Entrepreneurs’ app helps you find the right pub for you
Jai Kapoor (left) and Hugo Murphy from The Local: Pub Finder. Picture: The Local - Credit: The Local
Two Hackney tech entrepreneurs have made life easier for London’s pub-goers with an app that lists what pubs across the capital have on offer.
Hugo Murphy and Jai Kapoor, both 25, launched The Local: Pub Finder on the App Store in September.
The app enables users to sift through 1,000 boozers using search fields such as live music or sport, veggie-friendly food, drink deals, and pub quizzes.
They can also find out details like a DJ's playlist or whether the beer garden has a heater.
Co-founder Hugo said: "Three pubs a day close in the UK. They are struggling to show that they are more than just a place to have a pint. In fact, pubs have so much to offer that people just don't know about. We hope this app gives them that platform."
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The duo, who juggle full-time jobs, devised the idea in March 2018 following a lacklustre night at their local watering hole.
Hugo said: "Jai and I talked about how difficult it was to find a pub with a pool table. The Google app didn't quite have a way of showing that information so we thought about how we could go about it."
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They enlisted app developers from Harrow and began compiling a database with details of hundreds of venues they found online.
At one stage, they had a team of five students wade through freedom of information requests sent to councils across London calling for a list of their local pubs.
There are now moves to improve the app's analytics interface and the boys plan to introduce a feature that allows pub managers to send notices about upcoming events.
The UK's app development economy is forecast to be worth more than £30 billion by 2030, according to a 2014 report by Vision Mobile. The report found that the majority (83 per cent) of app developers were self-taught.
Britain was also the largest generator of apps in Europe during the third quarter of 2019, according to the analytics website Sensor Tower, sweeping in $343.2 million (£262 million) in gross revenue, narrowly beating Germany by $21.6 million (£16.5 million).
Search 'The Local: Pub Finder' in your phone's app store.
