Tired of fake reviews, this sibling duo launched India’s first social-led travel & food recommendations platform for reliable tips

Finding reliable recommendations for restaurants, cafés, bars, and hotels in India isn’t easy. 

Online reviews can be misleading, sponsored posts dominate social media, and people often rely on scattered WhatsApp messages or notes. 

Krishna and Pia Shivdasani, who grew up traveling the world every year, saw this problem and decided to fix it. They built NowYouKnow, India’s first social-led platform where users can see what their friends actually love—all in one place.

Also read: Gurugram Engineer Starts A Cybersecurity Co. From Home; His Startup Now Serves 800+ Clients Globally & Generated ₹25 Cr+ Rev During Last FY (startuppedia.in)

India’s First Social-Led Travel & Food Recommendations Platform

Krishna and Pia noticed that personal tips from friends were always more reliable than online reviews. 

“We grew up in a family where every trip began with a call to someone we trusted. Even today, I don’t believe in ‘best lists’, because best is different for everyone,” Krishna said.

Pia Shivdasani, Co-Founder and CMO, added: “India is very diverse. Our food, tastes, and habits differ city to city and family to family. A single rating can’t capture that. What matters is whose taste you know.”

In India, many people rely on WhatsApp messages, notes, or screenshots for recommendations. NowYouKnow collects all those tips in one app. 

Users can save favorites, make wishlists, and maintain a visual diary of the places they’ve visited. AI tools make it easy to import old lists from WhatsApp, Google Sheets, or Instagram bookmarks.

Also read: This mechanical engineer quit high-paying job to rescue bees - Now clocks Rs. 65 Lakh annual turnover (startuppedia.in)

Key Features of NowYouKnow

NowYouKnow focuses on giving users a simple, trustworthy way to see places their friends love. Key features include:

• Personal Ratings: Only friends’ opinions count, not strangers online.

• Smart Search and Maps: Quickly find cafés, restaurants, bars, or hotels your friends recommend.

• Visual Diary: Track your visited places in a feed and map view.

• List Importing: Paste existing lists from WhatsApp, Notes, or Google Sheets, and the app organizes them automatically.

• No Ads or Sponsored Posts: All recommendations are genuine, coming only from your network.

Also read: Meet these two 22-YO engineers who built India’s first AI-powered Robot that burns weeds with lasers instead of pesticides (startuppedia.in)

About NowYouKnow

Founded in 2023 by Krishna and Pia Shivdasani, NowYouKnow centralizes social recommendations for travel and food in India. 

The app helps users save and share favorite spots, plan meals or trips, and keep all trusted recommendations in one place—without relying on paid reviews or sponsored content.

Also read: “Typing ‘I love you’ never feels the same as saying it" - Meet Hyderabad founder who launches a voice-first app for real human connections (startuppedia.in)