Our Journey
From a small idea to a growing food community — here's how Eatventure came to be.
September 9
Official kick-off. marked this as day one.
September 9
Official kick-off. marked this as day one.
November
Eatventure's first build hits the App Store (v0.5.0). No real restaurant data yet — the team used Menu Picker to get the AI pipeline working.
November
Eatventure's first build hits the App Store (v0.5.0). No real restaurant data yet — the team used Menu Picker to get the AI pipeline working.
January
Place Finder ships.
January
Place Finder ships.
March
v1.0.0 launches with both Menu Picker and Place Finder.
March
v1.0.0 launches with both Menu Picker and Place Finder.
May
AI starts summarizing restaurant info for quicker browsing.
May
AI starts summarizing restaurant info for quicker browsing.
June
Marks, the map home screen, and leaderboards go live — plus search and add-any-restaurant support.
June
Marks, the map home screen, and leaderboards go live — plus search and add-any-restaurant support.
July
AI quality-checks and translates user reviews.
July
AI quality-checks and translates user reviews.
August
A pivot: Menu Picker steps back, Feed and Lists take center stage. Lists ship.
August
A pivot: Menu Picker steps back, Feed and Lists take center stage. Lists ship.
September
First batch of Eatventure merch (notebooks!) arrives. Profile and list sharing go live, with the first web preview.
September
First batch of Eatventure merch (notebooks!) arrives. Profile and list sharing go live, with the first web preview.
October
Colleagues and friends join the first internal trial.
October
Colleagues and friends join the first internal trial.
November
First validation milestone: some testers kept marking restaurants for 3+ weeks straight. and join the team.
November
First validation milestone: some testers kept marking restaurants for 3+ weeks straight. and join the team.
December
Racing the holidays, , , and ship a key release, reworking the feed and home layout to encourage following and list-building.
December
Racing the holidays, , , and ship a key release, reworking the feed and home layout to encourage following and list-building.
March
The Chinese brand name and tagline are set: 朋友点评 — friends who've eaten there, recommend it.
March
The Chinese brand name and tagline are set: 朋友点评 — friends who've eaten there, recommend it.
May
The product's core directions take shape:
- Find & explore restaurants —
- Personal marks & foodprints —
- Friend interactions & trustworthy reviews —
- Lists —
- Map —
- Revisit —
- Serendipity — the product manager
- Campus community —
May
The product's core directions take shape:
- Find & explore restaurants —
- Personal marks & foodprints —
- Friend interactions & trustworthy reviews —
- Lists —
- Map —
- Revisit —
- Serendipity — the product manager
- Campus community —