When I was fifteen, sixteen, when I started really going out to eat, I definitely wanted to find the best places. It was almost impossible because, it was, the city was so big that I didn't know where to go. I would read the lists, the reviews, the stars. Everybody followed the same guides. And I thought... none of this feels right.

I remember, I used to open an app, and there were thousands of restaurants. All with numbers. All with stars. And they all looked the same. Five stars, four stars, three and a half. And the more I looked, the less I knew where to go.

And then I realized... the best places I ever went to, somebody told me about them. Not a website. Not a rating. A person. Someone who said, "Trust me, go here." And that was it. That was the whole thing.

And I remember, I wanted to build something with no stars. No ratings. No ads. People said, "You can't do that. You need a number. People need to compare." And I said, "No. That's the problem. The number is the problem."

I had this idea of a place. Not curated by algorithms. Not by crowds. Just by your friends. Because a recommendation only means something when it comes from someone you trust. That was the concept.

Once you free your mind about a concept of restaurants being correct and discovery being a number... you can do whatever you want. Nobody told me what to do. And there was no preconception of what to do.

And it was like, the first time I saw it working, somebody opened it and said, "This feels like how my friend recommends places." And I knew. That was the sound I was looking for.