From Stanford Study Session to Startup Inspiration
Three years ago, Ernestine Fu—Stanford student and future entrepreneur—was studying at Palo Alto’s famed Philz Coffee when a stranger interrupted her after seeing her tweet about her location. That moment became a turning point, reshaping her view of social media from a personal space to a public forum ripe for innovation.
Today, Fu and her team have launched HelloWorld, the first product to emerge from YC Hacks, Y Combinator’s hackathon. The app reimagines location sharing with simplicity and privacy at its core.
How HelloWorld Works
HelloWorld answers two universal questions:
- Where are you?
- What are you doing?
Users share updates via text, photos, and location tags—visible to friends for 24 hours before disappearing. Unlike traditional check-in apps, it balances proximity awareness with privacy:
- Friends see how far away you are (e.g., “2 miles”), not exact coordinates.
- A “ping” feature lets you notify specific friends when nearby.
- Posts are ephemeral, reducing the pressure of permanent sharing.
Fu describes the app as a nod to programming’s “Hello, World!” tradition—a simple way to greet your social circle. The interface splits into two views: a location-filtered friend feed and a chronological activity log.
The Team Behind the Vision
HelloWorld’s standout feature might just be its all-star team:
- Ernestine Fu (CEO): A Forbes-featured “All-Star Student Entrepreneur,” Stanford PhD candidate, and venture capital associate at Alsop Louie Partners.
- Michael Carter: Recognized by W3C for designing the first WebSocket protocol.
- Max Goodman: Earned a CS degree as a teen and built Reddit’s first browser plugin.
- Jeff Himmelman: Former Warner Bros. Games artist (e.g., Wizards of the Coast).
- David Li: Ex-Google engineer who contributed to Google+’s framework.
Stanford professor Tom Kosnik once predicted Fu would “astonish us all”—a promise HelloWorld aims to fulfill.
Why Location Sharing Feels Different Here
HelloWorld leans into serendipity over surveillance. By obscuring precise locations and auto-deleting posts, it encourages organic meetups without oversharing. The team envisions it as “early Twitter for location”—a low-stakes way to share moments with close friends.
Availability and Next Steps
The app is free to download on iOS and Android (use password “techcrunch” for iOS access). Notably, the team has bootstrapped development, prioritizing user feedback before seeking funding.
Will HelloWorld redefine how we share our whereabouts? For a generation wary of permanent digital footprints, its ephemeral, privacy-conscious approach could be the answer.
