One question was all it took to plant the seed and watch it grow.
“What if we could help party-goers plan their night out?”
It is a known fact that getting access to your preferred nightspot in India is not easy, in fact it is a task if you don’t know the right people. This got us thinking as to how we can solve a problem that has forever plagued the nightlife space; we were determined and thought to start off from the commercial capital itself, Mumbai.
The story so far
“We have identified a gap in the Indian market where socializing is not easy as it should be.”
Step 1 for us was – Identifying The Problem
In many cities across India, a majority number of people face an issue of establishing direct contact with their favorite nightclubs, arising a problem of entry into the club. They either need to search for and find out a promoter for that club or take a favor from a friend or associate. This process can be very time consuming and frustrating leading to a dissatisfied customer.
Furthermore whilst Bars are the more accessible and convenient option these days, the issue arises of awareness. Customers struggle to locate and to be in the know how of what’s happening at the Bars across their city. We have identified a gap in the Indian market where socializing is not as easy as it should be.
Step 2 was – Chalking out The Solution
The answer was simple, to build a platform that not only allows users instant access to venues (Pubs, Lounges, Bars, Clubs) across the city but also keeps them updated with what’s trending at these places.
The answer seemed relatively simple, but to execute it was another ball game all together. We first started working on the solution for the problem we had identified and then moved to fine tuning the services we deemed fit to solve it.
After thorough sessions of R & D, brainstorming & scheduling through the latter months of 2014, we first launched our Android application on January 15, 2015 followed by the iOS app going live about 3 weeks later. – TheSocial – currently available on Android & iOS enables users to do the following:
- Access to the most happening night out venues in your city (PBCL – Pubs, Bars, Clubs, Lounges) Currently operational in Mumbai.
- Make an instant guest-list reservation or book a table at their preferred nightclub
- Stay updated with the most happening events, offers & gigs across the city; with the feature of Daily Trending Updates.
- Locate & Find venues that are nearby with the aid of maps.
- Browse through real time images of tables and interiors at venues
With 3 simple taps a user is able to plan their perfect night out on their fingertips & better their nightlife experience.
- Choose your experience
- Fill in your details
- Get an instant confirmation text, email & call
“TheSocial is a one stop platform that has made nightlife simple & planning easy.”
Since the inception of TheSocial in January 2015, customer satisfaction has always been of utmost importance. At TheSocial we maintain a 45-minute turn around time to get in touch with a user once he/she has made a booking. This allows us to assure the user that their reservation has been confirmed and give the user more information on their planned night-out.
To maintain the quality of our services and ensure that the user has had a hassle free night we take down the feedback of each and every reservation made by us. This not only allows us to get insight on the users preferences but also enables us to better our services.
With one step at a time, we want to drive our venture to the ultimate goal. It’s a long way to go & the journey is what matters, we believe we need to stay ahead of the curve at all times and need to improve & learn through our experiences, especially out of the mistakes we make. With our focused attitude and disciplined approach we have managed to test the market with our Beta Version, which has been live over a period of one year. TheSocial has successfully completed 900+ reservations, garnered 6000+ downloads and is associated with 160+ clubs and bars across Mumbai. The response has been phenomenal and reassuring for us, which has helped in driving us towards our next milestone.
Our future plans
Establishing our product, testing the market, building customer / client relationships & validating our model was just the beginning for us. Once we had rolled out the first version of our app, the question raised was, what next?
We have two major goals, one was expand to other metro cities and the other to roll out an updated / enhanced version of TheSocial from which we will start monetizing our model.
Currently the update is in process, some of the new services TheSocial will provide its users is mentioned below:
- India’s first nightlife application to incorporate direct payments instantly through the app
- Ticket Bookings & Direct Access to exclusive events & gigs across venues in and around your city
- Deals & Discounts
- An enhanced experience for guest-list & table bookings at their preferred venues.
- Midnight Food Eateries
Apart from providing added services the update will be much quicker on the functionality front & easy to use with its enhanced UI / UX experience. We like to keep things simple at the same time attention to detail is priority. It’s a pleasure to share the news of our newest addition to The Social Team, who is looking after the tech front.
He is our latest recruit and an experienced developer who proudly shares our vision & passion towards the company. With his expertise & contributions towards our product development we are ready to take on bigger & greater challenges.
Resources such as funds are critical for start-ups like ours but at the same time getting the right people on board (investors) is extremely important. Sharing the wavelength & vision with your investors, we believe is necessary. We are in talks with potential investors and are trying to connect with such like-minded ones for our First Round of Investment.
We look forward towards revolutionizing the nightlife industry with our platform that helps in discovery & planning your perfect night out.
asha chaudhry
niiiiice. neha, rarely i get to see a very well written showcase post – so kudos to you!!
this is not a new problem you are solving – but i know EXECUTION is what differentiates everyone! i like your approach – sticky name – interesting logo – research – the offering – conviction – good results…. after reading this i have a big smile on my face (even though i’m not your TA!)
i love your descriptor – “TheSocial is a one stop platform that has made nightlife simple & planning easy.”
most people haven’t figured that right while communicating it to folks 🙂
my fav part of your offering is “midnight food eateries” 🙂
we use to be at all the crazy tapris/shacks/carts in pune after a long night of partying 🙂
though i cease to be a party animal – sometimes in goa (where we live) i long for an interesting 24 hour coffee shop that let’s you catch up with a friend over the weekend. caramel at taj vivanta in panjim shuts at 10pm 🙁
all the best! you will do well 🙂
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
I looked up the app on android and while its nicely rated, it has 1000-5000 downloads?
Isn’t the problem ALWAYS gonna be ‘top of mind recall’.
I mean people don’t party daily – so when they want to, they have to remember using you guys?
I’m sure PNS etc helps – but ‘how can a party app become a habit’ is my central question..
Akaar Ali
Hey Alok,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. In regard to your queries i would like to share a couple of points.
Since we put this idea to execution, our first & foremost priority was to test the market & generate feedback on our BETA version (currently live now). As we are currently operational only in Mumbai, and have had minimal marketing spend, the number of downloads have been in the range you mentioned. As our App Update & first round of funding are on the cards now, driving downloads will be at the top of the list post launch.
If we talk about ‘top of mind recall’ I believe our platform is The Solution to quick & easy planning for any given night out experience.
I think its similar to the concept of ‘going to the movies’ most people don’t visit multiplexes daily but when they do now days as a reflex people prefer using an efficient & responsive app that helps in providing a better customer experience.
People constantly want to know what’s happening around them, be it at a club or a bar on the Weekends or Weekdays. TheSocial not only keeps them informed but also gives users easy access to their favourite venues.
In our case we deal with a variety of customers that we have segmented:
Elite Trend Setters – Regular Party goers who set the trend. This category has the highest frequency of visits to bars (premium) & clubs
Infrequent Regulars – One who goes to party regularly but has lesser visits than trend setters
Aspirers – One who aspire to become trend setters one day. Frequency of visits is less than above two categories
Casual / Social – This is the last category of the customers who party once a month or once in couple of months
In response to your central question – Unlike any other ‘party app’ TheSocial is a platform that caters to a way of life, all your nightlife needs under one roof. As along as we are able to give our users the experience of having a hassle free nightout we believe they will always come back to us, not out of habit but because of the exceptional service we provide.
Cheers!