Yik Yak Graduates from the Village

On October 1st, 2013 Brooks Buffington applied for a Village scholarship as a Hot Desk member at the Village under his app called Dicho. After review, we extended an offer to Brooks and his cofounder Tyler Droll for a discounted rate of $100/month per person. He countered and asked if we would consider doing $50 each. We didn't, but lucky for us that didn't stop them from joining our community. Dicho was an app that helped people get their questions answered, no matter what they were. While that app wasn't the one that took off, their scholarship application asked one question that may have foreshadowed their future.  When asked "What is your Dream Big dream?" Brooks said, "To become the number one based social media application out there, rivaling Twitter and Instagram in size. "As the Village itself underwent construction, so did their startup. We tore down walls, rebuilt them, sometimes made a mess, and kept going as we refined our ideas and space. Brooks and Tyler did, too. Dicho didn't take off, but they took another idea for an anonymous social platform, created some clever and memorable branding, and started building Yik Yak. The Village and the now skyrocketing Yik Yak grew up together. We literally renovated our building around these two guys as they built their app, and if you give either of us very long, we can both tell you some crazy stories about that special time.A year and a half later, our building is complete and these two awesome entrepreneurs are living the startup dream with millions of users, $74M in funding, and 50 employees. From humble beginnings to national domination in less than two years, this team has worked hard to turn an idea into something millions of college students can't live without. Their herd has grown which means their time at the Village has come to an end. Yik Yak has officially graduated from the Village and they've planted a new stake in the ground right down the road from us at Piedmont Center. While saying goodbye to Yik Yak in the Village is sad for us, it is a huge milestone to be celebrated... and we did it in style with food, drinks, DJ, and a few hundred special guests. We can't be more proud to have been a small part of their startup story, and wish Brooks, Tyler, and the entire (awesome) Yik Yak team a huge congratulations. You are changing our online social world and inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere... especially in Atlanta! Yik Yak. Find your herd.[caption id="attachment_7172" align="alignnone" width="625"]

Cheers to Brooks and Tyler![/caption][caption id="attachment_7173" align="alignnone" width="625"]

Sharon Oh as DJ[/caption][caption id="attachment_7174" align="alignnone" width="625"]

Brooks and Tyler with the Atlanta Tech Village team.[/caption][caption id="attachment_7175" align="alignnone" width="625"]

Friends enjoying the party.[/caption][caption id="attachment_7176" align="alignnone" width="625"]

The entire Yik Yak team. #FindYourHerd[/caption]