There’s something to be said for letting your experiences guide you. This was undeniably the case with Lunr, an app that allows users to view events, places, and treats happening in their area. Created by a group of Georgia Tech students, the app was formed out of a shared experience between the founders of never knowing what was happening or where, on any given night. Even if you’ve lived in a city for years, it’s easy to miss out on events that might be happening right in your backyard. Lunr hopes to correct that problem by giving each user a tailored city experience through personalized, curated lists of happenings within their city. We were able to get the lowdown on Lunr from the creators themselves to get more information on the app, how they got the idea for it, and what sets them apart.
Year/Date Founded:
2013
Number of Employees:
5
Founders:
Ore Asonibare
Gwanygha’a Gana
Tasmia Alam
Ben Maiga
Brandon Jacobs
Funding or bootstrapped:
Bootstrapped
Your Pitch:
Lunr was born out of a need to connect people to better local experiences. It is an open platform for businesses to share their events and a mobile app for people to view a curated, personalized list of events around them.
We believe that people should be able to go anywhere and know what exactly is going on. People should be able to visit a restaurant or bar and know what event, special, or theme is happening, if any. Our users are people looking to explore their city, discover new places and experiences, or who are newcomers.
What makes us different?
Other than being a platform where business can directly communicate with locals via features such as treats, we believe that everyone is different. So, we tailor the events displayed to each user.
How’d You Get the Idea For It?
Every time I lived or visited any city for an extended time, it took me a while to find the enjoyable experiences I wanted. The local bar that has salsa nights on Thursdays, or the brunch café with Sunday morning specials. Coming from abroad and having lived in Atlanta for over four years, I’m still discovering these experiences every single day. There’s got to be a better way to make people’s local experience better, and hopefully that’s Lunr.
Who are your competitors and how do you stand out?
There’s Fever, Yplan, Foursquare, Yelp, etc, but none concentrate on giving users a personalized local experience. With Lunr, you can instantly find out what that Irish sports pub you pass by on your way to school every Thursday night.
How does ATL weave into your story?
Though most of us are not from Atlanta, we all happen to go to Georgia Tech.
If you could have one mulligan (do-over) in the process of launching this startup what would it be?
Perhaps save more money. We underestimated the cost of acquiring users.
What kind of mentor could you use the most right now?
Someone with experience in the service industry, that can guide us as we meet with businesses, learn about the problems they face, and build features to solve them.
