Startup of the Month: Sharify
Created by Gemma Prenfeta Ribera, this app helps you stay in the loop with events and social opportunities taking place in the city.
Sharify is an app that allows you to see social events that are happening around you in real-time. It’s a live map showing activities going on in the city posted by users. It can be anything from grabbing a beer to going to a concert or an art show. The app gives you a quick overview of what’s going on at any giving moment; the various types of activities happening are pinned to the map with different icons for each genre. It’s much more spontaneous than a Meetup or Facebook event.
We want to help people connect by creating a social network that’s truly social. It’s not about sharing a post or a tweet, but about sharing real life experiences with other people around you. The app is free for users, but we’re exploring how we can work with businesses and companies to allow them to show official events in a way that adds value to our users and contributes rich content.
The idea was born in London when I was working there for the summer. When I went out for beers with my colleagues, we always ended up talking about how it would be great to meet new people and join other activities around the city. So I thought about creating a live map where everybody can share what they are up to and just say, “Hey I’m going to this concert, anybody want to join?”
After finishing my studies in international business and marketing, I decided to pursue the idea. I started looking for a co-founder and met Diego Gaspar Casamayor, a software engineer, who was facing the same problem while working at a fintech company in London. I told him about the idea, which he immediately liked, and we started working on the first version of the app. Once it was ready, I attended pitching competitions and events—that’s how I managed to raise €50,000 in the first round of funding.
Both locals and expats are using the platform. It’s a cool way to meet people and connect different groups. That’s what I love about it—that it allows different groups in the city to come together.
Our goal is to create a live map for as many cities as possible. We’re currently working on spreading Sharify to more cities in Europe. We want people to be able to access a live map no matter where they are. We acquired more than 1000 users in the first week after officially launching the app in the beginning of June and, so far, 500 events have been created in 15 different countries.
Learn more about Sharify at sharifyapp.com.