Airbnb Meets Uber For Partying: Zoola Fix Wants To Help People Have Better Nights Out In London
Zoola Fix comes to London on December 18 and works by users paying for nights out with Fixers as part of a community marketplace. Users can choose between Fixers who specialise in the likes of "exclusive members clubs", the LGBT scene, or "underground" events and venues.
It operates in 3 steps: Find a Fixer; Book them; Party on until the early morn. Anyone can apply to lead the nights out, though Zoola Fix explains that its operators go through a vetting process and must meet the company's standards.
It's the work of Richard Walker-Smith, who claims to have brought the "wildly popular" fish pedicure craze to the UK in 2010. You know the one: Put your feet in a tank full of hungry fish and let them nibble the dead skin cells from your tired toes.
Zoola Fix, right now, is in London and New York exclusively - but Walker-Smith has bold plans for his startup and, when the app is developed, wants to establish it as the go-to resource for people new to the city, tourists, or just those who are a bit stuck for ideas.
He told Business Insider: "Our Fixers will recreate the excitement of guests' first night out - this is an entirely new business concept and things that haven't been done before."
"Nights are going to be full throttle," Walker-Smith continues. "No holds barred affairs. Things that can normally detract from a night out are all taken care of to make them more enjoyable, so there's no getting turned away from clubs and Fixer will queue for drinks, check coats in and arrange taxis on their guests' behalf. Essentially, you party like a rock star!"
Walker-Smith explains he knows "all the right people and all the right places," so has always got the "go-to guy for a kick ass night out". He says he knows the best nightlife in the city - from private members' clubs to wild warehouse raves.
He also mentions that nightcrawlers will also benefit from the company: "Fixers aren't innocent bystanders, they're in the club until the lights come on and they're not satisfied until they've found an after party.The fourth round of tequilas will be their idea, going to three clubs instead of one will be their idea and, of course, the after party will be their idea."
Walker-Smith's network is still being built, but Zoola Fix is out in time for Christmas and New Year's Eve, the perfect time to launch a party business and future app.
The app will bring together "thousands" of party enthusiasts and organisers, and allow people to rate their Fixers - it works on a peer-to-peer basis, just like Uber, or Airbnb.
Walker-Smith tells Business Insider: "I've thrown Project X-inspired mansion parties and organised debaucherous bashes for the likes of Cirque du Soleil. But for me, nothing will beat this for fun-factor. I'm going to be a Fixer myself and can't wait to meet new people from around the world, show them my favourite haunts and get paid to party - it doesn't get much better than that!"