Putting queer spaces from around the world on the digital map.

From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech.

I'm Lily Jamale. Growing up a closeted child in the rural Midwest, Charlie Sprinkman always hoped he could one day connect with others in the queer community.

Now, as an adult, he lives in Portland, Oregon, where he manages a team at a consumer packaged goods company. In his spare time, he combines

skills from his day job with a knack for tech to put queer-owned businesses that he's

visited across the US onto a digital map he's

created. It's called Everywhere is Queer. What started as a small project last year

has now gone global. I am Charlie Sprinkman, CEO and founder of

Everywhere's Queer. It's a worldwide map of queer-owned businesses and queer-serving

community groups. I grew up in rural Wisconsin, you know, I didn't have out family members.

I didn't even really have that many out friends in my community, but I even think as a closeted kid I would have loved to have known the queer owned

spaces in my area if there were any. Later on in life I traveled the country for a job in 2019 and I went to nearly 45 in the 50 states and as a queer person I was out at this point trying to find queer people and just queer community and not necessarily like I need to meet them but just to be in queer spaces

I was trying to find those spaces all over the United States and I really struggled to find those

spaces and so I was kept googling you know and all I got was the here's a queer owned bar or

a queer bar here and I do drink but sometimes I need to get a bagel in the morning and I would love for that to be at a queer owned bagel spot if possible.

In June of 2021 I went and volunteered at Brave Trails, which is a queer youth leadership camp for 12 to 18 year old youth, and being in a space of 100, 100 plus queer people was so euphoric.

I mean, you know, people weren't commenting on my voice for the first time in a series of days.

And so I kind of came off of that experience, that volunteering experience and was driving back to Colorado where I lived at the time, and I'm like, a worldwide map of queer-owned businesses.

Maybe we can make that experience, I just had at Brave Trails, that euphoric experience at a grander scale.

I dove into my computer in January 2nd of

2022. I posted my logo on Instagram. We'll be right back with more of Charlie

Sprinkman's story. You're listening to Marketplace Tech, I'm Lily

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