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aidan augustin
Aidan augustin
Feathr’s Aidan Augustin Is a Start-Up Success Story Story by: Jacki Donaldson
A
idan Augustin calls himself a Gainesville evangelist. Like many, he came to the city to attend the University of Florida (UF), and he loved the place so much that he stayed. Aidan, who lives downtown and walks and bikes just about everywhere, is a cheerleader for Gainesville’s culture, from coffee shops and nightlife to Depot Park and monthly Art Walk events. He also has a deep affection for UF even though he did not complete his intended engineering degree from the prestigious university. “Halfway through my junior year, I hit pause on school to work full-time
on a startup,” Aidan said. Aidan, the 28-year-old co-founder and president of Feathr, a software company that builds marketing tools for conference, trade show, and festival organizers, started working with his co-founder on Feathr’s concept while still in college and then left school to focus on his business, which he incorporated in 2012. Most of Feathr’s growth has occurred in the past three and a half years, and the company now has 50 full-time employees and three offices and doubled its revenue in 2018. Aidan attributes much of his early momentum to the support he received from Gainesville’s startup
community. Feathr was one of the first businesses to move into the Innovation Hub at UF (now UF Innovate | The Hub) just as the building was opening and unveiling its state-of-the-art technology incubator. “The Hub played a key part in our early entrepreneurial journey,” Aidan said. “We are one of their success stories, and now we try to pay it forward.” Feathr was not an instant success. “Like most entrepreneurs, we were too emotionally attached to our first idea,” he said. “You have to test, validate, and gather market feedback,
