Recently we had an opportunity to speak with Iuliia Grebeshok, the CEO, co-founder at Smappy Inc. about Smappy

Please share with us the backstory of what motivated you to create this app.

Anastasia Vartanyan (CMO) and I studied on one program. In 2018 Christmas time we had our lunch and were discussing the problem of choosing gifts. It appeared as a paradox: a vast presence of online gift stores seemed to eliminate that hustle around gift shopping, however, it aggravated it a lot with an extra supply.

What features do you hope to roll out to your app in the future?

It will be a surprise, but one cool feature may be revealed - smart wish lists! They will be generated automatically according to interests and personality.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of the creation of this app?

Certainly first users and a collaboration with Jen from JGGiftGuide.

What is the coolest or most innovative feature of your app?

InspireMe algorithm! It matches the gift appearance with the gift receiver's personality in seconds. Also, in InspireMe section one can create a separate profile for every gift receiver and with just two taps modify it for different occasions!

What surprised you most in your journey to create this app?

The closeness of gift stores while inviting to join Smappy. Even with a free presence on a platform, gift stores were in no hurry to join. Therefore, we tested many strategies to attract them.

Which other mobile apps or technology have inspired you?

Spotify's recommending algorithm inspired us a lot and helped to revise the attitude to gifts as a separate substance.

Do you have any recommendations or advice for others wanting to create a mobile app?

Always think about your customer first =)

How did you decide which platforms to release your app on and do you plan on releasing your app to other platforms?

We released our app on the App Store first as this platform was more familiar than Google Play to us. Our team plans to launch a web app too.

How is your app different than the rest of the market? Which unique need does it fill?

First of all, Smappy doesn't create any extra supply, it works with gifts that are already presented on the market. The app filters them in accordance with a holiday, giftee's budget, gift receiver's interests and personality. A user can enter all parameters in the search manually or get quick recommendations from our specially developed algorithm InspireMe.

Moreover, our team regularly creates an interesting weekly gift selection, sometimes in this app section there are selections from influencers who definitely know the latest gift trends.

You can view Smappy here