It's like Instagram, but for food.
That's how Findabite cofounder Dimitri Gonzales described the food-focused social app launching in Charlotte early next year.
The startup was founded in 2019 by Gonzales, Brett Hushon and Logan Benson. Recently, the trio brought on Jack Wohlfert as a stakeholder to help design the mobile app.
Benson said they were inspired to create the platform after a trip to the beach where they were looking for the best spot for crab legs.
"This place we found on (a review website) was rated as the best crab legs around, so we called there, and they told us they hadn't served crab legs in seven years," he said. "That was kind of a lightbulb moment."
The idea behind the platform is to cultivate a social space like Instagram, but instead of posting pictures and stories about anything and everything, it's centered around food. The app is designed to allow a users' network of friends and followers to make recommendations, Benson said.
"The idea is, take a picture of your meal, describe your meal and experience, then tag the specific menu item and post it on your profile," he said.
Profiles will have three sections — a traditional grid view, sort by restaurant and a bookmarked posts page. Users will also be able to create public lists on their profiles to highlight their favorite pizza places or sushi restaurants, for example.
Gonzales said their concept gives personalization to the experience since a user will likely follow people they know and trust instead of relying on reviews from complete strangers.
"If you go on a website like Yelp there are a lot of reviews from strangers, and you're not sure who they are or why you should trust what they're saying," he said. "An outside source helps, but if I was to see a friend posting, saying the burger they just had was amazing, I'm going to want to go get that burger."
Gonzales said an intentional difference between Findabite and other review apps is that their platform is for positive recommendations only.
"We wanted to bring that positive aspect to it, so we transformed the idea to recommendations," he said. "Instead of giving someone the opportunity to bash a place, we're giving them the opportunity to recommend their favorite spots."
The team is planning a beta launch for the app in Charlotte that will roll out in early February, Benson said. Findabite will first be available to Apple iOS users and will eventually expand to Android users as the team works toward a full launch.
Once the platform launches, Benson said they'll begin gauging user feedback to make any necessary tweaks to the app. Currently, Findabite has about 3,000 restaurants uploaded into the platform, and the immediate plan post-launch is to work to expand that database.
"Charlotte has a unique food community, and we're hoping we can really gain traction here," he said. "Eventually the idea is to move into the Raleigh area, and beyond. Once we secure funding is when we want to take it big and start hiring developers and marketing."
