BrooqLy: The team behind the app that will change our nights out
We spoke with the people behind the social network, launched in Glyfada, that has set itself the goal of connecting people through the “art” of treating others, even if they are entire oceans apart.
- 21/05/2022
If you are a brooklis (Greek slang for ‘largehearted’, ‘generous’), the new brooqLy app is for you! The brand new platform (android and iOS) allows us to offer treats remotely, to friends with whom we are connected to brooqLy by phone. At the same time, it will enable us to meet people enjoying their time at the same bar and make friends. After 2 quarantines confining us to our homes and countries, this app seems like manna from heaven, allowing us to connect with friends and defy the distance between us.
“Its philosophy lies in connecting people because treating is also a form of communication, expression and is directly related to entertainment, which after the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus, is more necessary than ever. Technology and its many possibilities are, once again, at the service of man. BrooqLy aspires to become the first out-of-home entertainment super app. The next step will be for users to perform easily, through the app, any process necessary to enjoy going out.”
Behind brooqLy, there is a team with the know-how to offer us a platform precisely as we would like it to be. The team of co-founders consists of Panos Lazaretos, Nikos Ioannou, and Eleni Maridaki. Panos Lazaretos specializes in international business development and has a significant track record in company development in many countries. Nikos Ioannou created, in 2006, in Patras, delivery.gr, the first online food ordering platform in Greece; a cycle completed in September 2021. Eleni Maridaki comes from the financial sector and has extensive experience in managing companies that can be listed on the American stock exchange.
“The first stimulus for creating brooqLy came from delivery.gr, as we had to manage orders made by Greeks who lived and worked abroad and wanted to treat to food loved ones living in Greece. This showcased our need to offer something to loved ones who are far away, using technology and essentially eliminating geographical borders.” This is how the idea was planted. The pandemic essentially paved the way for detailed planning and, finally, its implementation.
“The coronavirus pandemic created circumstances that changed everyone’s daily lives worldwide, affecting both business and the economy. So this was the key moment for brooqLy to evolve. The idea matured during the coronavirus pandemic and was to be implemented in the post-Covid era.”
As for the name? “Its name is directly related to Brooklyn and the Greeks who migrated there in search of a better life. When they returned to Greece, they had become sufficiently well-off and would treat their friends and relatives. This is how the phrase ‘Hey, the brooklis is here. It’s his treat!’ came to be.”
In Greece, brooqLy starts in Glyfada and it is already in operation in Romania. “Glyfada is an area with all the characteristics that guarantee a successful case study. It checks all the boxes when it comes to having a great time enjoying a drink or a meal at places which stand out for the quality of their services, located in one of the most beautiful areas of Attica. That is why both Glyfada residents and visitors, of almost every age, choose Glyfada for entertainment, especially in the summer months.”
The team is currently in contact with parties in the United States, Brazil, Turkey, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, in order to start operating in those countries as well in the third and fourth quarters of this year. “Our intention is for the app to expand worldwide.”
I wonder if an app can actually change our nights out. “BrooqLy will essentially upgrade and enrich going out. Thanks to its current features, as well as the new ones it will offer in the future, it will make going out easier, because it aims to connect the digital and the physical world when it comes to treating and entertainment outside the home in general.” Just try it and become a brooklis for a while!