
hereNow is an app designed to help you find “something cool, now”. Currently in Beta, the interface is simple with four categories to search through: Art Shows, Live Music, Night Clubs and Theatre Performances. hereNow is about spontaneity and as the name suggests – it is focused on now or the very near future.
The inception of hereNow goes like this: One evening Brian Holt (the creator, who we successfully stole from Vancouver just like Radjuli) was at home, with his girlfriend in Kitsilano. They decided they wanted to go out, hit a gallery, maybe some live music – perhaps something small and just a little off the beaten track. What they wanted was something cool, now. What they found was pure frustration. Between poorly updated online event listings, boring events and nothing in the way of an events aggregator, their search was really over before it began. Sad right? They broke up that night – now that’s sad. Now before you send your condolences (@hereNowVictoria) there is another side to this coin.
Not wanting to have his heart broken again, Brian decided to solve a clear pain point. Recognizing he wasn’t the problem (Brian’s opinion) he set out to create an app that would ensure there was always a way to easily discover fun, engaging and creative events. Brian was already doing really well in the design and publishing business but had heard about this Accelerator program at a place called VIATeC. He flipped a coin. Victoria won. Seriously – this is how it happened.
Fast forward one year and things have really moved along for Mr. Holt and hereNow. He was accepted into the Accelerator program, Tony Melli and Richard Cheeson were chosen as his mentors, and the beta version of his cross-platform mobile app went live on December 1st.
The main focus at the moment is attracting users. In order to be successful hereNow will need users interested in the events as well as event providers (think Atomique) who update the app with their own events on a regular basis. The long term goal is to develop the app as an events platform, complete with push notifications and the ability follow event providers. From a business perspective it becomes a very targeted marketing platform allowing event providers to ensure their most ardent fans are always aware of their events.
To date the response has been very positive and for the short time the mobile app has been live, it continues to attract more and more users. Since it’s still in beta mode, Brian is still entering events in himself – if you see something that you think should be there, he would love to hear from you: @hereNowVictoria. Alternatively, if you just need something to do, check out the app here: hereNow.co