Locals provide real-time suggestions on this updated app

by Kelly O'Halloran
August 31, 2016

When Nomly founder Kartik Jain first launched his recommendation app, he failed to predict how many people would actually utilize "Ask Nomly," a feature allowing users to ask in real time for eatery and drink hole recommendations.
 
Perhaps he should’ve named it Ask Kartik, because the app did just that. Every single Ask Nomly request went directly to Jain’s cell via text or phone call using a Google Voice number.
 
“People were asking really specific questions about where they should go. And I don’t know everything about Houston,” said Jain, noting he had to turn off his phone while working his full-time job.
 
Now, a year and a move to Austin later from initially launching, Kartik rolled out Nomly worldwide on the Apple market this week, providing locals across the globe with the ability to respond to requests. Austinites can ask Nomly things like, "Where should I eat downtown that's not TexMex" or "Suggestions for parking during ACL."
 
Prior to the launch, Jain tested a larger network of people to provide recommendations by recruiting members of the Houston Food Bloggers Collective to participate. He wanted to see if people other than himself were comfortable responding, and likewise, if those seeking suggestions had no reservations asking the locals. 
 
"We learned that everyone in the city who enjoys living there, wants to share," said Jain. "We wanted to make something that could appeal on a broader scale and is accessible to everyone." 
 
The concept on the surface resembles that of Yelp, however, Nomly differs in that users can describe the type of experience they seek and receive local, tailored responses in return. It's real-time, custom feedback for every recommendation, without having to search through hundreds of unreliable reviews. 
 
If users follow a recommendation and it fit what they were looking for, they can show appreciation by "liking it," which helps Nomly identify who is making good recommendations in their city. The team also monitors all recommendations for abuse. 
 
Jain, who founded Nomly in Houston and has since relocated to Austin, and his team hope to grow out their user base through the end of the year with talks of a potential funding round.
 
Images provided by Facebook and Nomly.
 
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