In almost every friend group, there’s that one person (if not multiple people) you can always count on to be late when you’re meeting up. It’s annoying, frustrating and, now, could make you money. A new app called Bound, whose beta is launching by the end of this week, holds people accountable by giving them a monetary incentive to be punctual.
According to Victor Luo, co-founder and CEO of Bound, users agree to put a certain amount of money on the line when they’re meeting up with each other. The app charges whomever is late to a scheduled rendezvous, while paying whomever is on time. Basically, users make or lose money depending on how prompt they and their friends are.
Luo explained his personal experience served as fodder for Bound. He told us, “I would be 30 minutes late to a family dinner and I’d still be the first one there.” Upon further investigation, Luo concluded that existing technological tools weren’t doing enough to keep people on schedule.
“There are a lot of apps that are good at letting us schedule events or sending us notifications about meetings, but nothing gives us a real incentive to be on time,” he said. “Money popped into my head. If users agree on a set price and can make or lose money depending on whether they’re on time, it gives them a real financial incentive to get there early.”
When you log into Bound, you can select which friends with whom you’d like to make plans. You then set a date, time, location (using Google Maps) and a dollar amount you’re willing to fork over if you’re late. The app uses geolocation, so there’s no cheating time. It will automatically check in users as they arrive at the intended location using GPS and keeps tabs on their timeliness.
Starting off, the app is free to use. Luo said as they move to monetize, they’ll be taking a note from Venmo and PayPal’s books, charging a small, percentage-based fee per transaction. The users who are late will also be responsible for paying the intended 2.5 percent fee to Bound.
In the future, Bound will explore the possibility of partnerships, either with an entity like Groupon or individual businesses, to offer app users promotional offers wherever they meet their friends. Not only would it be another potential revenue stream for Bound, but Luo said it could also act as another layer of positive reinforcement for users.It gives them a real financial incentive to get there early.[/pullquote]
Over the past three weeks, the Bound team has built the app from the ground up in Boston, through the program Leangap. In addition to Luo, who is 16, the team consists of Esther Kim, Emily Chen, Tiffany Ling and Wellington Froelich - all of whom are 18 years of age or under. None of the teens are originally from Boston, but they’ve taken the summer to be immersed in our tech community, which has included weekly visits to Venture Cafe, while they’ve developed Bound.
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