Oshoma Momoh, a former Microsoft developer and manager who moved from Seattle to Toronto in 2005, says that he and his partner in life and business Katrin Lepik began thinking about how to bring "neighbourhood word-of-mouth" online a few years ago. "We realized there's more going on in this city, in every neighbourhood, than you could possibly track. It's the 'alone in the big city' problem ... and we were also thinking a lot about local and sustainable living, a real local lifestyle," he says over the phone.
The result of that thinking -- and over a year of design by Lepik and web development by Momoh -- is
5 Blocks Out, a new online community launched in July that allows members to share information about their neighbourhoods with their neighbours. People can sign up and share tips on places to play or eat or shop, share event notices or post "missions" that ask other members for specific information.
While the enterprise is a for-profit business ("or at least we certainly hope it will be," Momoh says), the couple have, in proud web business tradition, yet to settle on a business model. "If we can make it great for end users, then we're confident we can find some ways to make money from that without degrading the experience for users," he says. He notes that they don't want to start "yet another advertising company" but that their vision includes ways to connect small local businesses with a devoted group of people who "actually care about them."
Perhaps it's fitting that a couple who chose to relocate their established lives to Toronto should set up an ultra-local enterprise serving this "city of neighbourhoods." Momoh says that while being near Lepik's family was the driving force behind their moving decision, they also felt that "Toronto is really hitting it's stride -- we were excited that we could be part of the city as it is finding itself and gaining confidence."
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Oshoma Momoh, co-founder, 5 Blocks Out