A new Los Angeles-based tech startup was designed to create real-life connections through personalized experiences within the city.
Go Disco was co-founded in 2019 by Sean Conrad and Jesse Berns. Conrad said it's an app designed to get people offline. The pair came up with the concept for Go Disco while catching up on Venice Beach.
"We were walking on the beach and said that we needed to do this more often but then realized we never do it more often," he said. "We thought back in the last 10 years and it was a realization that technology was a big cause."
Conrad added, "We have these micro interactions, but nothing real and substantial, so we set out to do something about it."
The mobile app uses technology and an editorial team to help people discover things to do based on their personal interests. To begin, users sign up then choose their interests to see an "explorable feed" with activities and experiences cultivated to fit their individual needs. Users can set distance parameters to see as much or as little as they want within 13 neighborhoods.
"We surface and curate the most niche, underground and local things to do that map into our interest anthology," Conrad said. "From there you can integrate it into your life by adding it to your calendar, getting notifications and sharing it with your friends."
Go Disco uses a mix of machine operations and human operations to pull events and entertainment onto the platform, Conrad said.
We have proprietary technology that looks around the internet and searches for things going on, and that's pulled in automatically," he said. "The rest is done by hand and a little bit of editorial work through thinking about what’s on trend and happening in L.A. that would be inspiring for people, and then what is the right way to present it."
From 2019 to late 2021, the team worked to develop the app and beta test it in New Zealand before launching to the public in December. Go Disco is currently available in L.A., but Conrad said he expects they'll eventually look to expand to markets like New York City, Miami, D.C., Portland and Austin.
"We’ll focus on L.A. for the bulk of 2022 because we want to make sure we get things right and service the community properly," he said. "We want to make sure we can provide equity in neighborhoods, and experiences that may not be on other tools will be available on Go Disco."
Since its founding, Go Disco has raised $8.1 million in capital, including a $3.2 million last summer led by Charlottesville, Virginia-based CAV Angels. Conrad said they're working on an additional $6 million round this year that will allow Go Disco to double its team and push expansion plans forward.
"We'll also continue to iterate the product, and we're exploring types of monetization that are clear and transactional," he said. "We want [users] to understand clearly how and why we make money."
