How I Got Here, episode 7 - Tyler Dikman of LoungeBuddy

Tyler Dikman, Co-founder and CEO at LoungeBuddy

How I Got Here is a weekly podcast from PhocusWire and Mozio, getting the inside stories behind innovation and startups in travel and transportation.

Tyler Dikman of LoungeBuddy, which was recently acquired by American Express, joins David Litwak and Kevin May for the latest episode of How I Got Here. 

Six years is all it took for LoungeBuddy to go from creation to a sale to one of the loyalty biggest brands: American Express .

The idea behind the company is actually simple - a booking app for airport lounges - but, like many startups, LoungeBuddy's story is not without a few twists and turns along the way.

From tweaking the pitch deck when pitching to investors to settling on a brand name, LoungeBuddy's evolution is an example of having a very focused vision of solving a problem that exists with solid technology, good partnerships and excellent design.

LoungeBuddy's CEO and co-founder is Tyler Dikman, who created the company after a number of jobs, including seven years at a video streaming business.

He's not short of an opinion or two about the venture capital market, as well as describing how the eventual sale came about.

Dikman (who now goes by the title of vice president of global premium products and benefits at Amex) joins us for the latest episode of How I Got Here.

* An earlier and now corrected version of this story said the acquiring company was American Express GBT.

HIGH is a weekly show produced by PhocusWire and Mozio, aimed at getting the inside stories behind startups and innovation in travel and transportation.

It's hosted by our editor in chief, Kevin May, and Mozio co-founder and CEO David Litwak.

A full transcript and additional analysis in 5+ languages is available on Mozio.com/move. 

You can also tune in via this version from PhocusWire's YouTube channel: