Industry Spotlight: Co-Founders Griffin & Trevor of OUTnSD

Here at DiscoverSD.com we have love and major respect for local city guides innovating new ways to hook up locals with the best of San Diego lifestyle. The more the merrier, right? One such San Diego guide is OUTnSD.com – an online platform dedicated to raising awareness for the best happy hours across town.

Originally started by two 21-year-old San Diego State University students in 2008 as OUTnPB.com, the website was founded with a simple goal: help college-budget locals find the best happy hours in Pacific Beach. When the idea caught on, they decided to expand the online operation to cover more popular San Diego neighborhoods, including Downtown, La Jolla, North Park, Del Mar, Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, and Old Town – and thus OUTnSD.com was born.

To get the Inside scoop on what’s new at OUTnSD these days, we sat down with co-founders Griffin Thall and Trevor Jones. From the story of how they got started to their favorite San Diego restaurants and bars, why they love living in San Diego and what new website products and perks we can expect to see launch soon, get to know the guys behind OUTnSD in this week’s San Diego Industry Spotlight.

DiscoverSD: How long has OUTnSD.com been around and how and why was the website originally started?
Griffin: Well, our company first started as OUTnPB.com over 2 years ago when we were still college students at San Diego State. We were just turning 21 and looking for new places to eat and drink, on a college budget. As you all know, PB is basically a landmark in San Diego so the idea of creating a happy hour website spawned out of the growing demand to save some money while still enjoying the bar scene at the beach. We wanted to choose a name that involved people going out in PB. And then it came to us, OUTnPB, too easy! After all the good feedback with OUTnPB, we realized it was time to step it up and create a site that covered far more ground than just one community. Thus, OUTnSD was born. 

DSD: What is OUTnSD.com and why do San Diego locals need to know about it?
Trevor: OUTnSD is a San Diego-based happy hour website providing users with happy hour info, daily deals, and freebies. Yes, we said freebies. Just join our fan page and check out the freebie we throw at you each week! The reason locals need to know about us is because we do everything in our power to save them money. San Diegans are always looking for a good deal when they go out to eat or drink. We put together all the best deals and created the perfect platform that allows users to browse these deals faster than ever before.

DSD: What is your personal San Diego business background?
Griffin: I’ve been in San Diego for about 5 years now and have worked different jobs from customer service to retail, nothing too exciting. I’ve done graphic design, web design, and a bunch of print work as well. After taking business and entrepreneurship courses at SDSU and speaking with successful business owners, I decided to take a chance with this new idea. I gotta tell ya, you really learn a lot about who you are, what you can accomplish, and the sacrifices it takes to grow a startup company. We never had all the answers along the way, but we kept at it and it’s been a phenomenal experience. Between the OUTnSD.com team, we have a good mix of attributes that is needed in any successful business, especially in marketing. We have always had a strong interest in marketing and have always been on the forefront to what is next, while aligning ourselves with what the community desires. 

DSD: Did you grow up in San Diego? Share when you came to San Diego and how long you’ve lived here.
Griffin: No, I grew up in Los Angeles until I moved to San Diego for college. I lived in the dorms for a year, my fraternity for 2 years, Sigma Chi, then down to PB since then. I have live in PB now for about 2 1/2 years and see no real reason to leave. We’re definitely pretty spoiled here. 

DSD: There are so many online guides available in San Diego these days. What makes OUTnSD different?
Trevor: What's really unique about OUTnSD is the way our information is presented. It's easy to read, informative, and there's no other BS involved – just plain and simple, happy hours are our game. Bars and restaurants have loved working with us because we always create such positive buzz about their establishments. We’re very active on Facebook, too, which allows us to constantly update our 5,200 plus opt-in fans with updates they can trust. People want information quick these days. We get a lot of traffic from smart phones which are people already at the bars and looking for their next drink, and quick. We also added "OUTnSD Radio" to the site, a cool feature that lets users watch videos and listen to music in a continuous playlist format.

DSD: Are there any new features or additions coming out on the website soon?
Griffin: Funny you should ask. Our “niche” is always going to be listing the happy hours and specials but we developing our site to be more interactive and as well as informative on upcoming events and reviews on previous events. We're also working with a few other companies right now in order to launch some new features on the site to once again, save San Diegans money! We're excited and you guys should be too! 

DSD: OUTnSD focuses on a few key neighborhoods in San Diego, including Downtown, Pacific Beach and North Park. What are some of your favorite businesses in these areas?
Trevor: For downtown, I'm gonna have to go with The Andaz Hotel. They have everything there from wine tastings at The Quarter Kitchen to a solid nightlife on the rooftop. For Pacific Beach, I really like Bar West. They have a legit late night happy hour from 8-10pm and a great party scene after that. On Sundays you can find me at Millers Field. If you haven’t been there during football season, then you need to check it out. They have every game on with every kind of fan you can imagine – it’s organized chaos. I also really like the atmosphere at True North Tavern in North Park. There’s just a good feel there, and some competitive specials as well. 

What are your top five favorite things about San Diego lifestyle?
Griffin: 1) The Beach – My number one favorite thing about San Diego is the beach.  Surfing and relaxing on the sand really make me appreciate living here.
2) The Nightlife – Second to that would have to be the nightlife, especially Pacific Beach and downtown. Both are more unique, lively, upbeat, and historical compared to what other cities have to offer. 
3) The People and Vibe – The typical San Diegan is just a friendly, chill person with a positive vibe and I dig that about SD.
4) The Opportunities – To me, San Diego is a place full of opportunities.  There is new businesses growing all the time here and it’s an exciting entrepreneurial environment to live in.    
5) The Location – I love the close proximity to LA, Big Bear, and Vegas. Home, Snowboarding, and the Vegas strip all a drive away. Can’t help but love that. 

DSD: What are a few things about yourself that fellow San Diegans may not know?
Trevor: Well, my new passion is traveling. This past summer I went to Central America with 3 of my buddies for 5 weeks. I don’t know how we managed to do business from over there but we made it happen and still had an awesome experience. I also just traveled Europe for about 3 weeks for my first time. It’s exciting to see how much more there is to this world when you’re able to engulf yourself in other cultures. It’s inspirational and eye-opening. My other passion has always been music. I play the guitar and the piano and produce some of my own stuff. I’ve always dreamed of being a famous producer someday, but we’ll see about that one. 

DSD: When you’re not working, where can we find you in San Diego?
Trevor: I live just a few steps from the bay so I like to spend the little free time I have out there. Ive been biking to the beach a lot, too. Nothin better then biking around at sunset on your way to happy hour. I also try and get a round of golf in like every other week. As far as food goes, I eat at Rubicon Deli a couple times a week and I recently started going to PB Ale House a lot, they have a great happy hour.

Want more? Check it out for yourself now at OUTnSD.com.