We got an early look at the messaging app Khloe Kardashian is working on that takes the hassle out of planning a night out
The app used to be called Regroupd, but that name has changed in the past few months to "Begroupd," and Business Insider got an exclusive first look at the app, which launches later today for iPhone.
"The main problem the app really solves is that it streamlines the decision-making process," Begroupd founder Lindsey Cummins told Business Insider. "Because right now, while group chat does solve one problem, it creates another, where making plans and decisions and just getting what you're after is nearly impossible. And that's what Begroupd does for you, it simplifies that."
Cummins and Kardashian are betting that enough people are annoyed with the current system of texting, calling, and circling back to confirm plans that they'll jump ship for Begroupd, with introduces a host of social polling features to streamline the planning process.
Cummins, who first thought up the idea for Begroupd shortly after graduating from Cornell, still gets cagey when asked how she and Kardashian first met and connected, saying "she can't get into the specifics of that." But Kardashian says Cummins approached her with the idea for Begroupd, and since then Kardashian has teased and promoted the app on her Instagram.
Begroupd looks a lot like a traditional messaging app like iMessage or WhatsApp, but there's an entire section of the app devoted to decision-making tools.
In a few seconds, you can conduct a poll, ask a simple Yes/No question, seek a star rating on a photo, or send out RSVPs for events that will automatically sync with your calendar. The creator of the poll can also decide whether or not to make the responses public or private.
By offering these polling features within the app, Cummins and Kardashian want to allow people to send out feelers to their friends, receive feedback, and nail down plans all without leaving their app.
"The beauty of the app is that it's totally customizable, you can use it however you want," Cummins said. "You can do any combination of photos and text. You could do a yes/no for something as simple as 'Are you going out tonight?' or 'Should I buy this pair of shoes?' and put a photo in. The RSVP feature is more for planning meetings with people, planning birthday parties, planning get-togethers where you're sending multiple people and you want it to actually go into your calendar with a specific time."
While you can send out these polls to a specific friend or create a group chat and poll them all at once, Begroupd also saves any poll you create and you can recycle and send them to others at a later time.
Kardashian fans will also be happy to know that Khloe and the Begroupd team also have access to a "blast" feature of sorts that allows them to send a one-way message or poll to the app's users. This allows them to get feedback from fans without having to worry about people spamming them with thousands of messages - users can only respond to the poll, but they can't message back.
While it could be easy to dismiss Begroupd as yet another celebrity app, the core utility that the app offers is useful, and it further highlights that you can't do everything you'd like to do on your iPhone's native messaging app.
You can download Begroupd for iPhone starting later today over at the App Store.