Tag: App

Categories
News News Blog News Feature

Tech: New Memphis-Based App Helps Gym Buddies Find Each Other

Credit: Let's Gym

A new app, created by a Memphian, launches soon and will help gym goers (and those who maybe find the gym a daunting space) find workout pals.

Let’s Gym was created (and its company was founded) by Belal Kamara who discovered how hard it can be to find workout partners after he moved to Denver for a time. He beta-tested the app in different cities, gathered user feedback, and is now readying for a public launch in Memphis. 

We caught up with Kamara to hear more about Let’s Gym. — Toby Sells

Memphis Flyer: So, you’re from Memphis?   

Balal Kamara: Yes, I grew up here. I left in 2019 to go Denver. I moved back this past year. 

How did you get started developing Let’s Gym?

I graduated from the University of Memphis in 2019 with a degree in management information systems. I worked Downtown at Regional One Health in the IT department. I moved to Denver because the tech scene there was kind of booming. I wanted to grow that skill set that I had.   

That explains the tech side of the app. What about the gym side?

Me, working out with my friends, was the reason I was in the gym, actually in there for like and hour and a half to two hours. Me, working out by myself, I was like, “Yeah, let me just get this done under 45 minutes. So [working out with friends] was a big component that I missed just leaving Memphis. 

About a year and a half ago, I thought that I could not be the only one having this problem. So I put out a little tester in Denver to see if other people are having the same issue. I ran a $20 ad on Instagram and asked if anyone in Denver was looking for someone to work out with. 

After a week, we had over 300 people to sign up just because all I did was create a sign-up form.  It was a lot more people than I originally thought. 

Coming from a technical background, I just started coding the app. I coded a super-basic version of the app, launched it in Denver, and got some pretty good feedback. I closed down the beta and created a new app pretty much from scratch just based on the feedback I gathered. 

I knew what people liked and didn’t like, developed it again, and launched it on iOS and Android, originally. So it was a lot easier for people to download it, get notifications, and things of that nature. 

We were doing a city-to-city launch at the time. We launched in Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco near the end of the beta period. We had a pretty good amount of users in each city at the end of the beta. That period was about a year in those three cities. 

After that, I gathered all the feedback and closed the app. I redeveloped the app based on that … and we were ready for a full-on launch.

So, what’s the next step? 

I’m back in Memphis, where I grew up. I feel like Memphis could be the perfect opportunity for this to be the launching point. We’re trying to wrap it up and launch by the end of the month. 

What did your users tell you about the app in the beta tests?

The first app I built was kind of like a dating app clone — swipe left and swipe right to match with gym partners. The feeling was that it was too much of a dating-app-type vibe. 

We re-did it in a way where you change your filter and decide, maybe, I want someone who is strength-centric, or more of an intermediate-level workout partner, or someone who works out in the morning, like I do. 

Once, they select that, it shows them everyone who matches their filter within a, say, 15-mile radius. Then, they’re able to quickly just chat with them and get something scheduled, instead of “swipe left, swipe right” and matching and all the jazz.

What about good feedback? Did your app help people?

I started the app originally for people who wanted to find someone to work out with, maybe, who need that extra push. When I was speaking to a lot of users, they said, “We’re first-time people at the gym” and they were matching with someone who already goes to the gym. 

They said, “When I actually had the courage to go the gym, I didn’t really know how to do it. I was under the bar but didn’t know if my form was right. I didn’t know if 10 sets was too much.”

So they’d match with someone who could teach them a lot on, like, how to benchpress correctly or squat correctly. And now they’re not afraid to go the gym because [they have] someone to work out with and realize it’s not as daunting as it seems.

Categories
News News Feature

New Knowtice App Connects Businesses, Students

When apportunity knocks, you answer. 

For Kermit Throckmorton, 30 years at the helm of Southern Spray Company gave him an intimate knowledge of the challenges facing companies when trying to communicate with customers. With social media apps like Facebook and Twitter tricky to use when it comes to maximizing a message, he sought a solution: a new app called Knowtice, aimed to bridge the communication gap between businesses and consumers, while also providing a philanthropic boost along the way.

“Communication and marketing are so important for businesses,” says Throckmorton. “And especially during the pandemic. With other tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, there are so many other things to navigate. Stuff you might want to see can get lost in the shuffle.”

Throckmorton’s Knowtice app dispenses with many of the distractions you’d find elsewhere. Gone are the sponsored ads, targeted posts, or frivolities. When a user creates an account on Knowtice, they can choose which local businesses to follow, and nothing else will get in the way.

“Normally, on places like Facebook, you’re seeing hundreds of posts from your not-so-close friends,” says Throckmorton. “You have to wade through political posts, pet pictures, recipes, and there are so many moving pieces. When speaking with businesses and chambers of commerce, we found there was just this disconnect with the community sometimes, so we want to fix that.”

For example, when deciding to follow Crosstown Brewing Co. on Knowtice, a user’s page will only show updates from the brewery. That includes items like specials, upcoming events, what they have on tap for the day, and other similar things. If several other establishments are added, the page will again only include updates from those specific businesses. That doesn’t change, unless the user decides to bring more companies into the rotation.

Knowtice founder Kermit Throckmorton

It’s really easy to curate a select group of favorite spots and stay up to date on what might be going on. And for the businesses, it guarantees that people will have eyes on their content, rather than accidentally scrolling past it. Any business that does choose to participate will receive a Knowtice sticker to place in their building. That will let visitors know that they can keep up with their favorite spots on the app.

“We’ve got 24 categories that businesses can choose from,” says Throckmorton, “that can range from Dine, to Schools, to Religious. And creating a profile is free for any business. Business owners should never have to pay money for people who want to follow them.” 

Where Knowtice does make a profit is when a company decides to upgrade to a paid plan, for either $30 a month, or $250 a year. That gives companies a customization suite of 150 extra options for their profiles. Some cool extra perks come with things like coupons, that are assigned on the app. Meanwhile, Knowtice’s calendar will alert a customer when the coupon is set to expire, or if there’s a specific timeframe it needs to be used.

“We wanted to make it affordable,” he continues. “We’ve worked with the Shelby County Chamber Alliance and Arlington Chamber of Commerce to create a good model for what we’re doing.”

While subscriptions are Knowtice’s only revenue stream, the entirety of that money doesn’t go straight back into the app’s coffers. Instead, it will be reinvested into the community. Forty percent of each subscription fee is earmarked to go towards a scholarship fund for students at participating colleges in a company’s home state. When business owners pursue a premium plan, they’ll be asked which school they’d like to have the money go toward. Participating colleges in Tennessee include University of Memphis, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Tennessee State University, and Austin Peay State University. So far, Knowtice has partnered with 39 colleges across 12 states, and is also working to create internship positions for students at those schools. 

Some of the categories that can be found on Knowtice

Interns for Knowtice will reach out to local businesses and explain the benefits of the app. In addition to being compensated for their time, some students have found that their participating university may allow class credit for the work. Interns will also be eligible for scholarship money generated by Knowtice.

“I think it ticks a lot of boxes,” says Throckmorton. “Students are getting compensated; they’re coming right out of the gate with a startup in the technology world, but they’re also learning how to give back to the community. We’ve been receiving a lot of interest from schools and potential interns.

“What it comes down to is that we’re ‘communication with a mission,’ he says. “We have the capability to help others — businesses, schools, students — so, we’d like to see this grow even more.”

Knowtice is available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. knowticeapp.com

Categories
News News Blog

MATA Rolls Into ‘Cashless Economy’ With App, Website

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

Last week Memphis Area Transit Authority launched a redesigned website and new app aimed towards modernizing and streamlining its bus service.

The app, GO901 Mobile, is a free mobile fare app that allows passengers to purchase single fare tickets and all-day passes on their smartphones using a debit or credit card. The app also enables users to add money to and manage their account balance allowing them to buy multiple passes or tickets and store them for future use.

Once downloaded, riders will be able to hit the “use ticket” or “use pass” button to display their single-use ticket or all-day pass. They then need only to scan their pass on the scanners located in the front of MATA vehicles.  

With the launch of the app, MATA also rolled out a new version of its website. The changes included a new sleek design as well as integration for the new mobile app. The website allows users to more easily manage their account balance and ticket purchases with the new GO901 app.

“A few years ago, we began making a concerted effort to improve communications by implementing a series of actionable recommendations,” said MATA spokeswoman Nicole Lacey. “When we met with key stakeholders at that time, one of the biggest takeaways was that we needed to improve the mobile interactivity of the website. We think we have accomplished that and hope that visitors find it to be more appealing, more informative, and more engaging.”

The redesigned website and new app are the most recent changes in a long line of modernization efforts by MATA. Last December, MATA began offering wi-fi access on all of its fixed-route buses, para-transit vehicles, and rail trolley cars. The next step for MATA will be the implementation of new ticket vending machines and point of sale systems.

While MATA had plans to introduce new buying options before the outbreak of COVID-19, the pandemic heightened the need to offer cashless fare options.

“We’re seeing all across the country how the COVID-19 pandemic has caused more industries — including public transportation — to take a second look at how to operate in a cashless economy,” said MATA Chief Executive Officer Gary Rosenfeld. “With the introduction of the new GO901 mobile app, it will hopefully remove the fears associated with the virus and paper money as well as offering passengers more convenient payment options and the possibility of attracting new customers who don’t want to carry cash or go to the transit centers to purchase passes.”

Categories
News News Blog

New App Aims to Promote Green Living on U of M Campus

A new app created by a professor at the University of Memphis is meant to encourage green living activities on the campus and beyond.

Green Fee, developed by Susan Elswick, a professor in the social work department at the U of M, is a game-based app that allows users to track their green-living efforts, as well as green-living issues they encounter.

In creating the app, Elswick, who is also a master gardener in the region, said she “nailed her love for horticulture, technology, and social behavior sciences together. Green living is a behavior that we can easily see and track.”

University of Memphis

Green living app developer Susan Elswick

Elswick said the app is similar to Waze, an app drivers can use to track road conditions and incidents to give other drivers on the road a heads-up. With the green-living app, users can identify and geotag a green-living issue or problem they see, such as trash on the ground. Elswick said they can “take it a step further” by taking action to address the issue and then tagging that activity.

Examples of green-living activities could include carpooling, walking, or biking to campus, picking up trash, or turning the lights off when leaving home. Green activities can also include reducing blight, pulling weeds, or working in a community garden.

A big, green issue in Memphis is abandoned tires that litter the city, Elswick said. “Tires are a huge problem so someone could even see some tires on the side of the road and decide to pick them up and repurpose them. It’s that easy.”

[pullquote-1]

Each time users identify an issue, they get one point. For addressing the issue or doing their own green activity, users get two points.

The points aren’t tied to an external reward outside of the game, but Elswick said that could be a possibility in the future.

Green Living

A screenshot from the green living app

Elswick hopes the app will raise awareness about and get more students involved in green-living practices. She also said the app will help show the university’s green footprint in the community.

“To be able to visually see our impact on a map is huge,” Elswick said. “We know our outreach on campus is pretty good, but there’s a lot of students who participate in green living that live in the community and we want to highlight those practices.”


The app is slated to launch in the Android and Apple app stores in two weeks, Elswick said. It will be free to all university students, faculty, and staff.

Elswick said she anticipates the app being widely used on campus, as she says all of the university’s green programming is “pretty well-received.”

“We have two community gardens on campus, we have pop-up gardens, and a lot of students across all departments who are engaged in green programming and research,” Elswick said. “I’m confident the app will get support on campus ”

Eventually, Elswick said the app will be available to community partners and businesses who want to track their philanthropic efforts and outreach in the city related to green living.

“For example, if a local company goes out and cleans a flower bed, they can geo-locate that,” Elswick said. “That would then show up on a map with their brand on it.”