Five years ago, when Miles “Deuce” McBride moved to New York as a 20-year-old rookie playing for the Knicks, he found the transition to a big city overwhelming and struggled to find the right audience.
“When I got up here, everyone on my team was married with kids or just single,” he told TechCrunch, reflecting on his initial feelings of loneliness as the youngest player on the team. “I wish there was a way to organically meet people who have the same interests. I feel like with social media, everyone is so superficial.”
Recognizing a common pain point for many in their twenties, McBride partnered with veteran startup founder Joe Einhorn to create Movean app that combines location tracking with social discovery features to help people find new friends based on shared interests, while also suggesting nearby bars, restaurants and other social hotspots.
Now available in beta for users in New York, the app diverges from traditional friendship platforms like Bumble BFF, instead competing more directly with apps like Snap Map and Find My. Instagram also recently entered the space with a new map feature. (The Mmotion beta will be limited to 1,000 members.)
Mmotion leverages geofencing and status tracking to track users’ movements, highlighting people with similar interests nearby. It also tracks where users go to recommend similar, worthwhile locations to explore. Additionally, users receive a private log of all their location history, acting like a personal timeline so they can easily refer back to all the spots they’ve explored.
To access Mmotion, users must apply for registration. Once accepted, they can enter their interests, join “Circles” or groups that interest them (such as those focused on hiking, watching basketball games, or visiting art galleries), and send friend requests to others nearby. The app also offers private messaging between users.
To prioritize user security, the app has encrypted location data that is only accessible to the user unless they choose to share it. Users are anonymous by default, which Mmotion refers to as “Vault Mode” and can be changed at any time.
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Additionally, if users prefer that only certain people in the app know their location, Mmotion offers a feature called “Personas”. This feature allows users to create up to three separate groups, allowing them to share more private locations, such as their home address, with a select group of people while maintaining a more public persona.
“So Miles might have done it [his “Deuce” Persona]which is something that is a little more curated, because he is a public figure. So it’s for all Knicks fans to see Miles go to places that are okay and the main people know. And then he might have one [Persona]for when he goes to a different city and wants to be really low-key,” Einhorn explained.
Standard security and moderation tools such as blocking and reporting also apply.
The app will work on a monthly subscription model for users. While exact pricing details weren’t revealed, Einhorn hinted that it will be affordable, stating, “It won’t be more than a cup of coffee a month. It won’t be anything crazy.”
Premium options that offer additional features may also be available. For example, the basic level only allows users to participate in five Circles per city at a time.
Another aspect of the app is its offering for local businesses. Featuring restaurants, bars, coffee shops, fitness studios and more on the map, Mmotion aims to promote small businesses while also providing them with insight into their customer base. The app aggregates data from various sources, including Google, OpenStreetMap and Apple Maps.
Mmotion’s long-term vision is to encourage businesses to subscribe to a subscription service that provides access to anonymous analytics. This service will help businesses target the right customers effectively.
In addition to subscription fees, the app will generate revenue through advertisements.
The launch marks McBride’s first time as a startup founder, placing him alongside other athletes who have gone into entrepreneurship. Einhorn, meanwhile, is best known as the founder and CEO of Fancy, a social e-commerce platform that rivaled Pinterest. He also launched a luxury goods startup last year called Long Story Short.
Mmotion plans a wider release in the near future once there is enough feedback from testers. It is currently available for download iOS and Android devices.
