Two Ottawa entrepreneurs develop entertainment scene app with support of nightlife commish

With the support of Ottawa’s nightlife commissioner, two local entrepreneurs have launched an app that not only informs users about various venues, but tells them about the “vibe” in real time. Hana Kennedy and Megan Chapman launched Vibes Social Network with the goal of strengthening the nightlife community in Ottawa. Their mobile app allows users […]

With the support of Ottawa’s nightlife commissioner, two local entrepreneurs have launched an app that not only informs users about various venues, but tells them about the “vibe” in real time. Hana Kennedy and Megan Chapman launched Vibes Social Network with the goal of strengthening the nightlife community in Ottawa. Their mobile app allows users to see venues on a map, read about each one and discover how others are experiencing it in real time. That’s because when users “check in” to a venue, they’re prompted with a short survey to let others know about the crowd size, wait time and atmosphere. Users are also able to communicate with and locate friends on the app.   Kennedy and Chapman were in the development stages of their app when nightlife commissioner Mathieu Grondin was hired last June.  “We sent him an email and got in touch on LinkedIn. He responded so promptly, within an hour, (saying), ‘I’m fresh in my position right now, but keep me updated.’ So with every update we had we would send him an email … When we launched on iOS, he said, ‘That’s great, when are you launching on Google Play?’ So we launched on Google Play and he said, ‘Congratulations, let’s set up a meeting,’” Chapman said.  Chapman and Kennedy met with the commissioner as recently as last week to discuss how their app aligns with what his office is trying to achieve.  “He was really excited about it (and) loved that we were Ottawa people building an app for Ottawa,” Chapman said.  Kennedy and Chapman met in Ireland when they were completing a year abroad. The idea for Vibes came from a mix of frustration over Snapchat and European nightclubs.

“It was a Friday night and I was with one of my friends and we were pondering what we were going to do for the night. I was looking at Snapchat stories and I just kept seeing (people post on their stories) ‘Where are people going tonight?’ It sort of was like a lightbulb moment for me. There should be an easier way (to find something to do),” Kennedy said.  Chapman added, “We found that finding places to go out at night was the hardest thing to do while travelling without doing so much research. Or you’d go somewhere, wait in a long line, spend 20 euros to get in, and you’re like, this isn’t what I was looking for,” Chapman added. Knowing the “vibe” of a place was one of the key drivers behind launching the app.  “It’s the word of our generation … you hear it in every reality show, every conversation,” Chapman said. “Also, when you hear the word vibe, you don’t just think of nightlife. You think about what the energy is when you’re hanging out with your friends or what it was like in the park that day. We’re Vibes for short, but at the end of the day we’re Vibes Social Network because we want to be a social network of people, growing a community of people.” After their time in Ireland, the co-founders brought their idea for Vibes back to Ottawa but with limited knowledge of tech they needed help bringing the app to life.  Students at Algonquin College’s mobile application development and design program helped to develop coding as well as marketing materials.  “Those students did such a great job. They were also our target audience and what they delivered to us was … it's indescribable to see your idea actually become something,” Chapman said.  When the Algonquin students wrapped up their portion of the project, they handed Chapman and Kennedy “a Google doc with a bunch of code,” something they sat on for a few months before finding the right person to help them take it to the next step. That’s when they were accepted into Invest Ottawa’s Ignition program.  “(We were) learning about how to build a startup, especially in the tech space. Megan and I are both from marketing backgrounds. We don’t really know how to navigate the technology space, especially when it comes to coding,” Kennedy said. Through a senior developer contact at Invest Ottawa, the code was remastered into an app.  Ottawans are the only ones able to access Vibes for now, but Kennedy and Chapman said they plan to grow the app’s reach.  “The hope is to get a strong foundation and an understanding of what people are looking for. If we can help revive Ottawa, I think that the app can bring success in other cities,” Kennedy said.