We had the good fortune of connecting with Mady Maio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mady, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Community is the reason Camber exists and is successful today. Before we even started working on the prototype of our app that allows you to share your favorite places with friends, we created the world of Camber. We wanted to crystallize the feeling of exploration and giddiness that washes over people when they access the brand. Because of this, people instantly feel a part of what we’re building.

From there, we were able to translate that world into any extension of our brand: our mobile app, website, TikTok, newsletter, etc. We focus on the community first and use technology as a tool to further our mission of bringing people closer to the places they’ll love.

The way we immediately met our community was by launching our TikTok before our product was even ready. People connected over their common frustration of not being able to easily share travel recs with their friends. We introduced them to the brand, showcased our personality, took them behind-the-scenes of building a mobile app, and shared our favorite places in Los Angeles. We slowly built that trust as a reliable source for local hidden gems, and as a result, our community showed up for us when our mobile app went into beta.

Community has been so important to us that we now come back to this question when making any business decision: “how does this further engage and serve our community?” Should we lean into more local, IRL events? How do we add features on the app that make it easier for people to find others to follow? Which brand partnerships would our community benefit from?

Fostering a community takes patience and consistency. You can’t assign traditional business metrics to its success. It’s about that intimate, one-to-one connection with your people. If you put in that dedication, your community will become brand evangelists, and your business will authentically grow as a result.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Camber is a platform for finding new places with familiar faces. Our mobile app allows you to save your favorite places by city, follow friends to see theirs, and view those trustworthy recommendations on a map view. We value curated, cool places, which we highlight on our TikTok and Los Angeles-specific newsletter. It’s about delivering things to do & places to be from people you know.

Today, our app is in beta and growing rapidly due to our loyal community. The biggest learning lesson so far has been to follow and lean into the areas of the business that light you up. We struggled to hire a lead engineer as 2 non-technical co-founders. Instead of feeling stuck within that process, we pivoted to focus more on content and community, which are our strengths. We’re still searching for that technical hire, but the majority of our efforts are toward building up that sticky audience.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You’ve come to the right place.

In Los Angeles, I would take my BFF to eat at Courage Bagels, Gjusta, Jon & Vinny’s, Mazal, Ggiata, and Found Oyster. Grab coffee at Little Lunch, Laveta, or Highly Likely. We’d get natural wine at Melody, cocktails at Bolita or Bar Flores, and go dancing at The Friend. I’m a big rooftop gal, so I’d take them to Harriet’s or Upstairs at the Ace Hotel. We’d visit the Getty Villa in Malibu, walk on Abbot Kinney or Larchmont, and go to the Brentwood Country Mart.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my big sister, Scout. For the past 3.5 years, we’ve hosted a podcast together called Okay Sis, where we interview female entrepreneurs, authors, and creators. An ancillary benefit to this project is that our sisterly relationship has exponentially deepened as a result. She has taught me so much about the intersection of mental health and entrepreneurship (she even wrote a whole book on it called The Emotional Entrepreneur!), and she’s the first person I call for advice and to celebrate the little wins with.

Website: camberapp.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/camberapp/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/camberapp/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/camberapp

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@camberapp Geneva: https://links.geneva.com/invite/7e6f40d2-9966-4afa-ab7e-10a58e415b8b LA newsletter: https://camber.beehiiv.com/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.