"One of New York's hottest social media start-ups!"

Founder checks out of Foursquare

A CO-FOUNDER at one of New York's hottest social media start-ups, Foursquare, is turning in his badge.

Naveen Selvadurai, who co-founded the location-based social network along with Dennis Crowley in 2009, announced today he was stepping away from day-to-day duties to try something new.

"After three years, I feel I've done all I can do and I'm moving on," he said in a blog posting that also marked the company's three-year anniversary.

Selvadurai said he would continue to serve on the board and as an adviser to the company.

Still, there have been rumblings that he has been dissatisfied at Foursquare.

Neither Selvadurai nor Foursquare responded to questions regarding his exit.

The SoHo startup helped pioneer virtual "check-ins" at real-world locations - a concept that was adopted by the likes of Facebook and Google.

Foursquare is known for the virtual "badges" users unlock at local merchants, buildings and organizations. People who most frequent a place earn the distinction of "mayor" there.

Foursquare boasts 15 million members who have checked in at 1.5 billion places. Like many web start-ups, it is still working on cranking up its revenue.

The company does have a partnership with American Express and a growing merchant platform, which offers businesses a way to manage relationships with customers through Foursquare.

Foursquare has raised more than $70 million and has been valued at more than $600 million.