This Charlotte-made app helps you make plans with your friends and launches Wednesday

Imagine Facebook or Twitter, but without the baby photos, political rants or GIFs — just you and your friends making plans for what to do that night.

That’s the idea behind Hopspot, a social media app from Charlotte-based Socialtopias, which will be be released July 13. Hopspot is Socialtopias’ first product, and it’s been a long time in the making.

Here’s how the app (available in the iTunes App Store and Google Play) works:

– You post one of seven social states: I’m here; On my way; Going; Looking to; Up for anything; Hosting; and Staying in.

– Your friends do the same, and you can tag “spots” — restaurants, bars, etc. — so people know where you are or are going.

– Then you make plans based on what you and your friends are doing.

– Through an integration with Uber, you can then schedule a ride to get you where you’re going.

– Eventually, businesses will have the chance to deliver events, offers and plans directly to users that they think will be interested, like a brewery connecting with people in South End who like craft beer.

I met with Colby Almond and Ben Van Houten, vice president of development and technology, to get a look at the new app. The two said the idea for the app came from founder Joshua Lineberger, who saw there wasn’t an app that bridged the gap between social media and hanging out with your friends in real life.

“Our main goal is to get people together in real life. Face to face,” said Almond, director of marketing.

It seems like a good idea, but I already have so many apps on my phone. Why should i used this one instead? I asked Almond.

“It will be so refreshing to see just the plans and not have to worry about, you know, texting or going to Facebook or going to Twitter to find out what people are doing that day or that weekend,” he said.

I downloaded the app over the weekend and it looked nice and was easy to use. But none of my friends are on it, so there’s only so much I can do. I guess that’s the ultimate test: Will enough of my friends start to use it to make it worthwhile?

Almond and Van Houten really want users to give them that kind of feedback. They said the company takes pride in being in Charlotte — Almond was born and raised here and Van Houten has been here for 15 years — and they really care about what Charlotteans think about Hopspot.

“The people of Charlotte are not afraid to tell us what they do and don’t like, so we’ve been to different festivals, showcasing the app, getting user feedback,” Almond said. “And people are very good about giving us input and we are very good about using that input to make the app better.”

The app has been a long time in the making. Lineberger patented the idea in 2011, according to this 2014 Charlotte Observer story, and Almond said the company was formed in 2012.

Socialtopias has 20 employees in two offices in the Charlotte Venture Center in South End, and it’s funded by a “significant investment” from SkyPoint Ventures (the Observer article said the company got $4.5 million from an unidentified angel investor). That same 2014 article also said the app was going to launch in December 2014.

“Initially we brought in a third-party development company to complete the app and unfortunately their work didn’t meet the expectation or requirement of Socialtopia, so that’s why we decided last year to bring everything in house and do it ourselves,” Almond said. “So we don’t like to focus on the past, we’re looking into the future and where the app’s going from there.”

Almond and Van Houten said SkyPoint loves the concept, which is why they’ve stuck with Socialtopias throughout.

“We’ve been supporters of Hopspot since the very beginning, investing millions of dollars, and only continue to be impressed by the team and excited with what they are bringing to users,” Bryce Moe, managing director at SkyPoint Ventures, said in a release.

Socialtopias will be celebrating the launch of Hopspot with a party 7-10 p.m. July 13 at Craft Tasting Room and Growler Shop. Hopspot will donate $5 to Hospitality House of Charlotte for each person that downloads the app and joins during the event, and there will be a limited edition “Hopspot flight” for $7.50.

Photos: Screenshots provided by Hopspot.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 1:02 AM with the headline "This Charlotte-made app helps you make plans with your friends and launches Wednesday."