This Charlotte startup is taking another crack at becoming the next big social media app
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Instead of texting around when you’re looking to go out to lunch or to schedule a happy hour, Charlotte startup Hopspot is hoping the city will adopt its new app that’s all about in-real-life meetups.
The team has about 20 employees — including 15 developers — working out of an office building in South End, directly across from Seoul Food.
They’re planning an app launch Wednesday. Fittingly, Charlotte will be the test market with the plan to expand to other cities.
Here’s how the app works
You can sign in and find friends among your contacts, as you would in many other social media platforms. Then you can set a status.
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You only have so much freedom (a feature, not a bug). You can flag yourself on a spectrum from “I’m here” to “I’m staying in.” The key tag, though is “Looking to…”
Director of Marketing Colby Almond describes it as “Facebook, without the drama.”
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The “scene” clears at 6 a.m. each day to give people an uncluttered experience.
The app integrates with Uber so groups of people can coordinate transportation. Down the line, Hopspot hopes to have more app integration (with Venmo, etc.) as a way to drive revenue. They also want to be able to offer deals from local businesses.
You may have heard of these guys before
The Hopspot app is an update and rebrand of an app called Socialtopias (the company still bears that name).
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The company has been around since about 2012 and made its first big push about two years ago.
Flush with $4.2 million in venture capital, the company hosted a glitzy app launch around New Years Eve 2014, including flying a banner above Bank of America Stadium and trucking in 8 tons of snow to Montford Drive, according to media reports.
Photo via Tara Lilly
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The app never managed to gain traction, however.
Now they’re going to give it another shot with a new name, an updated app and more functionality planned to come.
There’s a big launch party scheduled for this week.
Mark your calendars for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Craft in South End. The Hopspot team is doing a full app release party with live music, a custom flight of beer and a raffle for Hornets gear. Details.