Just Announced: Everywhere Is Queer Becomes World’s Largest Directory of LGBTQ+ Owned Businesses
Everywhere Is Queer Reaches 20k LGBTQ+-Owned Businesses!
With over twenty thousand queer-owned businesses across the globe, it’s easier than ever to find a safe place to shop, eat, play, and hang out when you’re out and about in public, no matter where you go.
Charlie Sprinkman, founder and head of Everywhere Is Queer, announced on LinkedIn on January 15, 2026 that the free app, a searchable map and directory of LGBTQ+-owned businesses worldwide, has become the world’s largest directory of its kind. With over 20,000 queer-owned businesses listed and represented on the map, EIQ is breaking records and emerging as a real force for good in the queer community.
The worldwide, online map was formed when Everywhere Is Queer Charlie, its founder, struggled to find places they felt represented and safe during a 50-state road trip across the US. He wished he could spot queer spaces easily, no matter his location. That’s when the idea for this digital map was born!
Your Support Means the World
“When you pull up the Everywhere Is Queer map on your phone to find your next favorite spot to buy a plant, do your gym workout, or grab a sandwich, we also hope that you remember that you’re also supporting a worldwide queer movement of support, security, and hope. You’re supporting that bright future we’re creating space for in the present.”
Charlie Sprinkman, founder - Everywhere Is Queer
When I asked Charlie earlier this week how they were keeping track of the size of the community, they told me, “Very few people have built directories for queer-owned organizations.” With 20k organizations on their list and more joining all the time, Everywhere Is Queer is quite simply the largest directory of its kind. Charlie envisions building a future where the name of the app, Everywhere Is Queer, is not just a fact, but a promise of safety, community, and respect anywhere a queer person goes.
By collecting this data and mapping all these organizations, Charlie and EIQ are giving the queer community the gift of finding each other when we’re away from home, of seeking out a safe place to get a haircut, buy a plant, buy a coffee, or eat a meal. Not everyone feels safe in public spaces, and Everywhere Is Queer is a beacon of hope for those of us who prefer to shop and linger in spaces that are explicitly queer-friendly.
You’ll never meet a friendlier founder.
Charlie Sprinkman is human sunshine, a truly generous spirit who’s committed to doing good in the world, whether or not it’s difficult, with or without anyone else’s help. You gotta admire that perseverance!
On a more personal note, as the owner of Lavender Menace and a longtime fan of EIQ, I found my wedding photographer on Everywhere Is Queer. I found a graphic designer there when I started my business. I’ve found consultants, clients, and business partners on the app. I’ve listed my businesses there, and found customers and clients that way! I get the EIQ newsletter in my inbox each week, and forward it to my parents in a rural community who want to show their support. During the 2025 holiday season, I shopped almost exclusively from small artists and businesses I found through EIQ, and encouraged others to do the same. We at Lavender Menace are committed to building the future that EIQ envisions: one where everyone can feel safe, respected, and valued in the public spaces of the world, anywhere and everywhere.
You can find Everywhere Is Queer on iOS and Android, and you’ll find Charlie and EIQ on Instagram and TikTok @everywhereisqueer.