No-Fun City?
A group of young Vancouver entrepreneurs aren't convinced.
In fact, they think that Vancouver is actually an incredibly fun city. And they're out to prove it with a new app.
From the creators of Tangoo, a nightlife planning service, comes a mobile guide that takes your evening's requirements and organizes a night out for you.
"It's a social concierge in your pocket," co-founder Paul Davidescu told The Huffington Post B.C. "It's solving the problems of people being indecisive, not having enough time to plan, and not having necessarily the expert knowledge at their fingertips to suit their moods and their occasions to the best places around them."
While he can't reveal an exact launch date just yet, Davidescu outlined how the app will work when in practice (likely in the next few months).
Users will enter the day of the week, the number of people, the occasion, the mood (everything from "spicy" and "romantic" to "gluten-free"), and desired number of stops. From there, the app, using its database of Tangoo-vetted restaurants and bars, curates packages based on the criteria entered.
They will be able to see estimated prices for each package, as well as a map indicating where each stop is. When a package is booked, the app automatically makes reservations at each place.
"Think of it as the Songza of your social nights out," Davidescu said. "Once we know [the date] and what your mood is, we can create a night out for you."
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Founded in February 2012, Tangoo has made a name for itself planning restaurant and bar crawls that explore different pockets of the city. In contrast to the personal service of the app, the broader Tangoo experience is designed to bring together those who want to explore the city's culinary scene and nightlife—and meet other people along the way.
"Those [nights] have been for us a way of giving back to people," Davidescu said. "We're very passionate about connecting people. We started this to connect people, and meet new people, and create a community of like-minded people who don't settle, who want something different. They want something seamless. They want to explore."
When Davidescu was a student at UBC, he found that while there were lots of great places to try, he neither knew about them—nor had the motivation to actually visit them.
"It was a frustration of my own group of friends and my nights out, where I found it very hard to discover [new places]," he said. "That mix of discovery and making things seamless was what I wanted to solve [with Tangoo]."
Ultimately, the new app will be an extension of their already highly popular (over 80 partner establishments and 1,500 Tangoo-ers) brand, focused on creating memorable nightlife experiences for those who crave them.
"We're always big on discovery: go somewhere new, have a new experience," Davidescu said. It's about "treating these nights out like gold."
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