Hey everyone. A little over a year ago I set out to launch an idea that I had in my head for a while for a new iPhone app. Long story short, I ran out of time, money and enthusiasm after the app was launched and moved onto other project. I now have a great e-commerce project that is generating revenue and a solid full-time job that takes up the rest of my time and pays the bills while I grow the side business. This leaves my iPhone app, which I still believe has great potential, collecting dust.
I listed it for sale and had some nibbles, but I’ve essentially written off the cost of development at this point and thought I might explore another option. I know there are plenty of people on this forum who are looking for the right business idea, so I figured I would see if anyone would want to take over the app/company I built and help it rise from the dead. We would have to figure out some sort of contractual agreement, but I think this could be a really good opportunity if someone finds the app appealing enough to run with it. Read on for a full description of the app itself.
Going out with friends in New York, I found that we constantly struggled to choose where to grab a drink. With literally hundreds of choices, we would fumble around on Yelp or Foursquare and inevitably walk into some random bar hoping we would like it. This was particularly relevant for happy hours or pregames when we didn’t have any plans set in stone. Enter my app, On the House.
At the press of a button the app automatically selects a bar or restaurant nearby that I have partnered with. The user is then offered an incentive (voucher) on the bar’s behalf to entice them to check it out. That incentive is chosen by the bar and can be anything from a free mixed drink to a half price dessert. Managers can also use the incentive to push underperforming or new products.
Built into the app’s backend is a full geo-location system. In order to redeem the incentive that has been offered, the user must be physically standing within the selected venue. The app prompts the user to press a redemption button when standing with their waitress or server, an action that will only work when they are within the confines of a pre-determined geo-fence. Each location’s geo-fence can be manipulated as needed. Current settings limit user’s to one voucher per day, meaning that they can’t use the app to barhop. My monetization strategy was that bars would pay me a fee ($2) for each successful redemption, which could be tracked in real time.
As I mentioned, the app and online management platform are fully built and functional. It could use some tweaks and probably some more dev work after the new iOS came out though. I had a lawyer draw up a simple 3 page contract to partner with bars.
I launched last fall with a beta run of 8 bars and everything worked as planned. I struggled however with the two sided market nature of the app. Users wanted a lot of bars, bars wanted a lot of users. With bars only signed on for a one month trial and basically no marketing strategy (I’ve learned a lot since then) things quickly fizzled out. If someone can solve those problems I see no reason the app can’t be a success.
I don’t know if this post will lead to anything but I thought it was worth a shot, and I would at least like to hear opinions on the app. Mods, please move if this is in the wrong section or let me know if this runs afoul of any forum rules.
Thanks for reading
I listed it for sale and had some nibbles, but I’ve essentially written off the cost of development at this point and thought I might explore another option. I know there are plenty of people on this forum who are looking for the right business idea, so I figured I would see if anyone would want to take over the app/company I built and help it rise from the dead. We would have to figure out some sort of contractual agreement, but I think this could be a really good opportunity if someone finds the app appealing enough to run with it. Read on for a full description of the app itself.
Going out with friends in New York, I found that we constantly struggled to choose where to grab a drink. With literally hundreds of choices, we would fumble around on Yelp or Foursquare and inevitably walk into some random bar hoping we would like it. This was particularly relevant for happy hours or pregames when we didn’t have any plans set in stone. Enter my app, On the House.
At the press of a button the app automatically selects a bar or restaurant nearby that I have partnered with. The user is then offered an incentive (voucher) on the bar’s behalf to entice them to check it out. That incentive is chosen by the bar and can be anything from a free mixed drink to a half price dessert. Managers can also use the incentive to push underperforming or new products.
Built into the app’s backend is a full geo-location system. In order to redeem the incentive that has been offered, the user must be physically standing within the selected venue. The app prompts the user to press a redemption button when standing with their waitress or server, an action that will only work when they are within the confines of a pre-determined geo-fence. Each location’s geo-fence can be manipulated as needed. Current settings limit user’s to one voucher per day, meaning that they can’t use the app to barhop. My monetization strategy was that bars would pay me a fee ($2) for each successful redemption, which could be tracked in real time.
As I mentioned, the app and online management platform are fully built and functional. It could use some tweaks and probably some more dev work after the new iOS came out though. I had a lawyer draw up a simple 3 page contract to partner with bars.
I launched last fall with a beta run of 8 bars and everything worked as planned. I struggled however with the two sided market nature of the app. Users wanted a lot of bars, bars wanted a lot of users. With bars only signed on for a one month trial and basically no marketing strategy (I’ve learned a lot since then) things quickly fizzled out. If someone can solve those problems I see no reason the app can’t be a success.
I don’t know if this post will lead to anything but I thought it was worth a shot, and I would at least like to hear opinions on the app. Mods, please move if this is in the wrong section or let me know if this runs afoul of any forum rules.
Thanks for reading
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