We recently announced the exciting news that Whickr is now available to Android users, as well as iPhone. The fact that the app is now available on both devices is a monumental moment. To know that it is now accessible to such a large audience, and has so far been receiving such positive feedback, fills us with pride.
When such milestones are reached, we think it is important to take a moment and reflect on what has been achieved so far, when building a business there are not many opportunities to…well…breathe! Whickr has been a long time in the making and a heck of a lot of work has gone into it. A lot of Whickr users have been asking us the typical how, what why and whens, so as we take this short inhalation and take stock, we thought we would let people know some of the answers to these questions!
Making the first jump
Everyone has good ideas, the key is knowing when an idea is strong enough that it could take off and as importantly believing in your own passion and skills to make it work that is key! To provide a little background into how Whickr came to be, the idea of an app for browsing horses for sale first came to Brooke and myself back in January 2018.
Brooke and I have always had a passion for horses and therefore would talk frequently about how we could turn that passion into a viable business. We kept coming back to technology, we felt that in some areas technology had not been picked up in the horse community thus far, yes perhaps at the very top, but for the average horse owner, you would typically still find them posting ads to either buy or sell horses in the local paper, or on Facebook!
January 2018 was a snow filled month in the UK, and perhaps those snowed in days allowed us to take the time to filter through the good, bad and downright ugly ideas we had come up with over many months. Then Brooke finally said “Let’s build a Tinder for horses’’. Of course, we both had a chuckle, however the root of the idea was a good one, and we knew full well from having used the current marketplace options for buying and selling horses ourselves, that there was nothing that could currently provide this kind of service that combines clever technology with effortless usability. We agreed we would pursue this idea and make the dream a reality, and that was the first step on our journey to where Whickr is today.
Breaking into a canter
With the idea rooted in both of our minds, there was no escaping our desire to make it happen. As mentioned earlier, Brooke and I have a wealth of combined experience with horses, and in our professional lives we also have a solid knowledge of business, finance and investing – we both currently work for start-ups so we know what foundations are required to get an idea off the ground.
An aspect of setting up a business is knowing what skills you haven’t got however, and for us we were missing one crucial piece of the puzzle. We needed someone on board with experience in technology who could begin to turn our dreams into reality. This is where Leon comes in. Leon and I met where I still work now, at a successful online investment company. It was here my eyes were opened up to the wonders of technology and what it can do. Leon loved the idea of a Tinder for horses and was onboard straight away. It’s fair to say that without him, we would have a pale imitation of what we’ve built so far. He loved the concept and agreed to become our third co-founder and our very own tech wizard.
All legs off the ground
Our founding team formed, and with the additional help of some incredible people, in less than 2 years from the initial idea, we have developed and launched the Whickr app for both Android and iPhone users. This is where we are today, and we couldn’t be more grateful to all those who have worked on the idea, and of course all those who have begun using the app and spread the word to their friends and family. Thank you!
Back to the yard
Now we have the app available to the masses, we realise that our next step is to not stop! We must continue to build and develop what we have already achieved and ensure that the app provides people with what it is designed for. Simplicity and enjoyment in browsing horses. Now we have lots of people actively using the app, feedback has begun to pour in and we must thank everyone who have taken the time to provide it.
Any words of encouragement helps us to keep going and gives us that confidence that it is not just us who think Whickr is a great idea! We of course also get feedback on aspects people would like to see developed or changed on the app and that is of course also incredibly useful. We have taken the time to read everyone’s queries and suggestions so far, there are a few that keep popping up so we thought we would answer them for you today.
Why build a horse selling app and not a website?
There are already plenty of websites available for advertising horses for sale, or browsing for your next four-legged friend. A better question would be, why build another one?
Besides, due to the mass adoption of smartphones, nearly all of our daily needs and wants are delivered via an app. Whether it’s interacting with friends, banking, dating, takeaway, email, even finding out how to get to that yard in the middle of nowhere, everything is done through an app!
And there are plenty of useful horse apps already in existence, from apps that help riders learn dressage tests to apps that track your hacking route.
We decided there should be an app to help the experience of buying and selling horses.
Why would I advertise my horse for sale on an app?
At the moment it is free to advertise your horse for sale on Whickr. There’s little downside in giving it a try, apart from spending two minutes of your time to download the app and then advertise your horse for sale.
That aside, the app has been built with you in mind. The page to create your advert allows you to enter all key information with ease, upload photos and videos straight from your phone in an instant, and include as many links to your YouTube channel as you want.
If you’re in a hurry and can’t finish your advert, you can save it to drafts, and access it later through your profile.
Potential buyers of the horse advertised for sale who click on your name will get to visit your profile page, where they can learn more about you through your bio and profile picture.
More importantly, they’ll also be able to view other horses you have advertised for sale. If they aren’t quite sure on the horse they saw whilst browsing, another horse of yours may catch their eye!
Why should I browse horses for sale via the Whickr app?
Because the app has been built by equestrians who understand some of the pain points that come with the experience of buying horses.
Do you ever get tired of finding nice horses for sale to then realise they’re the other side of the country? We do, that’s why with our horse selling app you can sort by distance, so it’ll display horses for sale that are nearest to you first. You can even view the area using the maps functionality built into your phone.
We’ll never give out exact locations, but it’ll give you a good idea how long it will take to go and view your next potential horse.
There’s also in-app messaging, so you contact the seller straight away. You don’t need to save their number in your phone first and then decide whether to text, WhatsApp, or go crazy and actually speak to the seller of the horse on the phone. Simply tap ‘Message Seller’ and you’re off.
Even better, if you’re messaging a seller and you want to see more horses they have for sale, by clicking on their name you can visit their profile where it’ll show the complete list of horses they have advertised for sale.
The final reason why you should use the Whickr app to browse horses for sale is because of the shareability of adverts.
Buying a horse isn’t usually an experience done alone, whether it be family, friends or your riding instructor, there’ll be someone you want to share your next potential horse with.
Using our horse selling app, you can share an advert straight from the app to whatever method of communication or app you want. The person you’re sharing it with won’t even need to download the app, all they need to view key information on the horse you like is an internet connection!
Whether your advertising horses for sale or looking for your next best friend, there are advantages to using a horse selling app to help with your journey. In terms of our own journey, this is just the start.
We get by with a little help from our friends
If you would you like to help us on our journey, there’s one important thing you can do. Please spread the word of a new horse selling app called Whickr, whether it be sharing an ad, leaving us a review on the app store or running or riding through your local town, loudly announcing its arrival, however you decide to do it, we would be utterly grateful! If you want to let us know what you think about the app, please don’t be shy, come and say hi! Our email is below and we would love to hear from you.
Thank you, we hope you have enjoyed our Whickr journey thus far, excitingly this is just the beginning…
With love and thanks to all who read this.
Andrew Amy
Whickr Co-founder