Ballers out: An Ecuadorian network to create experiences

The Ballers Out mobile application, which was presented a couple of months ago in Guayaquil, was designed to encourage people to create experiences in places in the city such as bars, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. The application is available on the App Store and Google Play, where you will find discounts and at the same time you can contribute to the reactivation of this sector that has been one of the most affected by the pandemic.

It is the first and only app in the gastronomic and entertainment sector that allows users to have access to exclusive offers in the best establishments in the city.

In a conversation with its creators, we were able to talk about some of the most important topics of this new app that has entered the Top 8 of the best startups in Ecuador at the Ekos Digital Summit.

What is the differentiating element of Ballers Out compared to other apps on the market?

Each and every one of the elements that make up the Ballers Out app are an important differentiator, since we are the first app with this model in all of Ecuador and I would dare to say in all of LATAM, that we have the philosophy and objective of promote the creation of experiences in the real world. Ballers Out is the first Ecuadorian social network, in which we allow people to know the best experiences, the best plans that they can find in the city. While other apps measure their success by the amount of time within the app, we measure our success by the quantity and quality of user-created experiences. When you want to watch movies you go to Netflix, when you want to see news you go to Twitter, when you want to see the photos of your friends you go to Instagram, but when you want to check what is good in the city or what plan to do with friends / family, that is BallersOut . We are like delivery companies but in reverse, while delivery wants you to stay at home, we encourage people to return to the establishment to share with loved ones.

With the app you can access more than $ 400 a month in exclusive benefits and savings in the best establishments in the city of Guayaquil.

Where did the idea come from? How long did it take to develop?

The idea was born during our university stage in the United States. After a long day of study and exams, my brother Juan Manuel and I decided to go out that night to share with our friends and have a good time. But at the moment of concretizing the best plan, we could not do it. Since we didn’t know what to do, we didn’t know where to go and we already wanted a new plan. That was the first barrier we identified, which was the lack of information. Hence, by not having quick access to information, we also wanted to take care of our pocket, since like all university students we always seek to save, so the second barrier was excessive spending at each outing. And, finally, already in the creation of the app, a big problem appeared which was the pandemic (COVID 19) which affected in a very negative way the establishments of the gastronomic and entertainment sector, for which, together with me brother Juan Manuel, we saw the way that, through the app, help them to reactivate again.

For this reason, we decided to create the Ballers Out app, which basically solves these and many more problems that society as a whole faces when going out to create experience and have a good time. It took us 2 years in the entire development process, from concept creation to app design.

How many users do you have so far and what is your growth expectation?

We have 4 months since we launched the app and we already have more than 2000 downloads and more than 1000 active users so far. And this amount continues to grow day by day, for all the people who continue to join this movement, becoming Ballers. We have very high and positive expectations, since in this little time we have, we have received massive support from all the people and different media, like you, who have supported and shared the vision of Ballers Out. All I can tell you is that this is only the beginning.

How many stores are affiliated with the app?

At the moment we have more than 30 affiliated establishments. And the best thing is that this amount continues to grow, since we are always working every day to find more experiences and first-class plans, thus always providing the best to our users. Within Ballers Out you will be able to different types of experiences in the best restaurants, cafes, bars, ice cream parlors, city tours. For example, we have experiences of wine tastings in a vineyard, private flights over the city of Guayaquil and many more! And the best they are with some crazy super promos.

In which cities are they operating and what are their expansion plans?

At this moment we have started with the cities of Guayaquil and Samborondón. Our goal now is to be able to establish our first model very well in a very organized way where we can collect the full level of information so that little by little we can innovate and improve our product. But of course we do have the objective of expanding to Quito, Cuenca, Machala and other cities throughout the country. Our mission is to be able to offer this facility for creating experiences to all our Ecuadorian brothers. (I)