A Montreal-based startup is developing a mobile event platform where users can post their own events and find things to do in their area.
Thrills, launching at the end of May, will let people discover or post all kinds of events and activities for anyone to enjoy.
The pandemic temporarily stopped group events and gatherings, and as restrictions loosen and pre-pandemic activities resume, people are on the hunt for fun things to do.
“We spent two years behind walls and no one’s going out anymore. So how about we create something that would allow people to enjoy life again,” Clarence-Hugues Domond, a fourth year computer science student at Cal Poly Pomona, and co-founder and chief technology officer, said while explaining the idea behind Thrills.
Here’s how the app works:
When a user first opens the app, the first screen they will see is a list of all the events available within a certain radius of their location.
Users can filter by the kinds of event they are interested in, as well as by the start time and date and the time at which the event was posted. Users can also search for specific events.
Examples of events include birthday parties, meetups at bars, or even more low-key events like hiking a specific trail with a smaller group of people.
Once they find an event of interest, users can join group chats for all the participants of that event.
“That’s a very cool feature, where once you join an event, you’re able to break the ice with the people that are going there, you’re able to make friends before the event and make the experience a bit more personal,” Domond said.
Thrills users can create their own profiles where their current and past events will be displayed.
Because of this feature, Domond describes the app as a “crossroads” between a social media and event platform.
Securing Thrills
For privacy reasons, users can choose to make their event public, private, or exclusive.
“If you don’t want everybody to try and join your venue, you’d make it private and so nobody would be able to see it except you and the people you invited. Exclusive means that people can see it, but they have to request to join so you’re able to filter this flow of people in and out your event,” he said.
In addition to the event settings, Thrills also ensures that accounts are verified and linked to real emails for security purposes. As of now, only people above the age of 16 will be allowed to use the app.
The app will only disclose the location of the event once a user joins.
Thrills has been designed to be compatible with both iOS and Android.
What’s next?
The team is now working on adding a feature that allows users to post content from the events they attend on the app, similar to what they’d create for an Instagram reel or TikTok video.
“This platform allows you to just go on there and create anything on the spot, or join anything on the spot. That’s where the beauty of Thrills really is,” Domond said.