GroupTable

A collaborative dining decision app that makes choosing a restaurant fun and easy. Inspired by dating apps swipe interface, GroupTable leverages YelpAI API to find the perfect match for every craving.

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Inspiration

Every time we decide to go out as a group, we end up spamming messaging apps with links with restaurant suggestion. This becomes a tedious process as more people become part of the activity. Often choice paralysis results in delayed decision making or the activity being abandoned due to over/under participation by member. What if I could make this a fun activity with group participation, overall a game like experience.

What it does

Like most groups a host understands the key inputs like date, time, location, cuisine considerations as well as price & restaurant ratings from the group. They also determine the size of the group. With this out of the way, all members get to participate in the decision making with a dating app like experience. No choice overload, one restaurant option at a time with a better experience when everyone joins the session at the same time. If the group hits a match the choice is clear, with clear steps for host to make a booking right away. For async experience or when no clear winner comes out, they get a ranked choice result for the group to consider.

How I built it

I started brainstorming the flow & static screens on Figma. Once my core flow looked good, using github I started building on IDE with the help of AI models, hooking up all the data and animated mockup to simulate multiplayer experience. Once I achieved this state, I worked to figure how to achieve this in production with actual user, deploying on netlify.

Challenges I ran into

  • I wanted an app like experience in the browser so adding & achieving perfect animated UI elements were challenging
  • Initially, I was thinking of a conversational interface but the current solution existing are group chat - a text-only static-UI experience is the limitation so I pivoted to a game like experience with information rich cards.

Accomplishments that I am proud of

  • For a designer turned builder, this was definitely a fun experience. Going from an idea to a working app with API hooked up in 4 days was pretty fun.

What I learned

  • Most of the group dining decisions happen on messaging apps which is not ideal for it resulting in multiple context switch. Users do it due to a lack of option. Existing business info platforms are not built for multiplayer collaboration, on the other hand restaurants want bigger groups to dine for improving their revenue. This solution is a win-win where user-entity on both side stand to gain.

What's next for GroupTable

  • There are so many activities outside restaurants that require multiplayer decision making like movies to watch, party menu etc. most apps fall short in solving this problem. This solution can be expanded to those problem space.
  • Existing apps that allow users to save places can integrate this for a fun curated experience, where instead of coming up with a new list.. every user's saved list can be pulled into the multiplayer experience.

Metric it could impact (assumption)

  • User acquisition - every user who is not on the platform can be reached without a lot of acquisition cost every time the host invites them for match session via network effect.
  • Retention - Assuming a group goes out to dine once or twice every month, this could provide a good lift for monthly active users on the app especially in markets (metro cities) where group social activity is prominent.

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