George Washington University Athletics
GW Squash Alum Launches Social Media App
5/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Squash
@GWSquash | gotagamo.com
A little more than 20 months after graduating from the George Washington University, men's squash alum Player Haynes ('13) is launching a unique social media application.
The app is called tagamo (pronounced: TAG-a-mo). "Tagamo is all about being active and social," explained Haynes. "If you like hanging out with your friends, occasionally meeting one of their friends who likes what you like and doing fun stuff, this would be a great app for you."
"We are the anti-fear-of-missing-out app," he added, laughing.
While at GW, Haynes was a four-year member of the men's squash team and graduated with 35 career victories, which ties him for fifth all-time. He also helped the Colonials to their first-ever national championship when GW won the Malloy Cup (C-Division) at the 2011 College Squash Association Team Championships.
Tagamo began when Haynes graduated in May 2013 and began chatting with his older brother, Patrick, who had recently moved from New York City to Washington, D.C.
"Patrick was interested in meeting new people and we began talking about ways to make that easier for transplants like him," said Haynes. "I quickly realized that this would be good for anyone - not just the newcomers. So we looked at what existed, starting with the Facebook newsfeed, and began to strip away features to create something more local with less clutter that was all about actually putting down your phone and doing things."
By August 2013, Haynes felt that he and his brother had mapped out an executable first step.
"We started pursuing this idea in earnest the August after my graduation," said Haynes. "Initially the thought was to create a website to test the idea. But throughout the creative process we were able to narrow the functionality down to a simple mobile application. Doing that would allow us to test the idea in a form more similar to the goal for the final product."
"Let's say I want to play golf this weekend. I could text or email a group of my friends I know like golf. If I were to do that, I run the risk of leaving a person out or including people who are not available to play and are then stuck on the text and email chain listening to the rest of us hash out details. We have all been there, it's the worst!
"When you use tagamo, this does not happen," he continued. "The app automatically sets up private chats with only those people interested. Importantly, depending on whether you, as the event creator, made the activity open or private, you can control who you bring into that private chat. Sometimes, like in the case with golf, you have a limited number of spots, so we allow for that with a request invite functionality. For other events, like concerts, where you just want to share with your network that you are planning to go to a show, then that event simply allows others to join."
Haynes described the development process, which went through multiple iterations. "Everything people tell you about being ready to pivot, leaving pride behind and the challenge of getting sincere feedback is all true."
After nine months of work, the first developmental version of the app had to be completely scrapped and it was also clear a new development team had to be found.
"Scrapping the first version definitely tested our relationship," said Haynes. "Neither of us knew what we were doing and learning everything for the first time every day means you are living in a world of perpetual uncertainty. That is stressful. Because we were building something that we really believed in, we were both always drawn back to the creative process and brainstorming ideas together."
Haynes, a native of Bacova, Virginia, credits his studies at GW with helping him prepare for some of the trials and tribulations of being a young entrepreneur.
"I majored in organizational sciences at GW," Haynes noted. "It's the study of organizations and how they work, so we were studying on a larger scale. Between my brother and me, we have both experienced issues that I studied at GW. Communication is obviously the biggest thing. Patrick isn't always around because of his day job in real estate finance, so we can't rely on proximity to allow for the natural dissemination of our up-to-the minute thoughts. We learned that communicating effectively was not a passive activity. It took real work and thought."
Outside of his degree, Haynes also credits GW with providing him with the necessary tools to excel in the business world so soon after his graduation.
"I think GW and the programs in which I was involved, GW Squash and Greek life, have really helped my networking skills, specifically giving me the confidence to push myself out of my comfort zone," he said. "I think the No. 1 thing for creating a startup is being able to network and throw yourself into situations where you don't know everybody. It's critical to be able to actually meet the right people and connect and communicate effectively with them. Attending school in D.C. has given me so many opportunities to excel in these situations."
One thing that the Haynes brothers have learned during the development of tagamo is that the world of social media and mobile applications is a land of uncertainty.
"The scariest part about this whole process is our app is essentially a social experiment," Haynes explained. "We have looked at other apps that might have had the same general idea, but none of them went about solving the problem the way we have. There is an important balance between not caring what the world around you is doing and thinking, which I believe can allow for really new ideas and true creativity, and also noting what hasn't worked in order to not make the same mistakes along the way. No matter what, I just have to remind myself there is never one right answer, no perfect path."
Tagamo recently "soft-launched" over the winter in which an updated beta version was available for free for iPhones only. "We were more interested in receiving feedback so we could quickly head back to development before the spring and summer," Haynes said.
Since that time, tagamo went through a major transformation thanks to a new development team, AppPartners out of Brooklyn, New York. "Our new development team really stepped up and built a powerful chat and messaging platform that integrated seamlessly with our design. We were blown away," Haynes said.
The app is now available now for free on the App Store (still for iOS devices only). For more information on tagamo, visit the official website at www.gotagamo.com.
"This whole process has been a huge learning experience," said Haynes. "In college, you of course learn and earn a degree, but now that I am in the real world and creating a business on my own, there are so many things that you need to know to launch a business - actually going through that experience is the best way to learn. It has been a blast and I can't wait to see where it goes."
As for staying in touch with the GW squash program, Haynes still lives in the Washington area and regularly drops by the Lerner Health & Wellness Center to check in with his old coach and team.
"I try to come over to campus as often as possible and check in on the teams," said Haynes. "The team is pretty young on both sides and that is a great situation for Coach Lawrence. She can build the program with the help of these very talented freshmen on both the men's and women's teams. I am excited to see how they do next season."
Haynes added that he would be more than happy to speak with any GW students that are interested in learning more about startups or mobile application development.
"I feel fortunate to be a part of the GW community and even though I still have a ton to learn, I would love to help out anywhere I can," he said.
Players Mentioned
