Lured by a thrilling opportunity to advance our careers, we bid farewell to our hometown of Salt Lake City, and embarked on a new chapter in the vibrant coastal town of Dana Point, where our journey unfolded amidst the sun-kissed shores of California. 

Tosh took the reins of Chief Operating Officer, while Kaysie rose to the top of the Account Executives, helping propel the company into the coveted INC 5000 list at #228 with a remarkable 1939.75% growth rate. 

Yet, despite our professional victories, we found ourselves California dreamin’ in California, yearning to explore together beyond our office triumphs.

Week after week, finding something worth doing was like searching for a needle in a haystack, and work had this annoying habit of getting in the way of our shenanigans. 

That’s when Kaysie scoured the depths of the internet to create an Adventure Jar filled with 200+ ideas of “unique things to do near me.”

This treasure chest was color-coded with spontaneous ideas to draw from no matter our vibe. Unfortunately, most of the ideas panned out to be tourist traps—missing the authenticity and local connections we were seeking.

Then, as if the universe had sounded a wake-up call, the madness of 2020 gave us 20/20, and it became clear:

LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR BORING!

After countless late-night strolls, we unearthed a profound truth: it is meaningful experiences and connections that truly enrich our lives.

However, our Adventure Jar had illuminated another reality—genuine, local experiences are hard to find, hidden beneath the shadows of commercialized brands.

It was in June of 2020 that we knew it was time to forge a new trail, so we headed down to the courthouse to register our local experience-driven business, EXPLORINGNOTBORING (now a Utah-based benefit company).

Overnight “exploringnotboring” became a noun, verb, and adjective used amongst our friends to describe their weekend plans, spontaneous ideas, and personalities.

It was exciting to see our friends fall in love with the call-to-action for more living, less boring. Except, the path wasn’t yet clear on how to make it easy for anyone to enjoy uniquely local experiences. 

November 2020 marked a turning point. We severed ties with our toxic workplace, plunging headfirst into our vision for the future. We sold our belongings, returned to Utah, and set off on a journey to pursue a life full of community, self-growth, and greater life satisfaction.

It was about 4 months later that we learned the ideal platform to unite Creators and Seekers of unique experiences is a double-sided community marketplace. Armed with our WHY and now equipped with our HOW, we were poised for the journey ahead. 

But instantly we hit a snag—boxed solutions can’t support out-of-the-box ideas.

Existing marketplace solutions were binary, limited to either services or products—we need both for boundless creativity. These “solutions” forced us into a mold and cookie-cutter User Experience—stifling our vision for exploringnotboring.com to be a unique experience in and of itself. And let’s not even delve into the frustrating limitations and complexities of booking functionality on the market.

So, following 9 months of intensive research and 48 interviews with booking system executives, we made a bold choice that demanded we swallow our fears—our path forward required us to build it ALL from scratch: limitless and unique.

Fast forward almost 2 years to April 20, 2023, the day we launched exploringnotboring.com for early access.

This milestone followed our 411-day Mega Roadtrip to connect with the Creators we’ve partnered with across the United States.

On this trip, we learned about the challenges our Partners face, their unwavering passion for their craft, and the pressing need to elevate local experiences to the forefront in every major city.

Our vision is to reinvent the way that people create and share rich, memorable experiences by connecting local communities across the globe. Together, we can shape a happier world through shared, meaningful experiences that empower our collective happiness with an inevitable stretching of our individual skills, knowledge & achievements.

And we’re starting in our hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah ✨

Sign up now on exploringnotboring.com—Discover unique things to do inspired by locals near you, and join the movement!