louis, and has submitted GoParti to Capital Innovators’ Fall 2012 accelerator class. Sulaiman believes the St. Louis community is a great starter market for the program, though he said he’s concerned about funding resources for companies still in the process of gaining traction. “St. Louis is young and growing but local tech investors need to rethink their strategy for the future,” Sulaiman said. “Experimenting with smaller and more available funding opportunities is a must.” GoParti’s ultimate goal is to make the nightlife industry perform better than ever, while continuing to perfect its platform along the way. “We want to see the world change,” said Sulaiman. “Our hope is that we are prepared for the opportunities ahead. We don’t want to miss out.” If you’re in the St. Louis area, be sure to register on the GoParti website to get an early taste of the nightlife recommendation platform.