Ever since it’s launch in January this year, Dubl’up, the lifestyle app created by three young Goan guys has steadily been gaining popularity across the state
We live in a time where much of our lives is run through the aid of a phone app. Need to get in touch with someone, there's tons of apps that offer their own unique ways to help you do so. Looking to get out there and date? There's an app to help you find the ideal partner. Looking for a new place to eat out. There's an app for that. And not just that. Realising the huge compeitition in this segment most of these apps give out some attractive offers to help draw you in.
And it was about time that a Goa centric app to help you out with your many lifestyle needs whether shopping, spas, hotel stays, new restaurant options etc, came into the horizon.
Dubl'up, created by Robin, Roger and Richard Menezes and launched in January 2017 is just that app. The app is owned and operated by Menezes Services L.L.P the parent company with all three all as company directors.
"The idea for Dubl'up was born because we wanted to make going out more affordable for locals and holidays to Goa more cost effective for tourists. We created a simple platform - Dubl'up and brought together the outlets from various sectors. Through the app, not only can customers be exposed to the options at their disposal, but it also acts as a marketing platform for the outlets. There are many apps and sites that offer discounts however we thought why not have an exclusive app offering only B1G1 free offers from various categories across Goa and let the Goans experience this and benefit from the offers," says Robin Menezes, who is a Petroleum Engineer, with an MSC is Applied Earth Sciences from Delft University - Netherlands . Robin heads the Business and Operations for Dubl'up India. Roger Menezes on the other hand has an MBA in Hospitality & Business Management from Switzerland. With close to 10 years of experience in the field of business development, customer service, marketing and business management, he has worked with multi national companies across the Middle East. The third member Richard Menezes- qualified as a Petroleum Engineer from MIT Pune and has been working with one of the top international oil and gas companies for the last 10 years.
Dubl'up offers users Buy One Get One Free offers across various categories. It helps users dine out, avail of hotel stays and leisure activities in a smarter, simpler way by providing double the value at the cost of a once-a-year fee.
Through the app, users can locate restaurants according to the distance from their current location as well as narrow down their options using multiple filters - fine dining, takeaway, pub/bistro, café, lounge, live music and more. It exposes users to restaurants they may not have considered dining at, leading to more restaurant discoveries. Redemption of offers happens at the touch of a button through unique pin codes created by users and restaurant representatives.
However, even though e-commerce has picked up in a big way in the state, there is a sense that these kind of apps are more popular in larger metro cities and in Goa people are still used to traditional methods. And the founders admit that at first the going was hard.
" We did face issues at the beginning in terms of app downloads and publicity as this kind of a business requires massive marketing budgets to reach to the mass audience. Nevertheless, we are slowly but steadily picking up pace across Goa. If people from other states can use it then why not Goans!," says Robin.
And they certainly have been gaining publicity for sure. Since it's launch, the app has partnered with more than 100 vendor restaurants, hotels, spas, salons, gyms and businesses offering over 400 buy 1 get 1 free offers to customers across Goa. "Having received the Chief Ministers Start Up challenge participation has also boosted the use of the app. Appreciation has motivated us further to continue working towards our aim of getting Dubl'up to as many cities as possible across Goa. Dubl'up has also won the FB Bootstrap Start Up program where by FB has allocated a few marketing dollars to help market the App online via FB," says Robin, adding that their primary target audience are the students from various colleges as this helps them explore outlets at a more affordable price by offering B1G1 Free incentives.
And there is no stopping the growth of the app. "Dubl'up has already commenced operations in Belgaum and Pune and looks forward to going live in more cities in the near future," says Robin.
