Gowalla Co-Founder Leaving Facebook, Has Plans for a New Project After a year and a half at Facebook, Josh Williams says he plans to stay in San Francisco and 'work on something new.'

By Alyson Shontell

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

In December 2011, the talent behind location-check-in app Gowalla was acquired by Facebook. The app itself was wound down over the next few months.

Now, a year and a half after joining Facebook, Gowalla's co-founder and former CEO Josh Williams is leaving.

Williams joined Facebook as a product manager where he worked on Pages, Location and Events. Gowalla launched before Foursquare in 2007 but only ever reached a few million downloads. Foursquare now has more than 30 million downloads and billions of check-ins, although it hasn't had a smooth ride either.

Williams, who moved from Austin, Texas to join Facebook in Palo Alto, says he'll remain in San Francisco to pursue a new project.

"No comment on my next steps at this point -- beyond that I plan to stay in SF and work on something new," Williams told Business Insider. His last day is this Friday.

Williams and his co-founder were moved to join Facebook after attending the F8 conference in 2011. "We were blown away by Facebook's new developments. A few weeks later Facebook called, and it became clear that the way for our team to have the biggest impact was to work together," Williams wrote when he announced the acquisition.

We reached out to Facebook about Williams' departure and are awaiting official comment.

Alyson is a Senior Reporter at Business Insider.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Franchise

Ready to Invest? Explore the Top 10 Sandwich Franchises of 2024

Bite into the best sandwich franchises according to the 2024 Franchise 500 Ranking.

Franchise

Franchise Development Efforts in 2025 - What to Expect

A review of 2024 performance and predictions for the new year…

Productivity

6 Habits That Help Successful People Maximize Their Time

There aren't enough hours in the day, but these tips will make them feel slightly more productive.

Thought Leaders

12 Big Ideas From Business Books Published in 2024

After considering more than 1000 books for our annual Non-Obvious Book Awards, a few big themes emerged. Read our trend recap and how these trends can help your business in 2025.

Starting a Business

The 5 Fears Every Entrepreneur Must Face — and Overcome

Entrepreneurship is full of fears, from failure to success. This article explores the five common fears entrepreneurs face and offers practical strategies to overcome them, turning obstacles into opportunities.