Startup founder will pay $500 to increase his odds to get Google Fiber

Google announced today it would begin offering its Google Fiber network in Kansas City, Kan. and central Kansas City, Mo. to residential neighborhoods that expressed the most interest. To show that interest, residents have the opportunity through Sept. 9 to pre-register for Google Fiber, paying a $10 deposit and providing basic information. …

To rally his neighbors, as Google suggested, Bo Fishback is looking for a door to door salesman. 

Google announced today it would begin offering its Google Fiber network in Kansas City, Kan. and central Kansas City, Mo. to residential neighborhoods that expressed the most interest. To show that interest, residents have the opportunity through Sept. 9 to pre-register for Google Fiber, paying a $10 deposit and providing basic information.

“Google Fiber works better when communities are connected together,” Google Access general manager Kevin Lo wrote today. “So we’ve divided Kansas City into small communities we call ‘fiberhoods.’ We’ll install only where there’s enough interest, and we’ll install sooner in fiberhoods where there’s more interest.”

Kansas City, Mo. resident and Zaarly founder, Bo Fishback, took immediate action on the next step suggested by Google Fiber: “Rally your neighbors.” Less than 30 minutes after the announcement, Fishback tweeted he was ready to pay his neighbors’ deposits.

And, after a few replies about the offer, Fishback took it one step further on his startup’s platform (above):

About an hour later, Fishback’s Zaarly offer was still live and had fielded five offers.

Fishback, who was with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation before going full-time on Zaarly, has been a part of Kansas City’s startup community for some time. In an email interview today we asked Fishback, who’s the CEO of San Francisco-based Zaarly, what Google Fiber means to him as a startup founder and to the Kansas City startup community.

Silicon Prairie News: From the perspective of a startup founder, what excites you about Google Fiber?

Bo Fishback: I had the opportunity to be involved with bringing Google Fiber to KC (when I was at Kauffman) — no one, Google included, knows what Google Fiber will really enable, but as someone who works in the tech startup world I am hugely excited to see what happens when it launches. It’s a grand experiment and there is nothing more fun to be apart of than that. It’s exciting because it’s new. And bold. And ambiguous. You gotta love that.

SPN: What does Google Fiber mean to Kansas City’s startup community?

BF: I have absolutely no idea. I think it will kickstart a wave of new startup energy and activity and then we’ll have to see what happens. It can only good. But honestly your guess is as good as mine what will happen.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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