No ratings, no negative reviews: Restaurant app guides diners through crowd-sourced trust

Popular restaurant review sites — clouded by negative reviews and manipulated ratings — have often led Leo Esposito astray, he shared. To revolutionize the way people discover their next favorite place to eat, Esposito launched the social app Bōzt.

“Our vision is to be the most trusted platform for sourcing restaurant recommendations,” said Esposito, who founded Bōzt (pronounced like “boast”) in 2019.

Bōzt puts users in control of the app by allowing them to form a “circle” of other users whose taste they trust, Esposito explained. When users — or “bōzters” — log on to the application, they will be able to see which restaurants are favorites within their personal circle.

“We researched to see if there were any platforms out there that allowed users to be a part of a community where they could invite others who they trust to make restaurant recommendations,” Esposito recalled. “Ultimately, we couldn’t find anything like it.”

Click here to check out Bōzt.

Through the Bōzt app, users can invite up to 27 other individuals to be a part of their circle. For those who might not know anyone else on the platform or wish to connect with other foodies, the app has a “community” tab that shares suggested bōzters based on one’s taste profile, geography and demographics. 

“Say you’re traveling to Chicago or Austin and don’t know anyone in the area; this gives you the opportunity to look at someone else’s profile and identify whether or not you want to connect with them and check out their recommendations,” Esposito said. 

Along with discovering places to eat through Bōzt, users have the ability to get directions to a restaurant from their current location; call to place an order or set a reservation; and add restaurants to their “want to go” list.

Bōzt differentiates its platform from other competitors through leveraging trust, Esposito said — noting that popular review sites can manipulate reviews and mislead users through businesses that pay to appear at the top of search results.

Unlike other competitors, Bōzt focuses on positive posts. It does not contain a rating system or negative reviews, Esposito said — adding that he aims for Bōzt to be a positive social network.

“We are trying to drown out the noise and eliminate the dissemination of harmful content,” Esposito said. “There is evidence through studies that there are bad actors on well-known and highly-used platforms that purposefully post good and bad reviews in an effort to upgrade or downgrade ratings — regardless of truthfulness.”

Users do have the ability to to chat with other users to ask their opinion about restaurants that haven’t been bōzted or favorited, Esposito said, noting that users are free to share any thoughts or critiques through the chat. 

Bōzt’s map layout allows users to see what options are close by or search for restaurants in another area. It can also filter out results based on the type of cuisine one is in the mood for or by only showing restaurants that have been bōzted by the user’s circle or community. 

The app’s feed shows users dynamic photos and videos — meaning that photos and videos of different sizes can be posted together without the need to crop each image to the same size. 

“We just rolled this out and are actually researching whether or not there are some patent opportunities here,” Esposito said. “… We rolled this out because food is beautiful and should be presented in the way it was intended.” 

Leo Esposito, Bōzt

Bōzt officially launched on the App Store and Google Play on Oct. 8 and has more than 10,000 users on the app. By the first quarter of 2023, Esposito’s goal is to hit 100,000 users, he said.

“If we look at our projections, we’re shooting for a million users to be on the platform by the end of 2023,” he continued. “Our user base currently has been organic, or word of mouth from existing users. So there’s this tremendous growth opportunity once we launch our strategic marketing plan.”

Within the next month, Bōzt will also be launching its web app, Esposito teased.

The core investor group behind Bōzt is located in Kansas City, and Esposito is currently not seeking out any additional funding at this time, he noted. The Bōzt team is looking for restaurants that would like to have advertising in the form of virtual billboards on the Bōzt map. 

“We have a handful of restaurants that we’ve already boarded,” Esposito said as he pulled up the Bōzt map that showed virtual billboards for various restaurants and cafes. “Our goal is to allow restaurants to board themselves, and that portal should be available in the next few weeks.”

Bōzt is free for users, Esposito said, encouraging individuals to try it out the next time they are not sure where they want to eat. 

“If you’re looking for a trustworthy source to find recommendations, this is for you,” Esposito said. “It’s easy to use and there’s a high probability of success that you enjoy the location.”

This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.

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