Inside Startup Investing: Carter Fowler, Totem — The Viral Offline Device Solving a Universal Problem

In this episode of Inside Startup Investing, Chris Lustrino sits down with Carter Fowler, founder and CEO of Totem, a company building decentralized, offline communication technology. Totem’s flagship product—a wearable compass-like device—lets users locate friends and family without relying on cell service or Wi-Fi. Originally built for music festivals, the product has quickly expanded into families, travel, outdoor recreation, and even accessibility use cases. With over 50,000 users, $3.5M+ in revenue, and profitability achieved in under two years, Totem is proving both strong product-market fit and viral distribution. Carter shares how the company leveraged organic growth to reach hundreds of millions, why decentralized tech may define the future of connectivity, and how Totem is building both a consumer hardware business and a powerful data layer on real-world human movement.