Going to school in the city sets the bar for going out very high. People expect you to have a life lacking in monotony and filled with nonstop craziness. The reality, however, is slightly different. Sure, you go out, but it’s at the same dive you only go to for the cheap beers, despite the fact it hasn’t been cleaned since the Clinton administration. And yeah, there are plenty of things to do, but you’re so swamped with work and school that all the options simply become overwhelming, leading to yet another Netflix night in accompanied by Trader Joe’s two-buck chuck. But be complacent no more; pulsd has arrived.
Now adding another HTML to your many tabs might seem like knocking back tequila to ease a hangover. pulsd, however, minimizes all other search tools into one site that promotes “luxe for less.” Originally based in California before making its way to the East Coast, pulsd was founded by Ali Troute and Mareza Larizadeh who describe it as “a curated group of events.” Originally growing up in north London before attending school in Stanford, Mr. Larizadeh was working at the online networking community Doostang when he got the idea to create a site to appeal to “people like me,” in other words, adults from ages twenty to forty with a disposable income who “don’t mind doing fun things.” Together with Ali Troute, who is Head of Product Development, Larizadeh launched pulsd in 2011 as “everyone’s personally concierge.” A personal concierge that’s free at that.
But don’t go thinking this is just another Living Social. pulsd is mostly content-based, informing it’s users what’s going on where, and providing them with handy tips via its blog. Sure, they have special deals and promotions ranging from $17 mani-pedi combos to $29 boozy brunches for two, but pulsd is more about free information for the public than about making profit off of deals. “We’re taking this random mumbo-jumbo from different sources that’s not only relevant,” says Mr. Larizadeh, ” but relevant to you.”
“It’s mainly [free] content and information,” states Ms. Troute, “The deals that we do have are designed to complement that content – so we have a lot of ticketed social experiences that are appealing to the same crowd.”
It doesn’t end there. Soon this free information will be even more accessible with a pulsd app designed to notify you about events on a daily basis. If you happen to be out and about on the streets looking for a plan, just whip out your phone, go to the pulsd app, and it’ll provide you with a list of the day’s best events, as well as an easy way to map your route to the event location. As Ms. Troute puts it, “Call it instant gratification.”
But pulsd’s most impressive feature? “It’s fully boot-strapped,” says Larizadeh, “we’ve received no outside money.” The site lives on its increasing subscriber base, allowing it to “grow organically and authentically” in a way that keeps its “wanting to make a difference” message genuine.
All in all, the essence of pulsd seems to be, in a word, altruism. It has been able to survive three years with no outside assistance, providing free content in order showcase the best of the New York for people who might not normally be able to splurge on the glitz and glam. At one point Mr. Larizadeh even brought up a story in which a subscriber, closer to the ninety year-old range than the twenty-to-forty, had attempted to use a voucher from pulsd for a mani-pedi. When she realized the voucher had expired, she called Mr. Larizadeh who proceeded to give her a full refund despite its being purchased over a year ago. “It was just so cool that a person her age was referencing our site,” states Larizadeh, “That alone was worth the money.”
So go ahead: try it. Subscribe and keep your eyes peeled for the app (hopefully to be released in the very near future). There’s a city that awaits outside your Netflix cue.