Hey Peoria,
I’m Nick Guy, the Founder of the Peoria Pathfinder. I’m not from Peoria but I’m a Bradley University Alumni (class of 2023) and have been living in Peoria since I graduated. I wanted to talk to you about my Peoria journey and give a glimpse where the Pathfinder is going.
When I moved here there were a few things I quickly realized.
1. I knew very little about Peoria.
2. There's a lot to do here.
3. A lot of businesses don’t have a great online presence which makes it hard to find things to do.
In summary, Peoria is full of delightful people, businesses, and events but it's hard to find them.
When I moved here I tried local platforms but I personally found them not that helpful. If it wasn't for friends who were still in the area and coworkers that showed me around I would have been lost.
After getting involved in the community I quickly realized other new residents, as well as long time residents, struggled to get involved and find things to do too.
So with my perspective, professional experience, and personal frustrations, I decided this was a challenge I wanted to spend my time solving. The process has been messy and I'm still learning a lot, but I established these principles to help guide the direction of the Pathfinder.
Pathfinder Principles
1. Emphasize local in person exploration and connection, no mega corporations.
2. The community, businesses, and myself must all benefit from this.
3. It must be easy and fun for people using the site.
4. Make site visitors feel like the platform was made for them.
I hope this gives you a glimpse into my journey and the direction the Pathfinder is heading has been helpful. I strongly believe there is so much opportunity and potential in this city but it requires action.
So Peoria, I issue a challenge...
Get off your butt and get into the community. Reach out to that friend, do something nice for your neighbor, plan a date night, start a conversation with a stranger, join an organization, volunteer, just do something to get involved in our community. BE CURIOUS!
I know you can rise to the challenge but will you?
With Love and Optimism,
Nick
Assuming you don't hate your friends or family, an easy first and free step to help the community is to share this website.
Sharing helps build momentum for our community as well as gives me a boost of motivation to keep improving the platform.
