Press kit
Mood-based local discovery for New York City.
Currently in public testing, and looking for tech writers, bloggers, and early reviewers.
The one-liner
“Moodap is a free, mood-based discovery platform that matches people to the right NYC venue from eight quick questions, across 26,228 restaurants, bars, cafes, entertainment venues, activities, and wellness spots in 45 Manhattan neighborhoods.”
Use this as your lede. Copy-paste friendly.
Inside the platform
26,228 venues. One quiz.
Platform data
Scale and traction
Scale, live
- Active venues listed
- 26,228
- Manhattan neighborhoods
- 45
- Quiz questions
- 8
- Cost to users and businesses
- $0
Growth, organic
Zero advertising spend. Zero funding. Still in testing mode. Figures as reported in April 2026.
- Google search impressions
- 329K
- First 60 days
- Organic clicks from Google
- 2,250+
- First 60 days
- Total page views
- 127K+
- All time
- Verified human visitors
- 4,068
- Interacted with a page
- Average time on page
- 58s
- Average session duration
- 1m 13s
- Total marketing spend
- $0
The story
Built to answer “where should we go?”
Every night in New York City, millions of people ask the same question: “Where should we go?”
The answer usually takes a long scroll through old Yelp reviews, Google Maps rabbit holes, and group chat debates that end with “I don't care, you pick.”
Moodap replaces that with eight questions. Tell us your mood, your timing, and your vibe, and we match you to the right place from 26,228 venues across 45 Manhattan neighborhoods.
No accounts. No downloads. No algorithms selling ad placement. Every business on Moodap is listed for free. Rankings are editorial, not paid. The platform is supported by local business advertising, not pay-to-play.
There were three plans. The enterprise version: $250K, 9 developers, 18 weeks. The lean version: $100K, a CTO, a senior dev, 9 AI agents, 15 weeks. What actually happened: a solo founder with 25 years of SEO experience built the entire platform using Claude by Anthropic as a development partner. One person and one AI, in about 60 days, for under $600.
“We didn't build another review site. We built the thing that replaces the endless scroll. You tell us your mood. We tell you where to go.”
“Every business is listed for free. Every ranking is editorial. We make money from advertising, not from charging businesses to exist. That's the difference.”
Competitive landscape
How people discover places today
| Feature | Yelp | Google Maps | TripAdvisor | Moodap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery method | Read reviews | Browse list | Read reviews | Mood match quiz |
| Personalization | None | Location only | None | 8 dimensions |
| Time-aware | No | Hours only | No | Full (gates results) |
| Account required | Yes (to act) | Yes (signed in) | Yes (to act) | No |
| Free for businesses | No (ads pushed) | Yes | No (ads pushed) | Yes, fully free |
| Pay-to-rank | Yes | Yes (ads) | Yes | No, editorial only |
| Review location signal | Platform signals | Self-reported | Self-reported | Browser coordinates submitted and distance-checked |
How most platforms make money
Most platforms make money by selling placement to businesses. Yelp charges businesses to remove competitor ads from their own listing page. Google puts paid ads above organic results. Moodap has no pay-to-rank: every recommendation is editorial, and advertising is labelled.
The product
How the Mood Match quiz works
Where
Choose a neighborhood, use your location, or explore all of Manhattan.
When
Time of day decides which categories and types appear.
What
Drinks, food, both, a cafe, a show, an activity, or fresh air.
Type
Cocktail bars, pizza, live music, museums, and more.
Setting
Indoor, outdoor, or either.
Who
Solo, a date or duo, a small group, or a large group.
Crowd
Packed, moderate, intimate, or no preference.
Budget
From $ street food to $$$$ fine dining.
Positioning
What makes Moodap different
Mood-based, not review-based
Instead of reading 200 reviews to guess if a place fits, answer 8 questions and get matched. The quiz considers time of day, group, budget, neighborhood, and indoor or outdoor preference.
No pay-to-play
Every venue is listed for free. Rankings are editorial. Businesses don’t pay to appear higher. Revenue comes from clearly labelled advertising, not from charging businesses to exist on the platform.
Low friction
No account required. No app download. Works in any browser and can be added to a home screen. Designed for the moment you’re on a street corner asking “where should we go?”
Time-aware
Moodap knows it’s 10 PM on a Friday and won’t suggest a breakfast spot. Categories and recommendations adapt to the time of day, and the site follows a shared night palette from 8 PM to 6 AM New York time.
Video reviews with location signals
The review form requests browser coordinates and compares the submitted values with venue coordinates. This does not independently verify identity or prove physical presence.
Free business profiles
Venue owners claim their profile for free. Update information, add photos and menus, and see analytics. No subscription and no premium tier required to manage a listing.
Technical overview
Stack and features
Stack
- Next.js App Router with server-side rendering
- Supabase PostgreSQL database
- Deployed on Vercel
- Works in the browser and installs to a home screen, no app store
- Built with Claude by Anthropic as development and enrichment partner
- Foursquare Places API for venue data ingestion
- Browser geolocation for review location signals
Key features
- 8-step mood-based matching
- Time-of-day aware results and a shared site-wide night palette
- Weighted rotation prevents repetitive results
- Editorial ranking with deduplication
- Video reviews with submitted location signals
- Shareable itinerary builder
- Business claim and profile management
- Admin analytics dashboard
Timeline
Milestones
February 2026
Moodap launches in testing mode with 16,000+ venues across Manhattan. Core quiz engine, venue profiles, and admin dashboard go live.
March 2026
Database grows to 21,000+ venues. Business claim system launches. Video review submissions with location signals go live. Itinerary builder ships.
April 2026
Passes 329K Google search impressions organically. 4,000+ verified human visitors. Quiz discovery funnel launches on venue pages. Press kit published.
Next
Public launch (testing banner removed). Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island expansion. National rollout to 150+ cities.
For writers
Story angles
The anti-Yelp
How a solo founder with 25 years of SEO experience and Claude as a dev partner built a mood-based alternative to review sites, with zero funding, zero marketing spend, and 329K Google impressions in 60 days.
Decision paralysis
Why choosing a restaurant in NYC takes so long, and how eight questions and a matching engine shorten it.
The no pay-to-play platform
Yelp charges businesses to manage their own listings. Moodap lists every venue for free and ranks editorially, and plans to make money from local advertising.
SEO as a product launch
329K impressions and 2,250+ clicks in 60 days with $0 ad spend. How Moodap used its venue profile pages as an organic growth strategy while still in testing mode.
Location signals in video reviews
How Moodap collects browser-provided coordinates and compares them with venue coordinates during video review submission.
Solo founder, 26,228 venues, zero funding
The bootstrapped story of building a platform that covers the restaurants, bars, cafes, and entertainment venues of Manhattan, without a team, investors, or a launch.
The night-mode discovery app
Moodap switches its full site to a darker palette overnight, while its recommendations still account for local time. Why time-of-day awareness matters for local discovery.
Brand assets
Primary logo, app icon, and colours
Brand colours
- #2563EBPrimary, Blue 600
- #1D4ED8Primary dark, Blue 700
- #0F766EAccent, Teal 700
- #0F172AInk, Slate 900
- #FBF7F0Sand
Press FAQ
Quick answers for writers
- Is Moodap free?
- Yes. Free for users, free for businesses. No pay-to-rank. Revenue comes from local and corporate advertising, plus optional visitor passes.
- How does the mood matching work?
- Users answer 8 questions: neighborhood, timing, category, type, setting, group, crowd, and budget. Moodap compares those answers with 26,228 active venues, checks opening hours, and returns weighted, deduplicated results.
- How is Moodap different from Yelp?
- Yelp is review-based and charges businesses. Moodap is mood-based and free for everyone. Instead of reading reviews, you answer 8 questions and get matched. Rankings are editorial, not paid.
- How many venues does Moodap have?
- Moodap currently lists 26,228 active venues across 45 Manhattan neighborhoods, spanning restaurants, bars, cafes, entertainment, activities, and wellness.
- Why testing mode?
- We’re building in public. The testing banner signals that we’re actively improving and value user feedback. The product is fully functional; the banner comes off when we’re ready for a formal public launch.
- How is Moodap funded?
- It’s not. Zero outside funding. Built and funded entirely by the founder. The revenue model is local and corporate advertising alongside venue pages and quiz results.
- What’s the expansion plan?
- Manhattan first (live now with 26,228 venues). Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island next. Then national expansion to 150+ cities.
- Can I try it right now?
- Yes. Go to moodap.com and choose "Take the quiz", or visit moodap.com/try-moodap directly. No account or download needed.
- Can I interview the founder?
- Yes. Email hi@moodap.com with your outlet and topic.
The vision
Where Moodap is headed
Geographic expansion
- Now
Manhattan
26,228 venues across 45 neighborhoods
- Next
All five NYC boroughs
Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island
- Then
150+ US cities
National rollout, every major metro
- Goal
Global
Every city, every neighborhood, every mood
Free services, built into the quiz
The plan is for the quiz to not only recommend a place, but get you there. Each service is planned to be free for users and free for businesses, with no commissions or markup.
Free reservations
Book a table directly from quiz results. No per-cover charges to the restaurant.
Free food ordering
Order from the restaurant the quiz matched you to, without a 30% commission. The restaurant keeps the full price.
Free ticket booking
Comedy, live music, and events at face value from quiz results. No convenience fees.
Fair Fare rides
Get a ride to your matched venue from within the quiz. Fair pricing, no surge.
Free booking
Wellness, spas, and fitness booked directly from results. No platform fees for the business and no markup for the user.
The full loop
One quiz. Find your place, book it, get there, order, pay, and review, all inside Moodap.
“We're tired of 50% fees standing between users and businesses, and of surge pricing that punishes people for needing a ride when it's raining. We think platform fees are a dying breed, like paying for data and minutes on cell phones in the early 2000s. Everyone accepted it because there was no alternative. We're building the alternative. Advertising funds the platform, and every service is free. That's the model.”
How it makes money
Local business ads
One clearly labelled sponsored slot on quiz results, targeted by neighborhood and category. The business pays for visibility, not for a higher ranking.
Corporate partnerships
National brands reaching people with real-time, local intent, in labelled placements.
That’s it
No subscription tiers for users. No premium listings. No transaction fees. No data selling.
A Friday night on Moodap
Imagine this
5:30 PM
You open Moodap
It’s Friday and you don’t have a plan. You take the quiz, eight questions, and Moodap matches you to a dinner spot in the West Village that fits your mood, your group, and your budget. Or you build a full plan: dinner, a show, drinks after.
6:00 PM
You book tickets
Your plan includes a concert at Madison Square Garden. You buy tickets inside Moodap at face value, with no surprise fees at checkout.
6:15 PM
You get a Fair Fare ride
Every rideshare app is surging. Inside Moodap, one tap gets a fairly priced ride to dinner.
7:00 PM
You arrive at dinner
Your reservation was booked inside the app for free, with no per-cover fee charged to the restaurant. It’s exactly what you were in the mood for.
8:45 PM
You submit a video review
The review form requests browser-provided coordinates and checks their distance from the venue coordinates. This is a location signal, not identity verification or proof of a visit.
9:00 PM
Ready for the next stop?
The show starts at 9:30. Moodap asks if you’re ready for the next step of your plan. One button, one fair ride to the Garden.
9:30 PM
The show
Tickets at face value. Maybe you’re part of the Moodap VIP program, with early access and perks.
11:30 PM
Drinks after
The show is over and your plan has a cocktail bar in Chelsea. One button, one fair ride, no surge because 20,000 people just left the same venue.
1:00 AM
You go home
One more fair ride. The whole night lived inside one platform. Every recommendation was personal, and no one paid hidden fees.
“This is our vision. All of it will take a lot of work. But every piece is intentional, every service is free, and the whole experience lives inside one platform. We're building the way people experience their city.”
Media contact
For press inquiries, early access, interviews, or additional data, email hi@moodap.com.
Try it yourself
The best way to understand Moodap is to use it. Eight questions, no account, no download.
Take the Mood Match quiz