SPOT.
SPOT. in HLN: where is everyone tonight?
On the day Spot officially launched, HLN, one of the biggest news sites in Flanders, ran the story of Lowie and Victor, the two West Flemings behind the app. Here is the short version. The full article, in Dutch, is on hln.be.
Born out of frustration
Lowie (30, Torhout) and Victor (29, Ruddervoorde) came to Ghent to study and never left. Lowie is a DJ and was one of the people who started Roest Open Air in Torhout. He always sent the invitations for his yearly birthday party through Facebook, until it turned out that fewer and fewer friends were still looking there. Meanwhile, they had also lost track of everything that was being organised.
Facebook events drown between the ads, and on Instagram or TikTok it is hard to keep track of where you want to go. They could not find a good alternative.
“Events are social by definition, so we felt they deserved a social platform with a clear overview.”
From idea to app
Victor works in software development and had a first working version ready within a few weeks. Months of testing and fine-tuning followed, with friends and with organisers from the events industry. Lowie looks after the user experience, marketing and communication. A first group of testers has been using the app over the past months, mostly in Ghent.
Discover, join, host
- Discover: find out what is on near you or in another city, with suggestions based on your interests, your friends and your location.
- Join: see who is going, let people know you are coming too and keep all your plans in a personal calendar.
- Host: create a public or private event yourself and invite your friends.
From a club night to a street party or birthday drinks: it all has a place in the same app. For now, Lowie and Victor add most of the events themselves. Later on, organisers will be able to put their events in Spot directly.
“When people soon start saying ‘Just put it on SPOT.’, we will know we are doing something right.”
Try it yourself
Spot has been available for iPhone and Android since 15 September. Download the app and see where everyone is going tonight.