Jason Haines of boostchatter
Meet Jason Haines, cofounder of
boostchatter.
How did you start your business?
My partner, Tommy Tayman, and I are actually still in sort of a stealth mode while things are being developed, but we started putting things together on what we wanted to develop during this past Christmas. We locked ourselves in a small office in Knoxville and spent a few days hashing out the idea. We then spent three weeks locked up building the core infrastructure and getting the basics together. It took us back to our college days when we would wait until the last minute to do a programming assignment and then spend all night putting something together.
How did you come up the idea for your business?
I’m partner of Cincinnati MasterCraft, a local boat dealership. I oversee the marketing efforts and we are active users of social media. The idea came from trying to find a way to engage our social media users more.
What resources here did you take advantage of and how did they help?
We haven’t quite utilized much yet. But Cincinnati has a large amount of design talent and this is where would could use some love. After getting some of the final core features implemented our next step will be to polish off some of the user interface and design aspects.
What inspires you?
First and foremost, my wife and two daughters. Also, I’m inspired by reading about other startups that succeed and just trying to do something big.
What’s next for you and your company?
We will be launching a private beta soon. We’re also looking to join a startup incubator to help with the launch.
Interview by Robin Donovan