The RunPee Family
People sometimes assume RunPee comes out of an "app factory" that churns out software in bulk to make money. It doesn't. RunPee is a family business, and most of the Peetimes in the app come from the family: me, my mom and my older sister, with a handful of friends who love movies as much as we do.
Where the Peetimes Come From
The question we get asked most is where the Peetimes actually come from. Most people guess they're crowdsourced from users. Some guess there's a sophisticated algorithm. The algorithm guess isn't far off: we do rely on a fairly refined processor. It's just carbon-based.
Every movie in the app is one of us bought a ticket for and sat through, sometimes twice. The routine is well practiced by now: a timer running on the phone, just enough light off the screen to see the notebook. Because we're taking notes, we sit in the back corner so we don't bother anyone.
The hard part starts when we get home. One movie produces a pile of candidate Peetimes, and each has to be weighed: which to keep, which to cut. Then comes the Synopsis for each one, telling you what happened while you were gone. Anyone who has written anything knows the problem. Short is much harder than long.
Dividing It Up
Horror belongs to my sister, Christene, and I've always been grateful for that. I genuinely can't sit through the genre.
We figured out early that finding Peetimes for a genre you don't like is hard to do well. You don't have the patience to work out which stretch is truly safe to leave. So spaceships, superheroes and robots are mine, horror is hers, kids' and animated movies go to Mom, and everyone else takes what they love.
What's Next
The thing I most want is to bring RunPee to more countries and more languages. That can't be done from one family's living room. A Peetime is a local thing: when you can leave, whether you'll lose the thread, whether the credits are worth staying for. Those calls need someone who sat in a theater there. If that sounds like you, read So, You Want to Work for RunPee?
Dan Gardner
Meet the Family
 | Dan Gardner (Founder) Built RunPee in 2008 and still runs it and writes the code. If a movie has spaceships, superheroes, zombies or robots, he probably did the Peetimes. |
 | Jill Florio (COO) Runs non-tech operations and edits Peetimes and reviews. Prefers science fiction, fantasy, dystopias and disaster movies, and has to fight Dan for the best nerd fare. |
 | Vera Tsien-Gardner (CEO, RunPee China) Found RunPee when Avatar came out, sent Dan a message that sounded like spam, and has been working on RunPee China ever since. Sci-fi lover who speaks Chinese and English. |
 | Ginger Gardner (RunPee Mom) Retired flight attendant who sees most of the kids' and animated movies. Our #1 Peep and resident history and trivia expert. |
 | Christene Johnson (RunPee Sis) Does the Peetimes for most horror movies. Goes full crabby mode for a week if she has to see a sci-fi movie. |
 | Dana Simone Mom, event host, author and motivational speaker who wears a cape (literally). Loves action, romance and black comedy. |
 | Shani Ogilvie Proud New York City native and Boston University alum. Never lets an opening weekend pass without seeing that week's comic-book movie. |
 | Rob Williams (RunPee UK) Retired teacher who lives by the Mersey and goes to the cinema several times a week. When a movie opens in the UK first, he's on it. |
 | Greg Laxton Retired "roadside archaeologist" in Florida. Fan of road trips, roots music, Route 66 and, of course, movies. |
 | Steve T Lifelong Minnesota geek and gamer. Easy-going about movies and happy to let them tell him their story. |
 | Steven Blackman New York executive coach who once did stand-in and extra work for the big studios in Los Angeles. Loves blockbusters, indies and a good old-fashioned comedy. |
 | Troy Sageser Spent 21 years managing AMC theaters in Oklahoma and built an independent film program in Tulsa. Loves indies and seeing old classics back on the big screen. |