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I made an app to find great food trucks near you
- hindsightbias 4y agoI’d like a food truck app with only one feature: average service time. I dont care what the food tastes like, I just want it in 5 minutes or less. FT’s just do not scale.
- sokoloff 4y agoI like the idea. > Remember when you're sharing the domain that there are three Zs! Oh man, that’s going to be some trouble I think…
- nate_rw 4y agoThanks for the comment, and that's a good point! Branding is something I might have to do some experimenting with...
- Urgo 4y agoHow would you say your app will stand out from Street Food Finder? https://streetfoodfinder.com/ https://streetfoodfinder.com/ https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.streetfoodfinder.streetfoodfinderapp https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.streetfood...
- nate_rw 4y agoGreat question! My goal with Sizzzle is to build a more social, user-friendly platform, rather than simply a tool to find food trucks. Sizzzle will ask users to review food trucks, and unlike Street Food Finder and other alternatives, Sizzzle will present vendors from an algorithm, rather than an arbitrary ranking. The app will also provide users with personalized recommendations.
- memco 4y ago> Sizzzle will present vendors from an algorithm, rather than an arbitrary ranking. How will you distinguish this for your users and allow their input to affect the algorithm? I have a hard time distinguishing between “arbitrary ranking” and “algorith”m because I have no control over them in almost every case.
- nate_rw 4y agoRight, I totally understand that. Users will be able to set their preferences (Mexican, Acai, etc) and show interest in vendors by saving their profiles and writing positive reviews. Recommendations will mostly be based on these data points - specified preferences and demonstrated interest. In most cases, the algorithm will be similarity-based (comparing trends between users). In searches, users will be able to choose the method through which vendors are sorted (location, rating, etc), and there will be a separate section on the homepage for food trucks recommended by our algorithm. I will note as well that we do not look at nor share any information regarding individual users or even trends, aside from simple view/visit metrics.
- oliv__ 4y agoI'd definitely use this if it were live. Don't know that I'd download an app for the service though, I'd much prefer a web interface.
- nate_rw 4y agoThanks for the suggestion! I'm working on building a web interface, and I expect to release it soon after the app.
- gunapologist99 4y agoThis looks great! Could you make it a web app? I don't want to install apps on my phone for security/privacy reasons. Since your domain has an extra (and a little hard-to-see) Z in it, you have to find some way to make people very aware of that. Perhaps you could make your logo that makes the middle z capitalized and in a contrasting color (I had to do italics here instead): sizzzle.app vs sizZzle.app vs sizZzle.app Or just pick a different name if you're not already all-in on this one, especially since it's not a .com.. for example, zizzle.app seems to be available, but always check USPTO's TESS to make sure you're not stepping on a federally registered trademark, too. Here was a quickie logo I made using https://www.adobe.com/express/create/logo https://www.adobe.com/express/create/logo: https://www.imgpaste.net/image/KvJX64 https://www.imgpaste.net/image/KvJX64
- nate_rw 4y agoThanks for the comment! I have a web version in production, and I expect to release it shortly after the mobile app. I'll admit that the extra z is a challenge for users; branding is something that I'll need to evaluate.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoMaybe pronounce it Sizzizzle or make the lazy sleeping snoring ‘zzz’ sound in Sizzzle?
- vmception 4y agoOr just sizzleapp.com and im usually the last person to suggest a .com is relevant I’ve built high revenue moderate traffic businesses on any tld But I can recognize that its not 2012 anymore and mispelled startup names are not in vogue, while normal names + app suffixes are
- FinnKuhn 4y agoI think someone already got that domain...
- mensetmanusman 4y ago
- notdang 4y agoTried to use the app but the only thing I see is a Google form. So cannot give my opinion on it. I went through the FAQ and could not find aanything about where this will be available available. Is it US only?
- captn3m0 4y agoA friend’s similar project using crowd-sourced information for Bangalore: https://karthikb351.github.io/notonzomato.in/ https://karthikb351.github.io/notonzomato.in/
- nate_rw 4y agoVery cool!
- superkuh 4y agoWhat would be really useful to me is the ability to sort by if the food truck accepts cash. Over the last handful of years I've noticed that many food trucks have stopped even taking orders unless you can prove a corporation will pay for you by swiping/etc a payment card.
- vmception 4y agoYou really want that? I love that every tiny operation accepts credit cards and apple pay now. > unless you can prove a corporation will pay for you by swiping your payment card and I don't want the state’s unsanitary and cocaine-laced notes for payment. see we can frame all options any way we want
- superkuh 4y agoOh, sure. Accepting credit cards is great. But only accepting credit cards is literal evil and against the law in the USA. To get around this they make you swipe the card to be able to order. That way there is no debt you can chose to pay in cash. It's obviously a loophole in the current laws. Some large cities have local regulations to prevent this evil. They started doing this long before the pandemic. It's not about that.
- vmception 4y agoRetailer payment method acceptance is regulated at the municipal and state level. There is no federal or constitutional requirement to take cash or retain the option of cash payment. So for the loophole experience, I would need you to show if thats a viable loophole in the areas where cash payment is mandated
- Fernicia 4y agoIf you want to not appear unhinged, I recommend avoiding calling obviously innocuous things evil unless you've already given your reasons for doing so. There are very real risks a food truck faces in accepting cash: fomite diseases, counterfits, armed robbery. I'm guessing you're fine enforcing the truck owners bear these risks.
- productceo 4y agoCongrats on launching! What was your tech stack? From app development to getting food truck data, what did you find difficult?
- nate_rw 4y agoGreat questions! My tech stack is a bit unconventional. For example, my primary db is Baserow - basically an open-source Airtable. The app was written with a combination of Swift and Objective-C, so iOS native, though I also plan to release an Android version. For the UI, I prototyped in Figma and storyboarded it (not a huge fan of writing interfaces). Probably one of the biggest challenges has been collecting enough data so that users in most locations can log on and see food trucks near them.
- productceo 4y agoInteresting! Haven't heard of Baserow, but will check it out. Yeah, can't imagine how you'd bootstrap data like this. Definitely sounds like it'll be the core competency that will set you defensible against late followers. Good luck!
- andybak 4y agoIf it's US-only (as I presume it is) then it's be worth mentioning that a bit more prominently. Us Brits are used to disappointment but it's mildly annoying to have to install something to find out what countries it's usable in.
- nate_rw 4y agoThat's a good point, and I will clarify our locations on the website. While Sizzzle is based in the US and most of our food trucks are in North America, my goal is to grow our selection so people from anywhere can see vendors near them. If you live in London, there are over 60 vendors on Sizzzle, and I'm working hard to expand across the UK.
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- oneeyedpigeon 4y agoAgreed. I frequently get burned by that, so it's now the first thing I try to find out. And I would definitely expect it to be answered by the FAQ.
- nate_rw 4y agoJust updated the website. You can now find supported locations on our FAQ!
- ytdytvhxgydvhh 4y agoI might not be the target audience because I don’t know under what circumstances one would search for a food truck rather than food in general. If I want, say, a burrito, I don’t care if it comes from a truck or a takeout window or traditional restaurant, etc. I just want a good burrito! I’m curious - do food trucks have (real or perceived) association with quality or speed or cost or something else that makes people think “I’m not sure what I want to eat, let me see what food trucks are nearby”?
- nate_rw 4y agoThat's an interesting point. There are many people who feel more inclined to eat at food trucks than traditional restaurants, and here are a few reasons why: - Price: Food trucks are cheaper (startup costs are much cheaper than for B&M). - Convenience: Food trucks are often faster. In areas where there are fewer restaurants, and in food deserts, mobile businesses are sometimes the only good ones around. - Pop Culture: In the past few years, food trucks have become more and more ingrained in our culture, and they have developed dedicated followings of repeat customers. It's cool to eat at food trucks, especially in areas where there are many! There are people who have specific food trucks they love - it's the same idea as having a favorite restaurant - except they want to know where their favorite trucks will be next. There are people who prefer specific food trucks over local restaurants. So yes, there are a lot of perceived benefits. This article has more reasons: https://prestigefoodtrucks.com/2016/01/8-reasons-why-food-trucks-are-better-than-a-sit-down-restaurant-january-2016-blog-post/ https://prestigefoodtrucks.com/2016/01/8-reasons-why-food-tr...
- HWR_14 4y agoI don't feel that food trucks are often cheaper than B&M. In fact, my biggest reason for not going to them is that are often as expensive, but without the ability to sit down at table. And the food is frequently worse. I mean, yeah it's better than Burger King.
- coastflow 4y agoFood trucks can plausibly provide healthier options for food than in convenience stores, which often only sell junk food, according to a research paper that is a literature review [0]. This is especially true for low-income areas where there are fewer supermarkets (which sell fruits and vegetables) as due to the "risk of crime and theft, and [lack of] land for parking." However, the author writes that this hypothesis is not yet conclusive due to a lack of published studies. Anecdotally, on university campuses, food trucks were the main option for food due to a lack of supermarkets and restaurants nearby. An app specialized for food trucks could also fix the problem where the availability and opening hours of food trucks are less known, especially for certain trucks that occasionally switch locations, are absent on certain days, or change their hours (making them hard to track via an entry on Google Maps). In short, food trucks could plausibly be seen as a step up for finding fresh food instead of defaulting to a convenience store that may typically just serve junk food, in areas where there are no restaurants or supermarkets. [0] Journal of Public Health Policy, 2021: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7874560/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7874560/
- clove 4y agoDoesn't work for me here in Fukui, Japan.